今天你叫外賣了嗎？ 

　　下面一起來看看外賣的由來以及"take out"(“外賣食品”)和"Take home"(“帶回家的食品”)的區別。

       The evolution of modern American take-out is a fascinating convergence of social history and packaging technology. A survey of articles in the New York Times confirms the 1950s as the "start date" for modern take-out meals in the United States. This also coincides with the explosion of family restaurants and backyard barbeques.

　　美國現代外賣食品的發展是社會歷史和包裝技術的一種奇妙結合。通過調查《紐約時報》上刊登的多篇文章可以證實：20世紀50年代是美國現代外賣食品的“誕生時期”。這段時期又碰巧是家庭式餐館和后院燒烤急劇發展的時期。

　　The term "take-out" describes both a style of eating and a growing list of prepared foods that consumers purchase from a restaurant or food stand and eat in another location. Delivery format, packaging, and types of food vary greatly, ranging from hamburgers to expensive gourmet fare, but all may be categorized as takeout because of this off-premise consumption. In the United States, take-out food is often viewed as synonymous with fast food.

　　“外賣”這個詞描述的即是一種飲食方式，又指品種日益增多的現成食品，即消費者可從餐館或小吃攤購買、在其他地方食用的食品。遞送形式、包裝和食物的品種都花樣繁多：有漢堡，也有價格昂貴的美食大餐。不過這些都可以被歸類為“外賣”，因為它們都不是堂食的。在美國，外賣食物常被視同為快餐。
 The concept of take-out food and the practice of buying prepared foods for consumption elsewhere date to early civilization. Roadside stands and food stalls in busy urban markets were commonplace in ancient Greece and Rome. Almost every culture in every era has had its version of take-out foods. Urban industrial workers in nineteenth-century America further popularized take-out foods. Food vendors sold various sausages and stews from carts outside factory gates, catering to workers with little time or money.

　　外賣食品的概念和購買現成食品并在別處食用的習俗可以追溯到早期文明社會。在古希臘和古羅馬，路邊攤和大排檔在繁忙的城市市集上就已經很常見了。不同時期的不同文化幾乎都有其特有的外賣食品類型。到了19世紀的美國，城市中的產業工人進一步推動了外賣食品的普及。賣食物的小販推著手推車在工廠大門外出售各種香腸和燉菜，這迎合了那些時間和經濟都很窘迫的工人們的需求。

　　In many urban areas, Italian and Chinese restaurants competed with early hamburger outlets for take-out customers. Small storefront pizzerias sold inexpensive pizzas and Americanized Chinese foods on a primarily take-out basis. Using broad, flat white cardboard boxes for pizzas and small waxy paper cartons for chow mein and chop suey, these ethnic restaurants standardized distinctive take-out packaging. Although popular in city neighborhoods, ethnic restaurants long composed only a small share of the take-out industry. Automobiles revolutionized the take-out food industy, requiring larger-volume production and specialized delivery systems.

　　在很多市區內，意大利餐館和中國餐館與早期的漢堡店爭奪購買外賣食品的顧客。臨街的比薩小店也主要以外賣的形式出售便宜的比薩和美國化的中餐。這些外國餐館都使用標準化的特殊外賣包裝：又寬又平的白紙板盒子用來裝比薩，涂蠟的小硬紙盒用來裝炒面和炒雜燴菜。盡管這些外國餐館在市區很受歡迎，但長期以來它們只在外賣產業中占很小的份額。汽車的普及使得更大批量生產及專門運送系統成為可能，外賣行業從而取得了突破性進展。

Take home meals 帶回家的食品

　　"Take home"differs from "take out" in that it is marketed as a home meal replacement rather than fast food. It is not necessarily cheaper nor is it always quickly prepared. What sells take home? Convenience and taste. Like take out, this dining option was introduced after World War II.

　　“帶回家的食品”和“外賣食品”是有區別的，前者是買來代替家庭用餐的，而非快餐。這種食品未必便宜，也并不一定總是很快就會做好。“帶回家的食品”的賣點何在呢？就在于它的便利性和味道。和外賣一樣，這種用餐選擇也是在二戰后興起的。

　　Restaurant chains throughout the U.S. are building up new departments which sell meals for home consumption. Restaurant sales of food for the home are definitely a new industry trend. It won't be long before the average housewife will be buying take-home foods like groceries.

　　美國全國各地的餐館連鎖店都在增建新的部門來銷售可帶回家享用的食品。餐館針對家庭銷售食品無疑是一種新的產業趨勢。不久，普通的家庭主婦們就會像購買日用品一樣購買“帶回家的食品”。

　　The take-home sales should be sold at lower prices than regular restaurant meals because they eliminate waiters, dish washers, table linen, plate breakage and loss of utensils. One of the reasons given for increased demand for prepared meals was television in the home. Some restaurants in New York have regular television menus made up for take-home orders.

　　“帶回家的食品”應該比在一般餐館吃飯更便宜，這是因為它們免去了服務員、洗碗工、餐桌布、盤子破損和餐具損耗等費用。對現成食品需求上升的一個原因是受家里電視的影響。紐約的一些餐館有固定的“電視菜單”供(人們)訂購“帶回家的食品”。