56 For the Love of Chocolate

名称：56 For the Love of Chocolate
内容简介：
晨读英语美文 文化百科
[00:02.52]Most people know that chocolate is made from cocoa and
[00:06.83] that the origins of chocolate can be traced back
[00:10.00]to Central and South America. For centuries,
[00:12.55]the natives there regarded cocoa as a gift from the gods.
[00:15.95]But how did chocolate go
[00:18.56] from being the food of the gods
[00:20.45]to being the food of love?
[00:22.26]Around A.D. 600,
[00:24.33] the Mayas were the main aboriginal group
[00:27.45]in Central America.
[00:28.63]They established the first cocoa plantations
[00:31.83] and used the cocoa bean as the main ingredient in a dark,
[00:36.07]bitter drink that we would call “chocolate”.
[00:39.49]The Mayas believed
[00:41.00] that chocolate had mystical properties,
[00:42.99] but cocoa also had commercial value.
[00:45.96] In fact, cocoa beans were used as a form of currency
[00:50.33]that was worth its weight in gold!
[00:53.32]Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez
[00:56.40]was the first European explorer
[00:58.55] to realize cocoa's commercial possibilities.
[01:01.56]When he arrived in the New World in 1519,
[01:05.54]he soon established his own cocoa plantation.
[01:08.60]In 1529, Cortez returned to Spain and introduced chocolate—
[01:14.22]as a drink mixed with sugar, vanilla,
[01:16.73] and cinnamon-to European society.
[01:19.80]It caught on especially with the nobility,
[01:22.28]who fancied hot chocolate as an aphrodisiac.
[01:25.49]As its popularity spread,
[01:27.21]people found new ways to make and use chocolate.
[01:30.98]These days,
[01:32.74]chocolate is enjoyed as both a tasty treat
[01:35.13]and a romantic indulgence.
[01:37.53]Whether it is in delectable desserts or crunchy candy,
[01:41.77]people the world over are still in love with chocolate.