讲解人 · Jamie
原文
The town is known as the land of the Musang King — a buttery, bittersweet variety that the Chinese have dubbed the “Hermès of durians”.
Raub is one of many South East Asian towns that sit at the heart of a global durian rush, pumped by China’s growing demand.
In 2024, China imported a record $7bn worth of durians.
The average price of durian starts at less than $2 in South East Asia, where they are grown in abundance.
But luxe versions like the Musang King could cost anywhere from $14 to $100 a pop.
“Maybe in the beginning we only liked durians that were sweet.
But now we look for things like fragrance, richness and nuanced flavours, “ says Xu Xin, who sells the fruit back home in northeastern China, and is on the hunt for the best durians to import.
However, this clamour to keep up with China’s appetite comes at a cost.
In China’s island province of Hainan, its durian harvest for 2025 was expected to reach 2, 000 tonnes.
Like in so many industries, from renewables to AI, China has long pushed to be self-sufficient in food too.
China is eyeing what state media calls “durian freedom”.
“For one thing, we won’t have to rely on Thai and Vietnamese vendors when buying durians anymore!” proclaimed an article in August.
And yet, as China chases “durian freedom”, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the Musang King sits on an ever shakier throne.
带着问题听讲解
- 文中提到推动全球榴莲热潮的核心因素是什么？
- 如何理解文中用来描述榴莲风味的 nuanced 一词？
- 中国推动“榴莲自由”，对东南亚其他普通榴莲种植户来说，可能带来什么影响？
讲解
重点词汇
cash in on sth.
从……获利，靠……赚钱
- 例句：She cashed in on her real-estate investments.
appetite
/ˈæp.ə.taɪt/
n. 食欲，欲望
- 例句：Consumers have shown a growing appetite for smart devices.
prickly
/ˈprɪk.li/
adj. 多刺的
- 相关词汇：prick（v. 刺，扎；n. 刺痛）
- 例句：I pricked my finger on a rose thorn.
- 搭配短语：to give sth. a prick（扎某物一下）
词根词缀：-ly（形容词/副词词缀，此处表示"具有......性质的"）
buttery
/ˈbʌt̬.ɚ.i/
adj. 味道像黄油的
- 相关词汇：butter（n. 黄油）搭配短语：buttery potatoes（抹了黄油的土豆）
bittersweet
/ˈbɪt.əˌswiːt/
adj. 苦中带甜的；既痛苦又甜蜜的
- 搭配短语：bittersweet memories of childhood（夹杂着欢乐与悲伤的童年回忆）
dub
/dʌb/
v. 称……为
- 例句：They dubbed him "The King of Pop."
rush
/rʌʃ/
n. 繁忙时段，高峰期
- 词性拓展：rush（v. 急速行进，仓促行事）
- 例句：I rushed up the stairs.
搭配短语：the morning rush（早高峰时段）搭配短语：the Christmas rush（圣诞购物热潮）文化补充：历史上著名的‘淘金热’在英语里有个专有名词叫 gold rush，而在文章中，作者运用了隐喻手法，把“金子”换成了“金黄的榴莲”，把“淘金热”变成了“榴莲热”（durian rush），而“淘金者”就是那些砍掉油棕树、争先恐后种植榴莲的当地农民。
pump
/pʌmp/
v. 注入（资金、活力等）；（用泵）注入（液体或气体）
- 词性拓展：pump（n. 水泵）搭配短语：to pump money into sth.（注入资金于某个项目）例句：He pumped all his savings into the business.
in abundance
大量，丰盛，充裕
- 相关词汇：abundance（n. 大量，充足）
- 搭配短语：an abundance of food（丰富的食物）
例句：Fruit and vegetables grew in abundance on the island.
luxe
/lʌks/
adj. 昂贵的，奢侈的
- 词义辨析：luxe, luxury
- luxe 和 luxury 是同源词，它们的核心含义一样，都表示“奢侈的，豪华的”，但是对比之下，luxury 使用范围更广，比如，luxury goods 指的就是“奢侈品”。而 luxe 的使用范围较窄，一般用于品牌宣传或者强调某种风格。
nuanced
/ˈnuː.ɑːnst/
adj. 有细微差別的，细腻的
- 相关词汇：nuance（n.（外表、意义、声音等的）细微差别）
- 英文释义：a very slight difference in appearance, meaning, sound, etc.
- 搭配短语：subtle nuances of emotion（情感上的微妙变化）
搭配短语：nuanced differences（细微的差别）
on the hunt for sth.
正在寻找（某物）
- 例句：Police are on the hunt for the kidnappers.例句：I'm on the hunt for a new job opportunity.
clamour
/ˈklæm.ɚ/
n. 喧闹声
- 搭配短语：the clamour of the market（市场上嘈杂的声音）例句：The questions rose to a clamour.
renewables
/rɪˈnuː.ə.bəlz/
n. 可再生能源
- 相关词汇：renew（v. 更新，恢复）
- 搭配短语：to renew the subscription（续费会员订阅）
- 搭配短语：to renew my energy（恢复精力）
词根词缀：-able（表示“能够......的”）相关词汇：renewable（（能源）可再生的；能够更新的）- 搭配短语：renewable energy such as solar power（太阳能等可再生能源）
self-sufficient
/ˌself.səˈfɪʃ.ənt/
adj.（尤指食物）自给自足的
- 词根词缀：self-（表示“自我，自身”）
- 相关词汇：self-confident（adj. 自信的）
相关词汇：sufficient（adj. 足够的，充足的）搭配短语：to live a self-sufficient life（过上自给自足的生活）
proclaim
/proʊˈkleɪm/
v. 明确表示，声称
- v. 明确表示，声称近义词：say；announce例句：She proclaimed that what I had said was untrue.
throne
/θroʊn/
n. 王座，王位
- 搭配短语：to ascend the throne（登上王座）搭配短语：to lose one's throne（失去统治地位）
拓展阅读
