板橋英文 │ 各國販賣機文化 8 vending machines you didn't know you needed－TOEIC,TOEFL,IELTS,全民英檢,SAT,菁英英日語-板橋分校

販賣機文化可不只出現在亞洲

在遠古埃及就已經出現!

Legend has it the first machine dispensed holy water in exchange for a coin in ancient Egypt.

在古埃及有一台專賣聖水的販賣機。

Tobacco vending machines have been around since the 1600s.

菸的販賣機大約在西元1600年就出現。

Then came soft drinks, chocolate bars, bubble gum and condoms.

Now, vending machines can be used for anything small enough to be lifted out of a tray, it seems.Japan has embraced the concept wholeheartedly, selling eggs, bras, live lobsters, salad, cold and hot coffee, ties and, reportedly, even used underwear from machines. Other countries are catching on.

接著就出現賣飲料、巧克力棒、口香糖或是保險套的販賣機。現在，似乎只要是可以放入機器中的東西都可以變成販賣機中的商品。日本是一個有很多不一樣販賣機的國家，有賣蛋、胸罩、活龍蝦、沙拉、冷熱咖啡、領帶、甚至是使用過的內衣褲，但是世界上許多國家也不遑多讓!

還有哪些特別的販賣機呢?

Cupcakes (New York) 杯子蛋糕 (紐約)

For $4.25 you get to choose from cinnamon chocolate, black and white and seasonal specialties such as Irish chocolate and maple bacon.

用4.25美金你可以選擇巧克力肉桂、或是季節性的特色蛋糕，像是愛爾蘭巧克力和培根戚風蛋糕。

Where to find it: 780 Lexington Ave., New York

*cinnamon ( n. ) 肉桂

*specialty ( n. ) 特產 ; 特製品

Gold bars (Dubai, UAE) 金塊 (杜拜，阿拉伯聯合大公國)

At the Gold ATM you can purchase anything from a 2.5-gram, 24-karat gold coin to a rather more substantial 31-gram (one ounce) gold bar. You even have a choice of designs: a locally significant Burj Khalifa design or a kangaroo or Canadian maple leaf.

The price stays up to date via the Internet, it's refreshed every 60 seconds.

在黃金ATM你可以買到2.5克重的黃金或是24K金的硬幣，甚至是更重量級的31克金條。顧客也可以選擇不同設計的黃金，像是像當地哈里發塔的設計、袋鼠或是加拿大楓葉狀的設計，金價透過網路每六十秒更新一次。

Where to find it: Lower Ground Floor, next to entrance to Burj Khalifa Observation Deck At The Top, Dubai Mall, Down Town, Dubai, UAE

*purchase ( v. ) 購買

*substantial ( adj. ) 多的 ; 大的 ; 有價值的

*significant ( adj. ) 有意義的 ; 意味深長的

*refresh ( v. ) 更新

Flip-flops (Sydney) 平底人字拖 (雪梨)

Flip-flops, or thongs as they're locally known, are part of the uniform in this country of sunshine, surfer dudes and an all-embracing relaxed attitude. If you've arrived unprepared, the Havaianas flip-flop vending machine in Sydney's city center could be your sole salvation.

在陽光普照、衝浪天堂的雪梨，人字拖鞋或人字涼鞋是必備!但如果你沒有帶怎麼辦呢?不用擔心!知名拖鞋品牌在雪梨市中心設置一台夾腳拖販賣機!

真的是超級貼心

*flip-flop ( n. ) 平底人字拖鞋

*embrace ( v. ) 擁抱

*salvation ( n. ) 拯救

Umbrellas (Vancouver, British Columbia) 雨傘 (溫哥華)

You know that you've landed somewhere with inclement weather when there's an umbrella vending machine at the airport. One of the wettest cities in Canada with an average of 57 inches of rain per year, Vancouver prides itself in its mild climate, but gives you the option to be prepared. For $5 you get a pocket-sized umbrella and ... well that's it.

看到機場裡有雨傘販賣機你應該就知道這是個陰雨的城市! 加拿大溫哥華以自己溫暖的天氣為傲，但是他們還是為了旅客做了最充足的準備! 花五美元你可以買到一把口袋大小的雨傘，你覺得五塊錢還可以買到什麼嗎?不，就這樣而已。

*inclement ( adj. ) 氣候嚴峻的

*mild ( adj. ) 溫暖的

Where to find it: Level 1, domestic arrivals just before the exit to public transportation, Vancouver Airport, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Bicycle helmets (Melbourne, Australia) 腳踏車安全帽 (墨爾本，澳洲)

If you're alighting at Southern Cross Station in the heart of Melbourne, you can get a helmet out of a machine. Three sizes, one design, $5, and you have a stylish blue helmet that's safe and legal.

如果你在墨爾本中心的南十字車站，你可以從販賣機買到安全帽，總共有三種大小，只有一種樣式，花五澳幣你就可以買到一頂，而且是一頂非常流行的藍色安全帽，同時也是國家認證且安全的!

*alight ( v. ) (從車輛、馬背) 下來

Where to find it: Southern Cross Station, near the rental bike stand on Spencer Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Caviar (Los Angeles) 魚子醬 (洛杉磯)

Called Caviar Automated Boutiques, these upscale vendors offer more than a dozen types of caviar from all over the world, packed in shiny containers offering anything from a tasty morsel at 25 grams (around $25) to party boxes of 400 grams ($999.95).

魚子醬的精品自動販賣機提供了許多種來自世界各地的魚子醬，他們的包裝精美，也有不同大小的包裝，從一口吃的25克包裝到一盒400克的包裝都有。

*morsel ( n. ) 一口

Where to find it: Westfield Topanga, Level 2, 6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park, California

Books (Canada) 書 (加拿大)

It's a universally acknowledged truth that those in possession of too many unread books continue to buy new ones. Green Reads offers a solution: a book vending machine that allows you to get a good secondhand book for $2, as well as giving you the opportunity to donate a book for the next reader.

你是否有許多你沒有讀的書卻不知道該怎麼處理這些書呢? Green Reads想到一個解決辦法，他們設置一台書的販賣機，每個人都可以把想要賣掉的書以二手價2加幣售出。

*universally ( adv. ) 普遍地

Where to find it: The prototype is at Barrie Transit Downtown terminal, 24 Maple Ave., Barrie, Ontario

Burritos (Los Angeles) 墨西哥料理的一種（以肉、乳酪、豆泥做餡的麵餅捲）(洛杉磯)

Students' diets are notoriously bad, so what better place than the University of Southern California campus for the first-ever burrito vending machine? For $3.75 you can get a hot, steaming burrito.

學生餐廳通常都不是很美味，然而在南加州的校園內有第一個墨西哥捲餅的販賣機，用3.75美元你就可以買到一個熱騰騰的捲餅。

*notoriously ( adv. ) 惡名昭彰地 ; 聲名狼藉地

Where to find it? Parkside Apartments, 3730 McClintock Ave., USC, Los Angeles