你吃螃蟹吗？
nǐ | chī | páng xiè | ma
Do you eat crabs?
每到秋天，
měi dào | qiū tiān
Every autumn,
就是吃螃蟹的时节。
jiù shì | chī | páng xiè | de | shí jié
it’s the season for eating crabs.
我们家以前从没吃过螃蟹，
wǒ men | jiā | yǐ qián | cóng méi | chī guo | páng xiè
Our family never ate crabs before—
这也是少有的事情，
zhè | yě shì | shǎo yǒu | de | shì qíng
which is quite rare,
因为很多人都喜欢吃螃蟹。
yīn wèi | hěn duō | rén | dōu | xǐ huān | chī | páng xiè
because many people love eating crabs.
几年前，朋友送给了我们一些螃蟹，
jǐ nián qián | péng you | sòng gěi | le | wǒ men | yī xiē | páng xiè
A few years ago, a friend gave us some crabs,
我们就试着开始吃螃蟹。
wǒ men | jiù | shì zhe | kāi shǐ | chī | páng xiè
so we started trying to eat them.
螃蟹被绳子绑住，
páng xiè | bèi | shéng zi | bǎng zhù
The crabs are tied up with strings,
把它们放进蒸锅里，
bǎ | tā men | fàng jìn | zhēng guō | lǐ
put them into a steamer,
蒸十几分钟就好了。
zhēng | shí jǐ | fēn zhōng | jiù | hǎo | le
and steam them for more than ten minutes—they’re ready.
我觉得好残忍，
wǒ | jué de | hǎo | cán rěn
I think it’s really cruel;
每次我都不敢去弄，
měi cì | wǒ dōu | bù gǎn | qù | nòng
I never dare to handle them myself.
可是他们说，
kě shì | tā men | shuō
But others say,
要吃就不要想这些。
yào | chī | jiù | bù yào | xiǎng | zhè xiē
"If you want to eat them, don’t think about it."
但是我是一个善良的人，
dàn shì | wǒ | shì | yī gè | shàn liáng | de | rén
But I’m a kind person,
或者说是一个软弱的人，
huò zhě | shuō shì | yī gè | ruǎn ruò | de | rén
or perhaps a weak person.
我喜欢吃鱼，
wǒ | xǐ huān | chī | yú
I like eating fish,
但是从来不自己去买鱼，
dàn shì | cóng lái | bù | zì jǐ | qù | mǎi | yú
but I never buy fish myself.
买鱼的时候，你跟老板说“要这一条”，
mǎi yú | de | shí hou | nǐ | gēn | lǎo bǎn | shuō | “yào | zhè | yī tiáo”
When buying fish, you tell the boss "I want this one,"
然后这条鱼就被抓起来、杀掉。
rán hòu | zhè | tiáo | yú | jiù | bèi | zhuā qǐ lái | shā diào
and then this fish is caught and killed.
尽管每天、每分钟，有无数的鱼被杀掉，
jǐn guǎn | měi tiān | měi | fēn zhōng | yǒu | wú shù | de | yú | bèi | shā diào
Even though countless fish are killed every day, every minute,
但这条鱼是因我的指认而死，
dàn | zhè | tiáo | yú | shì | yīn | wǒ | de | zhǐ rèn | ér | sǐ
this particular fish dies because of my choice,
而且我无法去看鱼被杀死的过程。
ér qiě | wǒ | wú fǎ | qù | kàn | yú | bèi | shā sǐ | de | guò chéng
and I can’t bear to watch the process of it being killed.
说回来，
shuō | huí lái
Back to crabs—
螃蟹蒸熟了就变成红色，
páng xiè | zhēng shú | le | jiù | biàn chéng | hóng sè
when they’re steamed, they turn red.
拿出来，剥开吃，
ná chū lái | bō kāi | chī
Take them out, peel them, and eat—
不蘸料就很美味。
bù | zhàn | liào | jiù | hěn | měi wèi
they’re delicious even without dipping sauce.
螃蟹的结构很复杂，
páng xiè | de | jié gòu | hěn | fù zá
Crabs have a very complex structure,
我们会搜一些视频来看怎么“解剖”，
wǒ men | huì | sōu | yī xiē | shì pín | lái | kàn | zěn me | “jiě pōu”
so we search for videos to learn how to "dissect" them.
我老公已经熟练了，
wǒ | lǎo gōng | yǐ jīng | shú liàn | le
My husband is already proficient at it,
我没有学习，所以我只是等着吃。
wǒ | méi yǒu | xué xí | suǒ yǐ | wǒ | zhǐ shì | děng zhe | chī
but I haven’t learned, so I just wait to be served.
螃蟹的肉和蟹黄非常鲜美，
páng xiè | de | ròu | hé | xiè huáng | fēi cháng | xiān měi
The crab meat and roe are extremely fresh and delicious.
这些味觉上的感知，
zhè xiē | wèi jué | shàng | de | gǎn zhī
These taste sensations
只能亲自品尝才能知道，
zhǐ néng | qīn zì | pǐn cháng | cái | néng | zhī dào
can only be known through personal tasting—
靠文字描述是不行的。
kào | wén zì | miáo shù | shì | bù xíng | de
words alone can’t describe them.
