幾十年前我就可以熟練使用筷子。中國(guó)人看到我這個(gè)老外用筷子會(huì)非常驚訝，以前我還覺(jué)得這很搞笑，但如今他們大驚小怪的反應(yīng)讓我心里有點(diǎn)不舒服。

You’ve got to hand it to the Chinese. Chopsticks, a clever tool indeed, provide a convenient way to eat an amazing range of foods, extending way beyond Asian cuisine.
筷子是中國(guó)人的專(zhuān)屬餐具。這種實(shí)用的工具可以輕松夾住各種各樣的食物，而且不僅僅局限于亞洲美食。

I’ve handled them deftly for decades. While it used to amuse me, it mildly annoys me now that Chinese react with such fuss and astonishment to see a foreigner handle them — as if someone from a country that put a man on the moon would somehow be incapable of maneuvering two simple sticks.
幾十年前我就可以熟練使用筷子。中國(guó)人看到我這個(gè)老外用筷子會(huì)非常驚訝，以前我還覺(jué)得這很搞笑，但如今他們大驚小怪的反應(yīng)讓我心里有點(diǎn)不舒服。好像在他們看來(lái)，美國(guó)人有能力完成登月，卻不知為何就是用不好兩根筷子。

My first exposure to chopsticks came way back in the 1960s via the elementary piano tune known as Chopsticks, which prompted my inquiry as to what the word meant. Not long afterward, my parents introduced me to Chinese food at King Fong Cafe in Omaha, Nebraska, which, I only learned recently, was among the landmarks of the heartland city’s once-thriving Chinatown in the early 1900s. (The restaurant’s owner personally brought the teak furniture and other decor by boat from what is today’s Guangdong province.)
我第一次接觸筷子是在20世紀(jì)60年代，當(dāng)時(shí)我聽(tīng)到一首初級(jí)鋼琴曲《 Chopsticks》，我很好奇這個(gè)單詞是什么意思。不久之后，我父母帶我去了內(nèi)布拉斯加州的中心城市奧馬哈的King Fong Cafe。我最近才知道，這家餐廳是這條唐人街的地標(biāo)之一，這里在20世紀(jì)初曾繁榮一時(shí)。（這家餐廳的柚木家具和其他裝飾小物都是通過(guò)海路從廣東省運(yùn)到美國(guó)的。)

As you can see, China’s influence stretched far and wide long before opening-up in the late 1970s or today’s Belt and Road Initiative. So the notion that most foreigners cannot use chopsticks is, simply put, fiddlesticks. (And, to be honest, I have never once in my long life seen a Westerner marvel that a Chinese person can wield a spoon and fork properly.)
正如你所了解到的一樣，中國(guó)對(duì)世界的影響源遠(yuǎn)流長(zhǎng)，在20世紀(jì)70年代末的改革開(kāi)放政策或現(xiàn)在的“一帶一路”倡議之前就已經(jīng)開(kāi)始了。所以“多數(shù)外國(guó)人不會(huì)用筷子”的這個(gè)觀(guān)點(diǎn)是錯(cuò)誤的。（此外，說(shuō)實(shí)話(huà)，到目前為止我活了這么多年，還沒(méi)有見(jiàn)過(guò)哪個(gè)西方人驚嘆于中國(guó)人會(huì)正確使用勺子和叉子。）

In fact, I have undergone special kuaizi training (improving dexterity, for example, by constantly picking up peanut kernels when I lived with my Chinese tai chi master) and experimentation (exploring the use of chopsticks to snap up popcorn and donuts; I’m working on ice cream).
事實(shí)上，我確實(shí)進(jìn)行過(guò)一些特殊的訓(xùn)練和實(shí)驗(yàn)。比如，在我和我的中國(guó)太極拳師傅一起生活時(shí)，我會(huì)經(jīng)常用筷子夾起花生仁，來(lái)提高使用筷子的靈活性；我還嘗試過(guò)用筷子夾爆米花和甜甜圈；現(xiàn)在，我的實(shí)驗(yàn)對(duì)象換成了冰淇淋。

But there’s one Western food for which chopsticks are truly a godsend: salads. After moving to China in 2014, I bought a salad at a convenience store, and the clerk handed me kuaizi. I balked at first, but then thought, “What the heck” and gave it a whirl.
但對(duì)一種食物西方——沙拉，筷子簡(jiǎn)直就是為它而生的。2014年，我來(lái)到中國(guó)生活，有一天我在一家便利店買(mǎi)了份沙拉，店里的服務(wù)員給了我一雙筷子。起初我還有點(diǎn)猶豫，但后來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)念一想“管他呢！”，不如就用筷子試試吧。

Amazingly useful! I could pick and choose each morsel much more carefully, without having to fumble about trying to spear the crispy lettuce or cherry tomato and then maneuver it mouthward.
結(jié)果筷子出奇的好用！我可以更仔細(xì)地挑選每一口食物，不用笨手笨腳地去叉起脆脆的生菜或者是小西紅柿，再送進(jìn)嘴里。

Another clear advantage of these simplest of implements is that they regulate the pace and volume of eating. It’s much harder to “pig out” by shoveling food with chopsticks than with a fork and spoon.
這種最簡(jiǎn)單的餐具還有另外一個(gè)明顯的優(yōu)點(diǎn)，那就是幫助人們控制進(jìn)食的速度和分量。相比于叉子和勺子，用筷子夾一大口菜真的很難。

However, in the spirit of globalization, let’s not overlook the finer points of knife and fork, for example when eating steak or, much more likely, pizza. (Most Westerners, by the way, eat the latter using an even simpler tool — their fingers — and definitely without ketchup.)
不過(guò)，本著全球化的精神，我們也不要忽視刀和叉的用處。比如，在吃牛排或者披薩時(shí)。（順便說(shuō)一下，大多數(shù)西方人在吃披薩時(shí)更簡(jiǎn)單粗暴，直接用手拿而且不蘸番茄醬。）

The trick to tackling a steak or pizza using knife and fork is to do something counterintuitive: Switch hands. If you’re a “rightie”, hold the fork in the left hand to spear and anchor the steak or pizza slice, which allows you to use your right hand to more skillfully and powerfully cut with the knife.
用刀叉處理牛排和披薩的過(guò)程其實(shí)是與人的肢體直覺(jué)相反的，即換手操作。比如，如果你習(xí)慣使用右手進(jìn)行各種日?；顒?dòng)，那你需要左手握叉戳住牛排和披薩，將它們固定住。這樣就可以用更有力量更靈活的右手握刀切牛排。

In fact, a handy thing about the fork is that everyone is basically ambidextrous when using one. I venture to say that, for Chinese and foreigners alike, switching hands while using chopsticks is not so readily done with aplomb.
事實(shí)上，叉子的方便之處在于一般來(lái)說(shuō)人們的兩只手都能靈活使用它。恕我冒昧地說(shuō)，不管是中國(guó)人還是外國(guó)人，換手用筷子都并非易事。

英文來(lái)源：“CHINA DAILY”微信公眾號(hào)
翻譯：余桐欣（實(shí)習(xí)）
編審：董靜 丹妮
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About the author & broadcaster

James Healy is from the United States and has been a copy editor at China Daily since 2014. He is an advanced student of Chen style tai chi and enjoys Chinese culture, food and carvings.