There can be no doubt whatever that a very large percentage of Americans think, talk, and raise pig throughout the whole of their natural lives. This industry appears to be of such a fascinating character that when once you have got into it you cannot possibly get out of it. Even if you wax unrighteously rich and get elected to Congress and move your family to New York, you still stick to pork and lard as if they were your brother. I understand that many of the ball-rooms in the big brown stone mansions7 in Fifth Avenue are waxed with lard.
I do not know whether there were any pigs in America before the Pilgrim[102] Fathers landed. But it is certain that there are millions of them there now, and that they eat apples and grow wondrous8 frisky9 and have a good time of it—till killing10 day comes around. And it is precisely11 here that the frightful12 Americanism of the hog3 begins. For the wicked pig, like the wicked man, has a knack13 of finding his way to Chicago—which, as all the world now knows, is the most bloodthirsty, sultry, and unregenerate city on the face of the earth. In this place they kill pigs by the thousand daily. Hoggish15 shrieks16 rend17 all the air, the stores and warehouses18 groan19 with the pig’s dismembered parts, and the odour of his frizzling adipose20 tissue is in every nostril21.
It seems to me more than likely that the pig owes the beginnings of his present supremacy22 in the United States to the Irish, who are pretty thick upon the ground there. An Irishman without a pig in one form or another would in all likelihood take cold, or die of heart-ache. In his own distressful23 Island, the Irishman and his pig live on terms of freedom and fraternity that put the American Constitution to the distinct blush. Not only does the pig pay the greater proportion of rent that gets paid in Ireland, but he is the friend and playmate of the family, and is invariably accorded a cosy[103] corner for himself on the domestic hearth24.
It seems only natural, therefore, that in emigrating to the States, the Irishman who could manage it would insist on taking with him one or more pigs, probably as much for company’s sake as for any other reason. And behold25 the result! What was a simple and very human foible on the part of the Irishman, has become, with the American, a raging and soul-consuming obsession26. Pork, pork, pork, pork, pork! That is the cry that rises daily and hourly to heaven from the greater part of the United-States-half of North America. Everybody is concerned in it; everybody has money in it; everybody wants to get more money out of it. The pig is rushed through his feeds, weighed every morning till he has assumed the right specific gravity, hurried off by car to his doom27, killed and slain28 on the no-waiting-here principle, and turned into hams, sides, lard, brawn29, and sausages for the delectation of a hungry world before he has a chance to say George Washington.
America as a country, and the Americans as a people, depend upon hogs for their prosperity to an extent that is appalling30. Upon the dead weight of him in the warehouses, and upon his firmness, or want of it, in the markets, hangs the[104] stability of all sorts of stocks, shares, bonds, debentures31, and general securities. If pig is “up,” America is a land of contented32 households and smiling faces. If pig is “down,” she is plunged33 forthwith into the deepest woe34 and the meanest irritability35.
All of which affords one further striking evidence that the Americans are really a wonderful people, and that they deserve the generous tributes of praise that they so consistently and lavishly36 draw upon themselves.
A nation whose principal diet is pea-nuts, and whose principal profit is derived37 from the sale of pigs, is obviously pretty low down in the scale of civilisation38. A hog tender cannot by any chance be the finest kind of man, neither can a pork butcher or a wholesale39 ham merchant. And every American who is not a member of a trust, or a pastor40 of a church, or a boss billposter, or a missionary41, or a comic singer, is either a hog tender, a pork butcher, or a wholesale ham merchant. At any rate, so one gathers from the authorised reports.
And just as nut-chewing is responsible for certain grave weaknesses in the American character, so is pig-dealing42. The pig and the potato have made the Irishman the idlest man in the world. The pig takes no rearing, and the potato[105] is such a lively and prolific43 tuber that it will grow almost without planting. The Irishman has reaped the full disadvantages incident to these merits in the pig and the potato. And one feels sure that the American is suffering equally from the effects of the pig. I have no wish to reopen the box of horrors which was introduced to our notice some time back by the author of “The Jungle.” That gentleman did his work thoroughly44, and the atmosphere is even yet redolent in consequence. It does not concern me that Chicago meats, tinned or cured, are not always entirely45 fitted for human consumption, or that the Chicago method of treating such meats are uncleanly, or that the Chicago idea of industrial efficiency is a perverted46 one. What does concern me is that Chicago is an American city, built by Americans, run by Americans, and made lurid47 by Americans—on pig.
To suggest to the American reformer that he should take steps for the immediate48 extermination49 of the pigs in America, steps, in fact, such as have been taken with a view to the extinction50 of the rabbit in Australia, would be to fill him with horror and amazement51. He is all for the amelioration and improvement and cleaning up of Chicago; he does not see that it is the pig and the[106] great American people who are the root trouble. Prohibit the breeding and rearing of pigs throughout the United States, and you will have gone much further towards the cleaning up of Chicago, and, for that matter, the cleaning up of America, than you are ever likely to get by dealing simply with Chicago itself. So long as there are pigs, so long will Chicago reek52. Abolish pigs, and you have abolished the worst features of the world’s foulest53 city.
The reformer will find that my suggestion is an impracticable one. He may even go the length of calling it frivolous54 and ridiculous. But we shall see what we shall see. America will one day either have to forsake55 pig or come to very bitter grief. She is already in considerable straits as to the marketing56 of her porcine staples57. She has shoved them down the necks of her own people till they can no more. She is pushing them down English throats with all the force that in her lies, and the limit is within a very little way of being reached. Do as one will, one cannot consume more than a certain amount of American pig in the course of the day’s deglutition. Europe is taking far more than is good for her even now, and yet the American demand is for bigger sales and extended markets, to prevent the stuff from rotting[107] at home. The position is unfortunate in quite a number of senses; but it is precisely what any prescient American ought to have expected. America is overdoing58 it in the matter of pig, just as she is overdoing it in most other matters. When you have got the measure of people’s hunger and purchasing capacity you cannot appreciably59 increase them by any amount of advertising60 or bluff61.
The Americans boast that they can sell everything appertaining to a pig save and except the squeal62. I don’t wish to frighten them, but it would not surprise me in the least if within the space of a few years the large accumulation of squeals63 which they must, by this time, have on hand were to arise up as it were, and din14 their ears in a manner which they will not relish64.
I may remark finally that in spite of everything that Chicago may say and publish in their praise, there can be no question that American pig products are of a most inferior and unappetising quality as compared with the real article. American hog meat exhibits a coarseness of grain and a crudeness of flavour which will incline any person of gustatory discrimination to the abstention of the Hebrew. Eggs and bacon constitute[108] the English national breakfast dish; ham and eggs are the sure rock and support of our country inns and cheap restaurants. Both these dishes have, however, fallen into sad disrepute during late years, and I have no hesitation65 in attributing this grave and heartrending circumstance to the fact that the bacon and ham nowadays served are almost exclusively American.
The gentlemen from the other side must excuse me if I appear as he would phrase it, “to tread somewhat too severely66 on his face”; but I really mean him no evil. Rather do I wish him all manner of good.
Besides which it is one’s duty to be patriotic67; and charity—even in the article of pig—should begin at home.
点击收听单词发音
1 peril | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物 | |
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2 hogs | |
n.(尤指喂肥供食用的)猪( hog的名词复数 );(供食用的)阉公猪;彻底地做某事;自私的或贪婪的人 | |
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3 hog | |
n.猪;馋嘴贪吃的人;vt.把…占为己有,独占 | |
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4 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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5 formulate | |
v.用公式表示;规划;设计;系统地阐述 | |
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6 tickle | |
v.搔痒,胳肢;使高兴;发痒;n.搔痒,发痒 | |
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7 mansions | |
n.宅第,公馆,大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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8 wondrous | |
adj.令人惊奇的,奇妙的;adv.惊人地;异乎寻常地;令人惊叹地 | |
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9 frisky | |
adj.活泼的,欢闹的;n.活泼,闹着玩;adv.活泼地,闹着玩地 | |
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10 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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11 precisely | |
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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12 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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13 knack | |
n.诀窍,做事情的灵巧的,便利的方法 | |
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14 din | |
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声 | |
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15 hoggish | |
adj.贪婪的 | |
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16 shrieks | |
n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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17 rend | |
vt.把…撕开,割裂;把…揪下来,强行夺取 | |
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18 warehouses | |
仓库,货栈( warehouse的名词复数 ) | |
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19 groan | |
vi./n.呻吟,抱怨;(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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20 adipose | |
adj.脂肪质的,脂肪多的;n.(储于脂肪组织中的)动物脂肪;肥胖 | |
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21 nostril | |
n.鼻孔 | |
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22 supremacy | |
n.至上;至高权力 | |
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23 distressful | |
adj.苦难重重的,不幸的,使苦恼的 | |
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24 hearth | |
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面 | |
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25 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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26 obsession | |
n.困扰,无法摆脱的思想(或情感) | |
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27 doom | |
n.厄运,劫数;v.注定,命定 | |
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28 slain | |
杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的过去分词 ); (slay的过去分词) | |
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29 brawn | |
n.体力 | |
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30 appalling | |
adj.骇人听闻的,令人震惊的,可怕的 | |
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31 debentures | |
n.公司债券( debenture的名词复数 ) | |
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32 contented | |
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的 | |
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33 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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34 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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35 irritability | |
n.易怒 | |
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36 lavishly | |
adv.慷慨地,大方地 | |
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37 derived | |
vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取 | |
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38 civilisation | |
n.文明,文化,开化,教化 | |
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39 wholesale | |
n.批发;adv.以批发方式;vt.批发,成批出售 | |
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40 pastor | |
n.牧师,牧人 | |
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41 missionary | |
adj.教会的,传教(士)的;n.传教士 | |
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42 dealing | |
n.经商方法,待人态度 | |
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43 prolific | |
adj.丰富的,大量的;多产的,富有创造力的 | |
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44 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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45 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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46 perverted | |
adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 );腐蚀;败坏;使堕落 | |
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47 lurid | |
adj.可怕的;血红的;苍白的 | |
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48 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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49 extermination | |
n.消灭,根绝 | |
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50 extinction | |
n.熄灭,消亡,消灭,灭绝,绝种 | |
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51 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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52 reek | |
v.发出臭气;n.恶臭 | |
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53 foulest | |
adj.恶劣的( foul的最高级 );邪恶的;难闻的;下流的 | |
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54 frivolous | |
adj.轻薄的;轻率的 | |
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55 forsake | |
vt.遗弃,抛弃;舍弃,放弃 | |
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56 marketing | |
n.行销,在市场的买卖,买东西 | |
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57 staples | |
n.(某国的)主要产品( staple的名词复数 );钉书钉;U 形钉;主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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58 overdoing | |
v.做得过分( overdo的现在分词 );太夸张;把…煮得太久;(工作等)过度 | |
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59 appreciably | |
adv.相当大地 | |
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60 advertising | |
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的 | |
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61 bluff | |
v.虚张声势,用假象骗人;n.虚张声势,欺骗 | |
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62 squeal | |
v.发出长而尖的声音;n.长而尖的声音 | |
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63 squeals | |
n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫,用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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64 relish | |
n.滋味,享受,爱好,调味品;vt.加调味料,享受,品味;vi.有滋味 | |
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65 hesitation | |
n.犹豫,踌躇 | |
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66 severely | |
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地 | |
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67 patriotic | |
adj.爱国的,有爱国心的 | |
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