英语阅读｜The momentous days for sliced bread 切片面包的伟大时代（下）

厦门南强同科

Why are the French suddenly so keen on sliced bread? Partly because of its long-lasting convenience at a time of squeezed lifestyles. Nothing beats a freshly baked baguette, but it is best eaten within hours of leaving the oven. France has a high share of women in the workforce, and harried workers no longer have time to pick one up daily, as tradition dictates. In big cities, lunchtime habits are also changing: traditional three-course meals are giving way to le snacking, especially among the young. A poll suggests that 26% of the French now take 15 minutes or less to eat lunch. So sandwiches are on the rise. Over 2 billion were sold in France in 2014, and just over a third are now made from sliced bread, not baguettes.

为什么法国人突然如此热衷切片面包？部分原因是在这个生活紧张的时代，能长时间保存的切片面包具有方便性。没有什么东西能比得了新鲜出炉的法式长棍，但这东西最好在出炉后的数小时内吃完。而法国妇女在劳动力中占的比重很大，工作缠身的工人们没有时间按传统要求那样每天抓一根来啃。大城市里午餐的习惯也在改变：传统的三道菜如今正让位给快餐(le snacking)，这种情况在年轻人中尤甚。一份调查显示26%的法国人现在只花15分钟甚至更少的时间吃午饭。于是三明治销量在上升。2014年法国卖出了20亿份三明治，其中三分之一多一点是用切片面包做的，而不是长棍面包。

The other answer is smart marketing. Sliced bread without crusts is a new fad, heavily promoted to children on television. Equally surprising is the appeal of Harrys, which sells sliced bread branded as “American sandwich”. Of “American inspiration”, the brand reflects “modernity and liberty”, says Géraldine Fiacre, a marketing director at Barilla. The Harrys brand was devised after the second world war by a French baker who was intrigued by the flat sandwiches eaten by American soldiers at a NATO air base in Chateauroux. Charles de Gaulle later ordered the American troops out, but France’s new mega-bakery is just down the road from the old base.

另一个原因是聪明的营销。不带壳的切片面包是如今的新潮流，儿童是电视广告的重点营销对象。同样令人惊讶的是Harrys的吸引力，该品牌把切片面包叫做“美国三明治”。Barilla的营销总监杰拉尔丁•菲亚克声称该品牌“灵感来自美国”，代表了“现代与自由”。诞生于二战后的Harrys品牌创造者是一名法国面包师，当他看到沙托鲁北约空军基地的美国士兵在吃一种扁平的三明治，就被它深深吸引住了。后来夏尔•戴高乐命令美军士兵撤出法国，而法国的面包新贵也离开了老基地，走在通向全国的路上。

（更新完毕！！！）