Chocolate's history, part I

Chocolate's history - Part I audio

posted originally for http://www.voanews.com and credits for Teacher Fúvio, an English teacher in Soracaba, São Paulo State, for more information, visit http://www.ingelesvip.xpg.com.br

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1. I'm Bob Doughty. And I'm Shirley Griffith with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we travel around the world exploring the history of chocolate. Its story begins with a plant whose scientific name, Theobroma cacao, means "food of the gods." For centuries, people have been enjoying the rich flavor of chocolate, a product made from this plant.

2. Join us as we tell about the history of chocolate and how it is produced. We will also meet Jane Morris, a chocolate maker in Washington, DC.

3. Most people today think of chocolate as something sweet to eat or drink than can be easily found in stores around the world. It might surprise you that chocolate was once highly treasured.

4. Historians believe the Maya people of Central America first learned to farm cacao plants around two thousand years ago. The Maya took the cacao trees from the rainforests and grew them in their gardens. They cooked the cacao seeds, then crushed them into a soft paste. They mixed the paste with water and flavorful spices to make an unsweetened chocolate drink. The Maya poured the chocolate drink back and forth between two containers so that the liquid had a layer of bubbles, or foam.

5. Cacao and chocolate were an important part of Maya culture. There are often images of cacao plants on Maya buildings and art objects. Ruling families drank chocolate at special ceremonies. And, even poorer members of society could enjoy the drink once in a while. Historians believe that cacao seeds were also used in marriage ceremonies as a sign of the union between a husband and wife. 6. The Aztec culture in current day Mexico also prized chocolate. But, the cacao plant could not grow in the area where the Aztecs lived. So, they traded to get cacao. They even used cacao seeds as a form of money to pay taxes or give as holy offerings to the gods.

7. Only the very wealthy people in Aztec societies could afford to drink chocolate because cacao was so valuable. The Aztec ruler Montezuma was believed to drink fifty cups of chocolate every day.

8. Some experts believe the word for chocolate came from the Aztec word "xocolatl" which in the Nahuatl language means "bitter water." Others believe the word "chocolate" was created by combining Mayan and Nahuatl words.

9. The explorer Christopher Columbus brought cacao seeds to Spain after his trip to Central America in fifteen oh two. But it was the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes who understood that chocolate could be a valuable investment. In fifteen nineteen, Cortes arrived in current day Mexico. He believed the chocolate drink would become popular with Spaniards.

10. After the Spanish soldiers defeated the Aztec empire, they were able to seize the supplies of cacao and send them home. Spain later began planting cacao in its colonies in the Americas in order to supply the large demand for chocolate.

11. The wealthy people of Spain first enjoyed a sweetened version of the chocolate drink. Later, the popularity of the drink spread throughout Europe. The English, Dutch and French began to plant cacao trees in their own colonies. Chocolate remained a drink that only wealthy people could afford to drink until the eighteenth century. During the period known as the Industrial Revolution, new technologies helped make chocolate less costly to produce.

12. Farmers grow cacao trees in many countries in Africa, Central and South America. The trees grow in the shady areas of rainforests near the Earth's equator. But these trees can be difficult to grow.

13. They require an exact amount of water, warmth, soil and protection. After about five years, cacao trees start producing large fruits called pods, which grow

near the trunk of the tree. The seeds inside this pod are harvested to make chocolate.

1. also = também

2. amount = quantidade

3. as a sign = como um sinal

4. back and forth = pra frente e pra trás

5. become = tornar-se

6. Begins = começa
7. bitter = amargo(a)
8. brought = trouxe
9. bubbles = bolhas
10. buildings = prédios
11. can be easily found = pode ser facilmente encontrado
12. centuries = séculos
13. cooked = cozinhavam
14. could afford = podiam pagar
15. crushed = esmagavam
16. cups = xícara
17. current = atual
18. defeated = derrotaram
19. drank = bebiam
20. During = durante
21. Dutch = Holandeses
22. empire = império
23. enjoying = desfrutando
24. even = até mesmo
25. farm = cultivar
26. fifteen oh two = 1502
27. flavor = sabor
28. flavorful = saboroso
29. foam = espuma
30. gods = deuses
31. grew = desenvolveram, cultivaram
32. harvested = colhido(a)
33. highly treasured = altamente valorizado
34. Historians = historiadores
35. holy = sagrado(a)
36. husband = esposo
37. in order to = a fim de
38. Join = junte-se
39. large demand = grande demanda
40. layer = camada
41. learned = aprenderam
42. less costly = menos caro

43. maker = fabricante

44. marriage = casamento

45. means = significa

46. might = pode

47. offerings = oferendas

48. often = frequentemente

49. once = uma vez

50. once in a while = de vez em quando

51. paste = pasta

52. pay taxes = pagar impostos

53. pods = vagens

54. poorer = mais pobresa

55. poured = despejavam

56. prized = estimava

57. rainforests = florestas tropicais

58. remained = permaneceu

59. require = requerem

60. ruler = regente, governante

61. Ruling = dirigente, governante

62. seeds = sementes

63. seize = apreender

64. shady = com sombra

65. so that = para que