Two hundred and fifty years after American revolutionaries dumped tea into Boston Harbor, a fresh diplomatic storm is brewing between Britain and the United States over the cherished beverage. Britain’s media has reacted with fury and bewilderment after a U.S. scientist claimed the perfect cup of tea is made with a pinch of added salt. Michelle Francl, who has written a book on the molecular science behind a good cuppa, believes the addition is needed to reduce the bitterness of the drink. But the suggestion has led to a heated response on social media from Brits, who are notoriously possessive over their perceptions of best brewing practice. “I guess we are going to war again?” legal journalist Molly Quell wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “What is going on over there?” asked British comedian Matt Green. Francl, a chemistry professor at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, defended her seemingly radical idea, claiming: “It turns out that a tiny amount of salt, not enough to even taste, blocks the perception of bitterness.” As transatlantic tensions reached a boiling point, the U.S. Embassy in the UK intervened to distance themselves from the seemingly extremist idea, dunking the professor back into hot water. “We cannot stand idly by as such an outrageous proposal threatens the very foundation of our Special Relationship,” the embassy wrote in a viral X post. “We want to ensure the good people of the U.K. that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain’s national drink is not official Unites States policy. And never will be,” it added. Francl also found little sympathy in the British press, which took her suggestion with more than a pinch of salt. “A scientist from the country where you can find tea being made with lukewarm water from the tap claims to have found the recipe for a perfect cuppa,” the Guardian reported. “Professor Francl insisted her findings were solid, despite coming from a country where tea plays second fiddle to coffee — and is usually served iced,” the Daily Mail added. Amid such heated debate, perhaps only time will tell if the U.S. Embassy’s response will be enough to calm the waters. In the meantime, the embassy said it “will continue to make tea in the proper way — by microwaving it.” (SD-Agencies) Words to Learn 相關(guān)詞匯 【半信半疑】bànxìn bànyí with a pinch of salt without completely believing, skeptically 【平息事態(tài)】píngxī shìtài calm the waters soothe or restore peace to a contentious, volatile, or turbulent situation 美國革命者將茶葉倒進(jìn)波士頓港250年后，英美兩國間因?yàn)檫@一珍貴的飲品正醞釀一場新的外交風(fēng)暴。 美國科學(xué)家說，泡一杯完美的茶要加一小撮鹽，對此英國媒體感到憤怒而困惑。 米歇爾?弗朗克寫了一本書，解析一杯好茶背后的分子科學(xué)，她認(rèn)為加點(diǎn)鹽能淡化茶的苦味。 但這個(gè)建議在社交媒體上引起了英國人的激烈反應(yīng)，因?yàn)橛藢ψ罴押炔璺椒ㄊ浅隽嗣挠袌?zhí)念。 法律記者莫莉?奎爾在社交平臺X （前身為推特）上問：“我看咱們又要開戰(zhàn)了？”然后，英國喜劇演員馬特?格林問：“到底出了什么事？” 賓夕法尼亞州布林莫爾學(xué)院的化學(xué)教授弗朗克為自己看似激進(jìn)的想法辯護(hù)，她說：“事實(shí)證明，微量的鹽，甚至少到嘗不出來，就能阻斷人們對苦味的感知?！?/p> 當(dāng)這場橫跨大西洋的紛爭達(dá)到沸點(diǎn)時(shí)，美國駐英國大使館出面了，主動和這個(gè)看似異類的建議劃清界限，對弗朗克教授落井下石。美國大使館在X平臺上發(fā)了一個(gè)帖子，被用戶瘋狂轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)。其中寫道：“我們不能對這種威脅到英美特別伙伴關(guān)系根基的過分建議袖手旁觀。” “我們向善良的英國人民保證，在英國國飲中加鹽這一匪夷所思的想法不是美國的官方態(tài)度，永遠(yuǎn)都不可能是。” 英國媒體也絲毫不同情弗朗克，對她的建議不以為然。 英國《衛(wèi)報(bào)》說：“一位科學(xué)家聲稱已經(jīng)找到了完美茶飲的秘訣，在她的國家，人們用溫吞的自來水泡茶。”《每日郵報(bào)》補(bǔ)充說：“弗朗克教授堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為她的發(fā)現(xiàn)是可靠的，盡管在她的家鄉(xiāng)，茶和咖啡相比不那么重要，而且通常還是冰著喝的?！?/p> 爭論如此激烈，美國大使館的回應(yīng)是否足以平息事態(tài)，也許只有時(shí)間能給出答案。大使館還表示“將繼續(xù)用正確的方式泡茶 —— 使用微波爐加熱”。(Translated by Debra) | 