VOA慢速英语：巧克力薯条？

[00:00.00]Fast-food chain McDonald’s is adding french fries [00:03.14]drizzled with chocolate sauce to its menu in Japan. [00:06.46]The new item is called McChoco Potato. [00:10.89]The fast-food appetizer consists [00:14.40]of McDonald’s famous fries drizzled with brown and white chocolate syrup. [00:19.17]A portion of the potatoes and chocolate cost 330 yen, which is around $3. [00:27.11]The chocolate fries are McDonald's Japan’s attempt to reverse poor sales. [00:32.98]According to the Japan Times, [00:36.10]McDonald's Japan reported an annual loss of over 34 billion yen, [00:41.54]or nearly $300 million, last year. [00:45.36]“Undoubtedly, 2015 was the most challenging year [00:50.64]we have faced in our 45-year history,” [00:54.20]said McDonald's Japan president Sarah Casanova. [00:57.49]U.S.-based McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Tokyo in 1971. [01:04.97]In the past few years, [01:07.89]McDonald’s Japan closed hundreds of the restaurants [01:11.31]known for its golden arches. [01:13.46]Because of the McChoco Potato, [01:16.46]customer sales increased in January [01:19.71]for the first time in a number of years. [01:21.75]“The chocolate fries have been extremely popular with customers, [01:25.96]and actually not just customers in Japan,” said Casanova. [01:30.78]The chocolate-covered french fries debuted January 26. [01:35.93]They are available at Japan’s McDonald's for a limited time. [01:41.08]I’m Jim Dresbach.

00:00

00:00

MP3下载 文本下载

https://online2.tingclass.net/lesson/shi0529/0008/8694/as_it_is_20160308d.mp3

https://image.tingclass.net/statics/js/2012

Chocolate-Covered French Fries Anyone?

巧克力薯条?

Fast-food chain McDonald’s is adding french fries drizzled with chocolate sauce to its menu in Japan.

麦当劳快餐连锁店在日本推出巧克力薯条。

The new item is called McChoco Potato. The fast-food appetizer consists of McDonald’s famous fries drizzled with brown and white chocolate syrup.

该薯条被命名为McChoco Potato，这款薯条组合附有黑巧克力酱和白巧克力酱。

A portion of the potatoes and chocolate cost 330 yen, which is around $3.

该款巧克力薯条的价格为330日元，约3美元。

The chocolate fries are McDonald's Japan’s attempt to reverse poor sales. According to the Japan Times, McDonald's Japan reported an annual loss of over 34 billion yen, or nearly $300 million, last year.

麦当劳在日本推出巧克力薯条是为了拯救其日渐衰退的营业额。据日本时报去年的报道，日本麦当劳每年有近340亿日元的赤字，约合3亿美元。

“Undoubtedly, 2015 was the most challenging year we have faced in our 45-year history,” said McDonald's Japan president Sarah Casanova.

“毫无疑问，2015年是我们进驻日本45年以来最严峻的一年。”日本麦当劳的社长莎拉·卡萨诺瓦。

U.S.-based McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Tokyo in 1971.

麦当劳于1971年在东京开设第一家分店。

In the past few years, McDonald’s Japan closed hundreds of the restaurants known for its golden arches.

在过去的一些年里，麦当劳在日本关闭了上百家分店，成为著名的金色拱门理论。

Because of the McChoco Potato, customer sales increased in January for the first time in a number of years.

推出了McChoco Potato之后，一月份的营业额提高了，这是这么多年来第一次提高。

“The chocolate fries have been extremely popular with customers, and actually not just customers in Japan,” said Casanova.

“巧克力薯条很受欢迎，不光是在日本。”卡萨诺瓦说。

The chocolate-covered french fries debuted January 26. They are available at Japan’s McDonald's for a limited time.

巧克力薯条于1月26日推出。但仅在日本出售了有限的一段时间。

[page]听力原文[/page]

Chocolate-Covered French Fries Anyone?

Fast-food chain McDonald’s is adding french fries drizzled with chocolate sauce to its menu in Japan.

The new item is called McChoco Potato. The fast-food appetizer consists of McDonald’s famous fries drizzled with brown and white chocolate syrup.

A portion of the potatoes and chocolate cost 330 yen, which is around $3.

The chocolate fries are McDonald's Japan’s attempt to reverse poor sales. According to the Japan Times, McDonald's Japan reported an annual loss of over 34 billion yen, or nearly $300 million, last year.

“Undoubtedly, 2015 was the most challenging year we have faced in our 45-year history,” said McDonald's Japan president Sarah Casanova.

U.S.-based McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Tokyo in 1971.

In the past few years, McDonald’s Japan closed hundreds of the restaurants known for its golden arches.

Because of the McChoco Potato, customer sales increased in January for the first time in a number of years.

“The chocolate fries have been extremely popular with customers, and actually not just customers in Japan,” said Casanova.

The chocolate-covered french fries debuted January 26. They are available at Japan’s McDonald's for a limited time.

I’m Jim Dresbach.

Words in This Story

drizzle – v. to pour a small amount of liquid onto or over something

menu – n. a list of the foods that may be ordered at a restaurant

appetizer – n. a small dish of food served before the main part of a meal

syrup – n. a sweet, thick liquid made of sugar and water with flavoring added to it

yen – n. the basic unit of money of Japan

debuted – v. to appear in public for the first time