We received a list of expressions about food from Elenir Scardueli, a listener from Brazil.
我们收到了一位巴西听众Elenir Scardueli发来的关于食物的短语清单。

Today we will talk about some good things to eat. 
今天我们谈论一些好吃的东西。

If something is new and improved, we say it is the best thing since sliced bread. 
如果某个东西是经过改进的新生事物，我们会说它是有史以来最好的东西。

In the past, bread was only sold in loaves in baked goods stores. 
在过去，烘焙食品店里的面包都是整块出售的。

Today, American supermarkets sell sliced bread in plastic bags. 
而今天，美国超市出售袋装的切片面包。

Many people thought this was easier because you did not have to cut the bread yourself. 
很多人认为切片面包更加方便，因为他们不必自己切面包。

The person who makes the most money in a family is called the breadwinner.
在家里挣钱最多的人被称之为breadwinner（养家糊口的人）。

Bread and butter issues are those that are most important to Americans and affect them directly – like jobs and health care.
民生问题是指那些对美国人至关重要，直接影响他们的问题，比如就业和医保。

Half a loaf is better than none means that getting part of what you want is better than getting nothing at all. 
有总比没有好意思是说，得到你所想要的东西的一部分，总比什么也没捞到好。

If you know which side your bread is buttered on, then you know what your best interests are and will act to protect them.
如果你知道面包哪边涂了黄油，那么你就知道自己最大的利益所在，你将会采取行动捍卫它们。

Many Americans like their bread toasted. 
很多美国人喜欢烘烤面包。

Toast is cooked with dry heat until it starts to turn brown. 
烘烤是指用干热进行烘焙直至面包变成褐色。

But you are in big trouble if someone tells you you're toast.
但如果有人告诉你说you're toast，那就意味着你有大麻烦。

If you say something is a piece of cake, it means something is really easy, like a test you take in school. 
如果你说某件事是a piece of cake（小菜一碟），就意味着这事非常容易，就像你在学校里的一次考试。

Cakes are often covered with a sweet topping, called icing. 
蛋糕常常用一层甜品覆盖，这层甜品叫做糖衣（icing）。

Icing on the cake means something good that happens in addition to another good thing. 
Icing on the cake（锦上添花）意思是指两件好事接连发生。

Another expression says you can't have your cake and eat it, too. 
另一个俗语是你 （鱼和熊掌不可兼得）。

This means you cannot have everything your way, especially if two wishes oppose each other.
这句话的意思是你不能好事占尽，尤其是在两种愿望相矛盾时。

Hotcakes are also called pancakes. 
热饼也叫煎饼。

They contain flour, eggs, milk and baking powder. 
其原料包含面粉、鸡蛋、牛奶和焙粉。

You cook them in a frying pan and eat them with fruit or a sweet topping.  
人们用煎盆烹饪，然后配上水果和糖衣食用。

If a new product is popular and selling well, you might say it is selling like hotcakes.
如果某种新型产品大受欢迎且十分畅销，你就可以说，它就跟热饼一样畅销。

But if a friend of yours did something bad, you might stop being friends with him immediately or drop him like a hotcake.
但如果你有个朋友做了件令人遗憾的事，你可能会立即跟他绝交（drop him like a hotcake）。

Flat as a pancake describes something that is, well, really flat.
平如煎饼形容美好、非常平坦的东西。

A tough cookie is not something you want to eat. 
你不会想吃硬饼干。

It is a person who is difficult to deal with, and would do anything necessary to get what he or she wants. 
这是指那种难以对付，会做任何有必要的事情来达到目的的人。

This person could be a sharp cookie or someone who is not easily fooled. 
这种人还可能是个sharp cookie（机灵饼干，机灵鬼），即不容易被愚弄的人。

Very often things do not go the way we planned. 
事情常常不会如我们所愿，但你也许不会因此恼怒或者悲伤。

Instead of getting angry or sad, you might just accept it and say that's the way the cookie crumbles. 
而是接受事实，并且说一声事情就是这样，就像饼干终会碎。

Many pies are also good to eat. 
很多派也很好吃。

If something is easy to do, you could say it is easy as pie. 
如果事情很容易，你就可以说easy as pie（易如反掌）。

But if you do something wrong or bad, you might have to apologize and show you are sorry. 
但如果你做了件错事或令人遗憾的事，你可能必须得道歉并表示你的歉意。

In other words, you might have to eat humble pie.
换句话说，你可能必须得赔礼道歉。

If you have an idea or plan that is not really possible, someone might say it is pie in the sky. 
如果你有个很不切实际的想法或计划，别人可能会说，这是空中楼阁。

If something is really easy to do, you might say it is like taking candy from a baby.
如果事情非常容易完成，你可能会说，这有如抢走小孩手里的糖（探囊取物）。

But that would not be a very nice thing to do!
不过，抢小孩的糖并不怎么光彩。