申論題

第三題：英翻中【25 分】
       It’s impossible to navigate virtually any kind of retail store in February without seeing displays of pink and red chocolate boxes around every corner. Chocolate has become a standard Valentine’s Day gift, right up there with flowers and jewelry, but the treat didn’t develop its romantic reputation overnight. It took centuries of myths, marketing, and traditions to write chocolate into Valentine’s Day history. The first people to connect love and chocolate were the Mayans. They started brewing drinks made from cocoa beans around 500 BC—centuries before the first Feast of St. Valentine. This early hot chocolate was an important part of Mayan wedding rituals. The bride and groom would exchange sips of the beverage during the ceremony, foreshadowing chocolate’s future status as a universal expression of love.