巨型巧克力馬廄讓圣誕節(jié)更甜蜜英語美文

　　Huge Chocolate Creche Sweetens Christmas巨型巧克力馬廄讓圣誕節(jié)更甜蜜

　　Over 4,500 hours and 7,275 pounds of chocolate have gone into creating the creche.

　　Christmas has never tasted this good. Thirty-two pastry chefs in the southern Italian city of Naples unveiled on Saturday what they say is the biggest ever nativity scene made entirely of chocolate.

　　Over 4,500 hours and 7,275 pounds of chocolate have gone into creating the creche which is 19 feet, 8 inches wide, 9 feet, 10 inches high and -- to the delight of chocoholics -- totally edible.

　　"For us, this is an unrepeatable event, something which we will never be able to do again," pastry chef Antonio Castaldo told reporters ahead of the unveiling as he put the last touches on the golden locks of a white chocolate baby Jesus.

　　The Neapolitan team, working through the night in a spartan garage, not only included the area"s finest pastry chefs but expert carpenters, sculptors and painters pooling their skills to produce this ode to the cocoa bean.

　　More than 100 figures of shepherds, animals and townspeople decorate the elaborate scene of hills and caves and Mediterranean-style houses. The angelic-looking Madonna alone took two weeks to make.

　　Every year, the narrow cobbled street of San Gregorio Armeno in the heart of Naples comes alive as artisans peddle their often witty, hand-crafted nativity scenes.

　　This year"s personalities include Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, the two Italian women taken hostage in Iraq last September and then released. In the past, Osama Bin Laden, and President Bush have featured alongside Jesus and Mary.

　　But without a doubt, the chocolate creche has stolen the limelight this Christmas.

　　Lucky for the crowds that hungrily descended on the scene Saturday, its creators said they are considering donating the nativity scene to the city so that people can taste a piece of chocolate history in true Christmas spirit.

　　圣誕節(jié)的味道從來沒這么棒過。上周六(12月4日)，意大利南部城市那不勒斯的32位糕點師首次展示了他們用巧克力搭建而成的“耶穌誕生實景”，據(jù)他們說，這是有史以來最大的再現(xiàn)耶穌誕生場景的巧克力。

　　糕點師們花費了4500多個小時，共消耗7275磅巧克力才制成這座巧克力馬廄。馬廄寬19英尺8英寸，高9英尺10英寸。最讓巧克力愛好者高興的是，它全部可以食用。

　　“對我們來說，這是一件絕無僅有的盛事，我們以后再也無法這樣做了�！备恻c師安東尼奧·卡斯塔爾多在巧克力馬廄揭幕前對記者說，當(dāng)時他正在為圣嬰耶穌的金色卷發(fā)做最后的潤色，這位小耶穌是用白巧克力制作的。

　　那不勒斯的糕點師們在一個條件簡陋的車庫里通宵達(dá)旦地工作，他們中不僅有當(dāng)?shù)刈詈玫母恻c師，還有木匠、雕刻家和畫家等專業(yè)人士，他們各顯所能，協(xié)力合作，用可可豆創(chuàng)造了這部頌詩。

　　在這塊巧克力上，不僅有100多個人物形象，其中包括牧羊人、動物和市民，還有山巒、洞穴、地中海風(fēng)格的房屋等美麗風(fēng)光，人物和風(fēng)景相映成趣。單單是有著天使容顏的圣母瑪利亞就花了兩周時間才完成。

　　每年(的這個時候)，那不勒斯市中心的這條名叫圣格雷戈里奧·阿爾梅諾的鵝卵石窄街都會充滿生機。巧手匠們沿街叫賣手工制作的新穎有趣的耶穌誕生實景。

　　今年的“主要人物”有西莫納·帕里和西莫納·托雷塔。去年9月，這兩位意大利婦女在伊拉克被劫為人質(zhì)，隨后被釋放。往年，烏薩馬·本·拉登和美國總統(tǒng)布什的雕像總會出現(xiàn)在耶穌和瑪麗身邊。

　　這座巧克力馬廄無疑在這個圣誕節(jié)出盡了風(fēng)頭。

　　星期六那天趕到現(xiàn)場的人群是幸運的，這塊巧克力的創(chuàng)造者們說，他們正在考慮將它捐給這座城市，這樣人們就可以品嘗一塊記載著歷史的巧克力，這體現(xiàn)了真正的圣誕精神。

　　Vocabulary:

　　nativity: a representation, such as a painting, of Jesus"s birth(耶穌誕生圖)

　　locks: a length or curl of hair; a tress(一綹卷發(fā);一束長發(fā))

　　spartan: simple, frugal, or austere(簡樸的、節(jié)約的或嚴(yán)格的)

　　peddle: to travel about selling (wares)(沿街叫賣，兜售)

　　steal the limelight: 最引人注意，出盡風(fēng)頭，搶鏡頭(：夏根建)