今年過節(jié)不送卡，送土豆！

Why send a greeting card when you can send a potato?
送土豆多有趣呀，誰還要送賀卡？

That's the reasoning behind one e-commerce site, which mails actual potatoes which feature personalized messages from their customers for $8 to $10.
一家電子商務(wù)網(wǎng)站便以此為靈感，以8到10美元的價(jià)格出售印有定制信息土豆。該網(wǎng)站會(huì)把用戶的留言寫在土豆上，并郵寄出去。

PotatoParcel.com offers customers the chance to make a friend laugh, lighten the mood, or get revenge with their statement-making spuds.
PotatoParcel.com網(wǎng)站通過這種方式讓你有機(jī)會(huì)逗朋友開心，調(diào)節(jié)一下氣氛，或是期待朋友的“反擊”。

The company offers their product in two sizes. A 'medium' potato, which can fit 100 characters, is $7.99, and a 'large' potato, which can fit a Tweet-long message of 140 characters, is $8.99.
這家公司提供兩種規(guī)格的土豆?？梢詫懴?00個(gè)字的“中號(hào)”土豆，售價(jià)7.99美元（約人民幣50元）；還有可以寫下140個(gè)字的“大號(hào)”土豆，售價(jià)8.99美元（約人民幣56元）。

Senders pick their size and then add their note, which the company writes directly on the potato skin with black marker.
買家先挑選土豆尺寸，然后把留言備注給賣家。該公司會(huì)用黑色馬克筆直接把留言寫在土豆上。

The potato is then mailed to the recipient in a 'tiny envelope' from the company's location inTexas.
隨后該公司會(huì)從所在地德克薩斯州把土豆裝進(jìn)“小信封”中郵寄給收件人。

There's no catch, and nothing hidden inside - it really is just an actual potato with black marker writing.
土豆上沒有任何玄機(jī)，里面也沒有藏東西——就是一個(gè)帶字的普通土豆。

Past potato recipients have shared pictures of their own experiences with the starch-based communication on social media, pointing out the comical absurdity of the service.
曾經(jīng)收到過這種土豆的顧客在社交網(wǎng)站上分享了用土豆交流的奇妙經(jīng)歷。他們認(rèn)為這項(xiàng)服務(wù)有著一種違和的搞笑效果。

'The absolute craziest thing I've received in the mail!' wrote one young woman, who got a potato from her boyfriend.
“這絕對(duì)是我收到最瘋狂的包裹！”收到男友送的土豆后，一位年輕女網(wǎng)友吐槽說。

Another young man, who received a potato that said 'Help stuck in potato factory' wrote that it was the 'best gift in the mail ever'.
另一位網(wǎng)友收到的土豆上寫著“救命！我被困在土豆工廠里了！”，他認(rèn)為這是他收到最有趣的包裹。

A third person, who was sent one anonymously, added to his picture: 'I just got this in the mail. I'm not sure who sent it. I am delighted and confused.'
另一名網(wǎng)友收到了一顆匿名贈(zèng)送的土豆，他說：“我剛收到這份禮物，不知是誰送的，我覺得很好玩但又有些莫名其秒。”

The potatoes also come with an invitation to 'potato it forward' by sending a spud to someone else.
收到土豆的人還可以“把土豆接著送下去”，即給別人也送上一份土豆禮物。

Vocabulary

spud: 土豆，馬鈴薯
recipient: 收件人
starch: 含淀粉的食物

（英文來源：每日郵報(bào) 譯者：FNU張逸洋 編輯：齊磊 馬文英）