If you're hoping to impress a date with a romantic home-cooked meal this Valentine's Day, don't forget the tablecloth.
今年情人节，如果你想用一顿浪漫的家宴给约会对象留下深刻印象，那就别忘了铺上桌布。
Diners eat more and for longer, and rate the food as tasting better when seated with tablecloth, according to a study published in the journal "Food Quality and Preference."
根据发表在《食物质量与偏好》杂志上的一项研究，当餐桌上有桌布时，用餐者食量更大，用餐时间更久，而且会觉得食物更美味。
Participants in the experiment by the University of Hohenheim in Germany were divided into four groups, eating tomato soup with or without a tablecloth, in high or low lighting. The tablecloth was found to have the biggest impact on how the quality of the food was perceived, the amount eaten and how long participants ate for.
在德国霍恩海姆大学开展的一项实验中，参与者被分成四组，在或明或暗的灯光下喝番茄汤，有的参与者餐桌上铺了桌布，有的则没有。研究发现，桌布对食物的品质、参与者的食量和用餐时间的影响最大。
Professor Nanette Ströbele-Benschop, the lead researcher in the study, told CNN the results were "fascinating."
该研究的首席研究员纳内特·斯特比-本肖普教授告诉美国有线新闻网，研究结果“非常吸引人”。
In an initial study, diners were placed in different lighting conditions, but there was no effect on how much they ate, how long the meal lasted or how the soup was perceived to taste, except that it was reported as less salty in dim lighting. The researchers speculated that this could be because our sense of taste is heightened when our ability to see is reduced.
在研究初期，用餐者被置于不同的灯光条件下，但除了在昏暗的灯光下参与者认为食物不太咸之外，灯光条件对食量、用餐时间或人们认为汤的味道如何没有影响。研究人员推测，这可能是因为视觉条件降低时，人们的味觉会增强。
A second study was conducted involving 159 participants, adding table linen as an additional variable and eating in a group, rather than alone.
另一项研究涉及159名参与者，增加了桌布作为一个额外变量。参与者共同用餐而不是独自用餐。
In the group that ate with dim lighting and a tablecloth, people consumed a mean 51% more soup than those who ate in dim light without a tablecloth. The neutral, gray-and-white checked tablecloth had a far stronger overall effect on the length of meal, amount consumed and enjoyment than lighting level.
在灯光昏暗、铺了桌布的一组中，人们喝汤的量比灯光昏暗且没有桌布的一组平均多出51%。中性的灰白色格子桌布对用餐时间、食量和享受程度的整体影响要强于灯光变量。
Ströbele-Benschop said the findings could be useful in encouraging people in retirement homes, hospitals or schools to eat. While it could be difficult to improve the ambience in such settings, staff could do something as simple as choosing colorful plates, she suggested.
斯特比-本肖普说，这些发现可能有助于养老院、医院或学校等地出台激励用餐措施。她建议，虽然在这些地方很难改善气氛，但员工可以做一些简单的事情，比如选择彩色的盘子。
"It's the combination of decorative aspects," she said. "Any ambient factors could promote more enjoyment."
“这是装饰方面的结合，”她说。“任何环境因素都能让人们在用餐时更享受。”
While eating more is not always desirable, she said improving the atmosphere could help encourage diners to choose healthy food by making it seem to taste better.
她说，虽然人们并不总是想多吃，但改善就餐环境可以让食物看起来更美味，有助于让食客选择更健康的食物。
The researchers wrote that the human body has a "sophisticated appetite control system which includes a variety of internal signals."
研究人员写道，人体有一个“复杂的食欲控制系统，包括各种体内信号”。
There is an "abundance of physiological, environmental and psychological influences on our daily food intake," including "eating with others, odor, color, physical surroundings," they said.
他们说：“我们每天的食物摄入量会受到生理、环境和心理方面的大量影响，”包括“与他人一起用餐、气味、颜色和物理环境”。
An Oxford University study from 2015 found that heavy cutlery "enhances the enjoyment of food," while 2008 research from Stanford University found that participants rated wines they were told were more expensive as tasting better.
牛津大学2015年的一项研究发现，有质感的餐具“增强了食物的口感”，而斯坦福大学2008年的一项研究发现，参与者得知葡萄酒价格更高后觉得其口感更好。
Ströbele-Benschop said the most important factor on Valentine's Day was to be "with the person you love" and create something you will both enjoy.
斯特比-本肖普说，情人节最重要的是“和你爱的人在一起”，创造出两人都喜欢的一些东西。
But a tablecloth can't hurt. "Valentine's is a day when it's all about ambience."
但是桌布不会有坏处。“情人节是靠氛围烘托的日子。”
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