A: Hello, everyone! My name is Laurie and I want to welcome you to this course. We will learn all about one of the oldest yet most delicious foods on this planet: cheese! Let's get started! 大家好，我是Laurie！欢迎参加我们的课程。今天我们将要学到一种最古老也是最美味的食物：奶酪！我们开始吧！

A: Cheese is usually categorized into four types: soft, semi-soft semi-hard and hard. The designation refers to the amount of moisture in the cheese, which directly affects its texture.  Making cheese is an ancient practice, dating back thousands of years, and the home cheese maker can usually find recipes for cheese that falls into any of the four categories. 奶酪通常分为四种：软奶酪、偏软奶酪、偏硬奶酪和硬奶酪。这些命名是针对奶酪中所含水分的不同，这一因素直接影响了奶酪的质地。做奶酪是一项非常古老的工艺，可以追溯到数千年前。制作者通常能够轻易地找到制作这四种奶酪中任意一种的诀窍。

A: Soft cheese includes cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta, brie, bleu, roquefort, mozzarella, meunster and similar cheeses.  These cheeses generally pair well with fruit or meats, or can be used as breakfast cheeses in an omelette nor as pasta fillings. They are usually mildly flavored and very high in moisture. 软奶酪包括白干酪、乳脂酪、意大利乡村软酪、布里干酪、法国蓝莓乳酪、意大利白干酪以及相似的奶酪。这些奶酪大都可以很好地与水果或肉类搭配食用，也可当做早餐奶酪，或是加入到意大利面中。这些奶酪通常都味道温和且水分较多。

A: American, Colby, co-jack and similar cheeses are in the semi-soft category. These are slightly stronger in flavor and cover a wide range of uses. Co-jack cheese, a blend of Colby and Monterrey jack is one of the most popular. This allows the sharper flavor of Colby to be combined with the milder jack cheese, and also melts better than plain Colby. Grilled cheese sandwiches often use American cheese, and Mexican cheeses such as Asadero and Queso Fresco are becoming more popular. 偏软奶酪主要有American、Colby、co-jack 等。它们的味道要稍微浓一些，用途也更广。Co-jack 奶酪是其中最受欢迎的一种，它是由Colby和Monterrey jack 两种奶酪混合而成的。这就使前者浓烈的味道被后者的柔和所中和，它也比单纯的Colby更易于融化。锅贴乳酪三明治通常选用American奶酪和Mexican奶酪，例如Asadero 和Queso Fresco，这些都十分受欢迎。

A: Hard cheeses include Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, Swiss,  and others.  Parmesan and Romano are most familiar as the grated powder used to top spaghetti, but they are also used as accopaniments for fruit, wine, nuts and other appetizer items. Swiss is a popular sandwich cheese and melts well, unlike some other hard cheeses. 硬乳酪包括Parmesan、Romano、Asiago、 Swiss、Gruyere等等。其中Parmesan和Romano最常被磨成粉加到意大利面上。不过它也被用于搭配水果、葡萄酒、坚果以及其他开胃菜。Swiss 作为一种三明治用奶酪也十分受欢迎。并且和其他硬奶酪不同的是，这种奶酪易于融化。

词汇注释

categorize vt. 分类，加以分类，使归入……的范畴

designation n. 命名，称号

recipe n. 烹饪法，食谱，制作方法；诀窍

pair v. 搭配，使成对

melt vi. 融化

accompaniment n. 伴随物，附加物

appetizer n. 开胃菜