Listening to pop music such as Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran will enhance your enjoyment of a Chinese takeaway, according to a University of Oxford professor.
一位牛津大學的教授聲稱，伴著泰勒?斯威夫特或者艾德?希蘭等人的流行音樂，中餐外賣吃起來會更香。

Classical music is said to be best paired with Italian food while a blast of rock music from the likes of Bruce Springsteen will ensure your Indian food tastes even spicier.
據說，古典音樂與意大利餐是絕配；享受印度大餐時，來一陣布魯斯?斯普林斯汀之流的搖滾樂，食物嘗起來更辛辣可口。

Charles Spence,a professor of experimental psychology, is convinced that certain musical genres complement different cuisines.
實驗心理學教授查爾斯?斯賓塞確信，某些音樂流派可作為各種美食的補充。

And he is so certain of the links between music and the enjoyment of food that he believes takeaways could soon be delivered along with a CD.
而他非常肯定，音樂和美食之間存在關聯，還認為不久之后，外賣將帶著CD配送。

His latest gastrophysics study involved 700 volunteers who ordered takeaways and listened to songs from six genres.
在他最新的胃理學研究中，有700名志愿者被要求聽著6個流派的音樂吃外賣。

Participants were asked to rate the dishes on a scale of one to ten.
隨后，他要求參與者按1~10分對食物進行評分。

Prof Spence, who runs the University of Oxford's Crossmodal Research Laboratory, found while some foods appeared to have an obvious musical accompaniment, such as Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma with pasta dishes, others proved more of a surprise, such as the connection between chilli and rock'n'roll.
牛津大學跨通道研究實驗室主任——斯賓塞教授發現，有些食物的音樂伴奏似乎非常明顯，比如帕瓦羅蒂的《今夜無人入睡》搭配意大利面；而其他的搭配更多是令人意外，例如辣椒和搖滾樂之間的關聯。

"Nobody has looked at spiciness and music before," he told The Times.
“誰也沒想到辛辣食物和音樂會有關系”，他向《泰晤士報》記者講道。

"We found that if there is music that is more alerting, more arousing, then people appreciate spicier food more."
“我們發現，音樂更提神、更振奮人心時，食客就會更喜歡偏辣的食物?！?/p>

Volunteers reported that food tasted four percent spicier when listening to rock tracks than when listening to the jazz of Nina Simone.
志愿者們報告稱，聽搖滾樂時，食物嘗起來要比聽妮娜?西蒙妮的爵士樂時更辣4%。

The likes of Simone and Frank Sinatra, are, however, said to be good with sushi.
但是，像西蒙妮與弗蘭克?辛納屈之類的音樂還是與壽司搭配比較好。

Hip-hop and RnB were found to have no effect on the enjoyment of different tastes.
嘻哈音樂和節奏布魯斯則對于享受各種美食沒有任何效果。

Prof Spence, who runs the University of Oxford's Crossmodal Research Laboratory, added: "It is an exciting area.
負責牛津大學跨通道研究實驗室的斯賓塞教授補充道：“這太令人興奮了?！?/p>

"How soundscapes and music come together with taste to make the whole experience more stimulating, more enjoyable and possibly even more memorable. It is a kind of digital seasoning."
“背景音樂配上美味，使整個就餐過程更刺激、更享受，甚至更令人難忘。這是一種數碼調味?！?/p>

He said Just Eat, the online takeaway-ordering company that commissioned his research, was "seriously thinking" about providing music with its food.
他還提到，曾委托他進行研究的英國訂餐網站JUST EAT正“認真考慮”在外賣中配帶音樂。

Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal is among restaurateurs who have sought the professor's advice for his award-winning Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire.
許多餐廳老板向教授征求建議，這其中包括著名大廚赫斯頓?布魯門索。他也為自己在伯克郡布雷市備受贊譽的肥鴨餐廳咨詢斯賓塞教授。

The academic's other studies have found that people can experience 15 percent more pleasure if music matches the wine.
學院其他研究發現，如果音樂配上美酒，食客們體驗的快感可以再提高15%。

A Cabernet Sauvignon should be paired with Won’t Get Fooled Again by The Who to bring out its depth while a Chardonnay will slide down more easily accompanied by Atomic by Blondie.
一杯赤霞珠紅葡萄酒應該用“誰人”樂隊的《再也不會被愚弄》來配，這樣才能品出它的深度；而雪當利白葡萄酒配上金發女郎樂隊的《原子能》后，入喉更為順滑。

One major champagne house has already adopted music, from Bryan Ferry to Tchaikovsky, to accompany its luxury products.
一家大型香檳酒坊已經用音樂來為自己奢侈酒品牌伴奏，這些音樂從布萊恩?費瑞到柴可夫斯基都有。

Lighting is also said to play a part in the choices people make in cafes and restaurants, with bright lights meaning they are more likely to choose spicier wings and dim lights leading to more mellow choices such as a cappuccino over an espresso.
而據說燈光也會影響咖啡廳和餐館里客人的選擇。光線明亮意味著，他們更有可能選擇香辣雞翅；而燈光昏暗時，客人會選擇更為香醇柔和的咖啡，例如一杯卡布奇諾，而不會是意大利特濃咖啡。

Colour can also have an effect with recent tests in London showing that ambient light can enhance flavour with red wine drunk in red light tasting fruitier.
色彩也會產生影響。近日在倫敦進行的測試表明，周圍的光線能夠增強風味。紅葡萄酒在紅色光線下品起來口感更圓潤。

Vocabulary

soundscape: 音景
ambient: 周圍的；外界的

英文來源：每日電訊報
譯者：趙德岷
審校&編輯：丹妮