英國人越來越喜歡在家中款待客人

Britons are increasingly entertaining guests at home with dinner, film and karaoke nights, inspired by television shows on cookery and home entertainment, according to a survey.

More than half (53 percent) of the respondents to a poll of 1,000 Britons across the country said they now prefer to spend quality time with family and friends by inviting them over to their homes rather than meeting in bars and restaurants, the survey by mobile phone operator T-Mobile showed.

Popular television shows such as "Come Dine With Me," where amateur chefs attempt to wow each other with their culinary skills, "Master Chef" where ordinary people compete to cook to Michelin standards and a number of celebrity cookery shows have inspired Britons to entertain at home.

The poll showed that nearly a third of respondents had splashed out cash for home entertainment improvements such as sofas, dining tables, games consoles and bigger televisions to impress the guests.

"Over the last couple of years, my clients have increasingly asked for home parties rather than ones at independent venues," party planning expert Liz Brewer said in a statement accompanying the poll's results.

"This is not only due to the recession but because many have become increasingly house-proud and keen to show off their cooking skills, in addition to their latest home entertainment purchases."

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was the top choice for dream host of respondents, while Prime Minister Gordon Brown was one of the least favored, alongside his rival Conservative leader David Cameron.

一項調查顯示，受電視烹飪節目和家庭娛樂節目的影響，如今英國人越來越喜歡請客人來家裏吃飯、看電影、唱卡拉OK。

這項由手機運營商T-Mobile開展的調查顯示，在來自全國各地的1000名受訪者中，一半以上（53%）的人說他們現在更喜歡請親朋好友來家裏來玩，而不是去酒吧或餐館。

英國人在家款待客人主要是受到一些人氣電視節目的激發，比如《和我一起來吃飯》，業餘廚師們在該節目中一展廚藝，贏得彼此的稱讚，還有依據米其林餐廳評分標準的廚師選拔節目《大廚》及其他很多名人烹飪節目。

調查顯示，近三分之一的受訪者不惜重金改善家庭娛樂條件，以給客人留下好印象，比如更換或添置沙發、餐桌、遊戲機和大屏幕電視機等。

派對策劃專家裏茲•布魯爾在隨調查結果一同發表的一份聲明中說：“在過去幾年中，越來越多的客戶要求在家中辦派對而不是在其它場所。

“這不僅僅是因爲經濟衰退，如今越來越多的人熱衷於佈置家庭，除展示新添置的家庭娛樂設施外，還希望展示自己的廚藝。”

此外，受訪者最希望去名廚傑米•奧利弗家裏做客，最不希望做首相戈登•布朗的客人，他的競爭對手保守黨領袖大衛•卡梅倫同樣不受歡迎。

Vocabulary:

wow: to impress somebody very much, especially with a performance （尤指以表演）博得……的稱讚，使喝彩，使叫絕

Michelin standards: 米其林餐廳評分標準，包括餐廳的食物（佔60分），用餐環境（佔20分），服務（佔10分），酒的搭配（佔10分）。這一標準源於歐洲的美食聖經《米其林指南》。《米其林指南》每年會派出多名監察員，這些人都是美食行家，他們對餐館進行星級評定。

splash out: 揮霍

games console: 遊戲機

house-proud: spending a lot of time making your house look clean and attractive, and thinking that this is important 熱衷於收拾家的