州博览会:美国大庙会

    State fairs are one of the great U.S. summertime traditions.
    州博览会是美国重要的夏季传统之一。

    Just ask Don Greiman. He has been going to the Iowa State Fair since just after he was born – 89 years ago.
    只要问问唐·格雷曼(Don Greiman)。他从八十九年前刚出生之后就一直逛爱荷华州博览会。

    Greiman said state fairs started in the mid-1800s because farmers wanted to have a gathering to show off their produce each year. For example, farmers that raised cows wanted to see how their cows compared to the cows of their neighbors.
    格雷曼表示,州博览会始于19世纪中叶,因为农民们希望每年有个集会来展示他们的产品。例如,养牛户想要看看自家的奶牛和邻居家的奶牛比之如何。

    Over time, state fairs evolved into bigger events. Much bigger events.
    随着时间的推移,州博览会演变成了规模更大的活动。

    "The women thought, say, you know, our husbands are proud of their livestock. We're sort of proud of our baking and cooking and maybe garment-making. So we ought to have a little fair, too. And that's how fairs started. And then somebody could maybe play a fiddle or a little entertainment with it. And that's how it sort of evolved. And they decided, ‘Well, hey, let's make this an annual event."
    “妇女们想,男人们为他们的牲畜而自豪。我们也有点为自己的烘焙、烹饪以及做衣服的手艺而自豪。所以我们理应公平一点。这就是博览会的起源。然后有人可能在博览会上表演下小提琴或其它小娱乐。这就是它的演变。他们决定,“好吧,让我们把它作为一项一年一度的盛事。”

    Today, some state fairs average over 100,000 visitors per day. The nation's most popular fairs – including the one in St. Paul, Minnesota – attract almost 2 million visitors each year.
    如今,一些州博览会每天平均人流量超过10万人。包括明尼苏达州圣保罗在内的这些全美最受欢迎的博览会每年吸引了近200万游客。

    Most state fairs run for a little more than a week between August and October. They have craft exhibits, lots of live music, games and rides like roller coasters and Ferris wheels. Some even have wine tastings, beer gardens, or competitions to see who can bake the tastiest cake or make the best sculpture out of butter.
    大多数州博览会在8月和10月之间经营一个星期多点时间。博览会上有手工艺展览、现场音乐表演、过山车和摩天轮等游乐设施。有些博览会上甚至有品酒会、啤酒花园,或是蛋糕烘焙比赛,或黄油雕刻比赛。

    Above all, state fairs have a lot of interesting food.
    总之,州博览会上有许多美食。

    Consider a bucket of chocolate chip cookies at the state fair in Minnesota, fried butter at the Texas State Fair or a pork chop on a stick at the fair in Iowa.
    在明尼苏达州博览会上吃上一桶巧克力曲奇,在德克萨斯州博览会上吃上一块炸黄油,或是爱荷华州博览会上吃上一跟猪排串。

    "We have 72 foods on a stick now, that seems to be the rage," said Greiman of Iowa. "Corn dogs, butter on a stick, Oreos on a stick."
    爱荷华州的格雷曼说,“我们现在有72种似乎风靡一时的串串,像玉米热狗串串、黄油串、奥利奥串。”

    "You name it, we've just about got it on a stick."
    “你尽管说,我们把它弄到串串上。”

    New York: The Deep-Fried Guy
    纽约:油炸男

    Eating is one of the most popular activities at state fairs around the country.
    在全国各地的州博览会上,吃是最受欢迎的活动之一。

    It is where some of the most interesting cooking techniques and food creations are found.
    一些最诱人的烹饪技术和食物作品在这里被发现。

    Jim Hasbrouck owns one of the popular food stands at the New York State Fair, which takes place from August 25-September 5 this year.
    吉姆·哈斯布鲁克(Jim Hasbrouck)在纽约州博览会上拥有一家颇受欢迎的小吃摊。该博览会今年在8月25日到9月5日之间举行。

    His stand is called Fried Specialties. But he may be better known as the deep-fried guy. That is because he will put just about anything in batter and fry it in oil.
    他的小吃摊叫油炸特产。但他可能更为人熟知的是油炸男这个头衔。这是因为他会把所有东西都糊上面用油炸。

    He sells fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fried pickles, fried jellybeans, fried candy bars and even fried lasagna. He has 35 items on the menu.
    他卖油炸花生酱和果冻三明治、油炸泡菜、油炸软糖、油炸糖果甚至是油炸宽面包。他菜单上有35种产品。

    "Everything's fry-able. Everything. I've done everything up to whiskey. Fruits. I've done everything. Everything's fry-able. It's all in the process, how you do it. If you want to take your time and come up with a process and you can toy with it, you can make it happen."
    “所有东西都能油炸。我炸过一切东西,包括威士忌、水果,什么都能油炸。这取决于在此过程中你如何做。如果你想慢慢来尝试一下,大可玩一下试试。”

    This year, he has a special fried creation. It is called The Harvester. The sandwich includes mashed potatoes, stuffing, fried turkey and other items that recall the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving.
    今年他做了一种特殊的油炸产品,它被称之为收割机。这种三明治包括土豆泥、馅、油炸火鸡以及其它让人联想起感恩节的东西。

    Hasbrouck loves frying food so much that he sold his construction business and devoted himself to making fried items. "This is what we do full-time now," he said.
    哈斯布鲁克如此喜欢油炸食物以至于转让了自己的施工企业并投身于油炸行业。他说,“这是我们现在的全职工作。”

    Hasbrouck attends multiple fairs and festivals each year. But he is from New York and loves being at the New York State Fair.
    哈斯布鲁克每年参加多个博览会和节日。但是他来自纽约,喜欢参加纽约州博览会。

    "My blood gets flowing and I feel like a kid again. It's just a great thing. And I don't think you can go wrong with going to a state fair."
    “我心潮澎湃,感觉自己像个孩子。这很美妙。我不认为你参加州博览会会出现什么差错。”

    Texas: Fried Jesus
    德州:油炸王

    If you want to visit the king of all fried items, it is a good idea to pack your bags for Texas. That is where you will find Abel Gonzales. Some people call him Fried Jesus.
    如果你想要拜访油炸王,最好收拾行李去德州。在这里你将会找到亚伯·冈萨雷斯(Abel Gonzales)。有人称他为油炸王。

    The State Fair of Texas runs for almost a month, from September 30 to October 23. It is located in the city of Dallas.
    德州博览会从9月30日到10月23日运营将近一个月,地址位于达拉斯市。

    Gonzalez impressed food critics from all over when he came up with fried butter in 2009. His creation was so good that the newspaper in Dallas wrote that he should be named "Texan of the Year."
    冈萨雷斯2009年做出油炸黄油时,让各地的美食评论家印象深刻。他的产品是如此棒以至于德拉斯报纸写道,他应该被提名为德州年度人物。

    Fried butter is a sweet square of butter that is rolled in batter. It is then fried. The result is something like a bite-sized bread roll, with the butter already melted inside.
    油炸黄油是卷进面糊里的一种黄油甜品,然后开始炸,炸出来就像是一口就能吃下的面包卷,里面是融化的黄油。

    Gonzales won the fair's food competition for his fried butter. He went on to be featured on television shows and in food magazines.
    冈萨雷斯以油炸黄油赢得了该博览会的美食大赛。他接着成为了电视节目和美食杂志的主角。

    Can a sausage win an election?
    一根香肠赢下选举?

    State fairs can also be a good place for politicians to meet the people they represent.
    州博览会也是政客会见他们所代表的人民的好地方。

    The New York Times has a story of the New York State Fair in 2000. In that year, Hillary Clinton was campaigning to become a senator.
    纽约时报讲述了一个关于2000年纽约州博览会的新闻。那年,希拉里·克林顿(Hillary Clinton)在竞选当参议员。

    Clinton and her husband, then-president Bill Clinton, stopped at a well-known food stand at the New York State Fair for a sausage sandwich. The first couple happily ate one sandwich each, according to the story. They posed for photos and joked with voters and reporters.
    克林顿和他的丈夫,当时的总统比尔·克林顿(Bill Clinton)在纽约州博览会的一个著名小吃摊前停下来买香肠三明治。根据该新闻,这对第一夫妇各自愉快地吃下了一个三明治。他们同选民以及记者合影并开起了玩笑。

    But Clinton's top rival for the senate position did not eat the sandwich when he was offered one.
    但是克林顿竞选参议员的头号竞争对手在被送上一个三明治时却没有吃。

    Clinton went on to win the election two months later.
    克林顿在两个月后的选举中获胜。

    If you like music, you will love the fair
    爱音乐,爱博览会

    Musical performers attract a lot of people to state fairs. The fair hires popular singers or bands to perform and draw more people to the fairgrounds.
    音乐表演吸引了很多人前往州博览会。该活动聘请了当红歌手或乐队表演吸引更多人前来会场。

    Here are some of the well-known performers coming to state fairs in the coming months.
    以下是将会参加下个月举行的州博览会的一些著名表演者。

    If you want to see singer and dancer Jason Derulo, you can go to the Iowa State Fair on August 14.
    如果你想看到歌手和舞蹈家杰森·德鲁罗(Jason Derulo),你可以于8月14日去爱荷华州博览会。

    Dolly Parton will sing at the Ohio State Fair on August 2.
    多莉·帕顿(Dolly Parton)将于8月2日在俄亥俄州博览会上献唱。

    Bruce Hornsby will be at the New York State Fair on August 28.
    布鲁斯·霍恩斯比(Bruce Hornsby)将于8月28日现身于纽约州博览会。

    Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato are at the Minnesota State Fair on August 31.
    尼克·乔纳斯(Nick Jonas)和黛咪·洛瓦托(Demi Lovato)将于8月31日参加明尼苏达州博览会。

    State fairs have many modern parts these days. But at its core, Don Greiman of Iowa says the event still aims to bring a variety of people together for a few days of fun.
    如今的州博览会还有很多现代化的部分。但是爱荷华州的格雷曼表示,该活动的核心仍然旨在让形形色色的人们聚到一起开心几天。

    He says the state fair is a way for "our city cousins to look at the animals, because they don't have the opportunity to see them every day like we do. To try different food than usual – not everybody has a corn dog or butter on a stick. And then of course the entertainment. There's something at the fair you can't see every day."
    他说,州博览会“是城里人欣赏各式动物的一种途径,因为他们无法像我们一样天天看到它们。同时还有品尝各种不同的食物,并非所有人都吃过玉米热狗或黄油棒。当然还有娱乐。博览会上有些东西你可没法天天看到。”

    I'm Dan Friedell.
    我是丹·费里德尔。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利,未经授权请勿转载,违者必究!)