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　　Two people have died in Japan and several are in a critical condition after choking on traditional rice cakes as part of the new year celebrations.

　　日本有两人在迎新年中因食用传统年糕被噎住而死亡，另有几人情况危急。

　　They may seem harmless, but each year the hard-to-eat snack claims several lives, prompting annual warnings from officials.

　　这些小吃可能看起来对人体没有害处，但是每年都有人因为难以食用的小吃而丧命，这也引起官方的年度警告。

　　What is a mochi?

　　年糕是什么？

　　The cakes, known as mochi, are cute round buns made of soft and chewy rice.

　　这种叫做"mochi"的年糕是一种很可爱的圆形糕点，是用软软的糯米制作而成的。

　　The rice is first steamed and then pounded and mashed.

　　首先将大米蒸熟，然后把大米捣碎。

　　The resulting sticky rice mass is then formed into the final mochi shape and baked or boiled.

　　将敲打后形成的糯米团做成最终的年糕形状，再进行烘焙或水煮。

　　Families traditionally celebrate New Year by cooking a vegetable broth in which they heat the mochi.

　　各家各户庆祝新年的传统习俗就是做蔬菜汤，用蔬菜汤加热年糕。

　　How do they kill?

　　年糕是如何致命的？

　　The buns are chewy and sticky. Given they are far bigger than bite-sized, they need to be laboriously chewed before swallowing.

　　年糕粘性大，非常有嚼劲。年糕比一口就能吞下去的大小要大很多，吞咽之前就需要费劲地咀嚼。

　　Anyone who can’t chew properly - like children, or the elderly - will be likely to find them hard to eat.

　　不能很好地咀嚼食物的人，如儿童或老人，都可能难以食用。

　　If not chewed but simply swallowed, the sticky mochi gets stuck in the throat - and can lead to suffocation.

　　如果不嚼就下咽，年糕就会卡在喉咙里，而且会导致窒息。

　　According to Japanese media, 90% of those rushed to hospital from choking on their new year’s dish are people aged 65 or older.

　　根据日本媒体报道，每年新年被食物噎住而紧急送往医院的人中，90%的人年龄为65岁或以上。

　　What’s a safe way to eat them?

　　什么是食用年糕的安全方式？

　　Chew, chew, chew. If that’s not possible, the rice cakes need to be cut into smaller pieces.

　　嚼一嚼，再嚼一嚼。如果嚼不动，就把年糕切成更小的块。



　　Each year, authorities issue public warnings in the run-up to the new year festivities advising that people - especially the very young and elderly - should only eat mochi cut down to smaller little chunks.

　　每年在新年之际，官方就会发布公告，建议人们，尤其是小孩和老人，食用年糕时要切成小块。

　　Yet despite the warnings, each year there continue to be deaths linked to the dish.

　　然而，尽管有这样的警告，每年仍然有人因为年糕窒息而死。

　　At the turn of 2014 to 2015, the number of casualties peaked at nine. In 2016 it was one, while last year two people died.

　　2014年至2015年，死亡人数达到九人。2016年，死亡人数一人。去年，死亡人数两人。

　　Each year, many more end up in critical condition in hospitals across the country.

　　每年，全国各地的医院里，有更多地人因食物而处于危急状态。