背景速览

鸡肉正从20世纪的昂贵小众肉类，变成21世纪全球最受欢迎的蛋白质，全球养殖鸡数量从2006年的483亿只增至2023年的762亿只；可养殖场带来的污染与疫病争议，正让"扩产许可"成为它扩张路上最大的拦路虎。

英文原文

It is served in paper buckets in American suburbs, rice bowls in Chinese malls, shawarma shops in the Gulf, peri-peri restaurants in Britain, biryanis in India and supermarket sandwiches around the world. It can be fried, roasted, grilled, shredded, stewed, minced, nuggeted or reconstituted into something only distantly recognisable as a bird.

Few foods travel as smoothly through the modern economy as chicken.

A meat that for much of the 20th century was an expensive minority choice has in the 21st become its favourite protein — and the rise of the chicken is speeding up. Global growth in chicken production has accelerated in the past three to four years, says Nan-Dirk Mulder, global poultry specialist at Rabobank, who says he struggles to find any market where consumption is falling. Chickens produced worldwide rose from 48.3bn in 2006 to 76.2bn in 2023.

That rise has reshaped farming landscapes and high streets. More chicken means more sheds, hatcheries, feed mills, slaughter lines and refrigerated lorries, but also wider access to cheap protein for consumers who once ate little meat. From London to Lagos and Riyadh to Manila, fried-chicken shops and poultry-heavy fast-food menus have become part of the everyday food economy.

中文译文

它盛在美国郊区的纸桶里、中国商场的碗里、海湾地区的沙威玛店里、英国的非洲辣椒烤鸡店里、印度的比尔亚尼饭里，以及世界各地的超市三明治中。它可以油炸、烘烤、炙烤、切丝、炖煮、剁碎、做成鸡块，或被重新加工成某种勉强还能认出是禽类的东西。

几乎没有哪种食物能像鸡肉一样，在现代经济中流通得如此顺畅。

这种在20世纪大部分时间里还是昂贵小众选择的肉类，到了21世纪成了人们最钟爱的蛋白质——而鸡肉的崛起还在加速。荷兰合作银行全球家禽专家南-迪克·穆尔德表示，过去三四年里全球鸡肉产量增速明显加快；他说，自己很难找到任何一个消费在下滑的市场。全球养殖鸡的数量从2006年的483亿只增至2023年的762亿只。

这一崛起重塑了农业版图和商业街。鸡肉更多，意味着更多的鸡舍、孵化场、饲料厂、屠宰线和冷藏卡车，但同时也意味着，曾经很少吃肉的消费者如今更容易获得廉价蛋白质。从伦敦到拉各斯、从利雅得到马尼拉，炸鸡店和以禽肉为主的快餐菜单，已成为日常食品经济的一部分。

高频词短语

【accelerate】/əkˈseləreɪt/ v. 加速，加快

例：Rising beef prices accelerated the shift of fast-food chains towards chicken.

译：牛肉价格上涨，加速了快餐连锁转向鸡肉。

【reshape】/ˌriːˈʃeɪp/ v. 重塑，改变

例：The rise of chicken has reshaped both farms and city streets.

译：鸡肉的崛起重塑了农场与城市街景。

【minority】/maɪˈnɒrəti/ n. 少数；小众

例：Once a minority choice, chicken is now a daily staple for millions.

译：鸡肉曾是少数人的选择，如今却是千万人的日常主食。

【access】/ˈækses/ n. 获得……的机会，途径

例：Cheap chicken gives low-income families wider access to protein.

译：廉价的鸡肉让低收入家庭更容易获得蛋白质。

长难句速拆

原句：Global growth in chicken production has accelerated in the past three to four years, says Nan-Dirk Mulder, global poultry specialist at Rabobank, who says he struggles to find any market where consumption is falling.

①主干：Global growth has accelerated（全球产量增速加快），says Nan-Dirk Mulder 是倒装，相当于 Mulder says…。

②修饰：global poultry specialist at Rabobank 是同位语，交代穆尔德身份；who 引导非限制性定语从句补充说明他，从句里又套了 where 定语从句修饰 market。

③卡点：一是主句动词后置，读到 says 才明白是谁说的；二是从句套从句，别把 where 那层误当成修饰整句；三是 three to four years 指"过去三四年这一段"，不是"三到四年里每年"。

考场应用

① 考研英语·阅读理解：says 引导的倒装、who/where 多层定语从句是典型考点；"few foods travel as smoothly as…"这类否定比较也适合出细节理解题。

② 雅思写作·Task 2：谈"食品工业 vs 环境与动物福利"时，可用"483亿→762亿只""牛肉价高助推鸡肉"作论据，走让步—转折的论证框架。

③ 考研英语·写作：可化用"the rise of…has much further to go""from minority to favourite"等结构引出话题、展望趋势。

对了，一边想要便宜鸡肉，一边又不想把养殖场建在家门口——这个矛盾，你怎么选？

来源

来源：英国《金融时报》(Financial Times)