People become quite illogical when they try to decide what can be eaten and what cannot be eaten. If you lived in the Mediterranean, for instance, you would consider octopus a great delicacy (=sth good to eat that is expensive or rare ). You would not be able to understand why some people find it repulsive (=extremely unpleasant, in a way that almost makes you feel sick, disgusting, revolting ). On the other hand, your stomach would turn at the idea of frying potatoes in animal fat-- the normally accepted practice in many northern countries. The sad truth is that most of us have been brought up to eat certain foods and we stick to them all our lives.

No creature has received more praise and abuse than the common garden snail. Cooked in wine, snails are a great luxury in various parts of the world. There are countless people who, ever since their early years, have learned to associate snails with food.

More information about the important words and phrases：

1. delicacy: 珍馐

例：

Snails are considered a delicacy in France.

2. practice: sth that people do often

例：

It took me a while to adjust to the practice of eating with my bare hands. 我花了很长时间才适应用手吃东西（可能在印度）。

Lowering prices after the holidays is common practice in the U.S. 在美国，节日后商家一般都降价。

The normal practice in this company is to send the bill as soon as the job is done. 这个公司正常情况下，完工立马付钱。

3. No creature has received more praise and abuse than the common garden snail. 没有一种生物像蜗牛这样，那么多人爱，也那么多人恨。

“No ... has received more praise and abuse than ...”这可以当成句型记住！

如：

No one has received more praise and abuse than Michael Jackson. 没人像迈克尔杰克逊这样，那么多人爱，也那么多人恨。

    分析一下题目，“One man’s meat is another man’s poison”，这是一句英国谚语，意思是“对一方有利的未必对另一方也有利”。有时可译作“各有所爱”，同时也有汉语“青菜萝卜，各有所爱”的意思。那么，这个意思还能怎么表达呢？

1. 英语谚语“Tastes differ”（众口难调）

Taste：the type of thing that you tend to like or like to do

例：

The resort caters to people with expensive tastes. 这个度假区满足了人们一掷千金的愿望。

A rafting trip through the Grand Canyon will satisfy your taste for adventure. 从大峡谷乘坐木筏顺流而下，将满足你的冒险心理。

She had the whole house redecorated to her taste. 她把房子按她的喜好重新装修过。

2. Everyone has his own taste.

3. No dish suits all tastes.

4. It’s hard to suit all tastes.

5. There’s no disputing about tastes.

dispute: v. to say that sth such as an idea or fact is not true or correct

例：

The main facts of the book have never been disputed. 没人质疑这本书的主要内容。

Few would dispute that travel broadens the mind. 旅行能开拓眼界，很少人质疑这一点。

6. It’s difficult to cater for /to all tastes.

cater for/to：to provide a particular group of people with sth they need or want

例：

Big software stores cater mostly to the business market. 软件市场几乎被几个大商家完全占据。

We need to focus on programs that cater to the needs of children. 我们要着重开发儿童适用的程序。

上面几种说法或多或少都跟“taste”有关，下面讲一个跟“taste”无关的！

to each his own: used to mean that we all have different ideas about how to do things, what we like etc.

例：

I don’t like dating old man, but like you said, to each his own. 我不喜欢跟老男人约会，但正如你所说的，青菜萝卜各有所爱！