"Dinner's ready!" Do you recognise that familiar call for everyone to gather round the table and tuck in? Whether it's a takeaway with friends or a family get-together during holiday seasons, humans have been eating together for thousands of years. But why? 

“晚饭准备好了！” 您是否记得那个熟悉的号召大家围坐在桌子旁吃饭？无论是与朋友的外卖还是节日期间的家庭聚会，人类一起吃饭的历史已有数千年之久。但为什么？ 

The discovery of fire may have kickstarted communal eating for our hunter-gatherer ancestors, according to primatologist Richard Wrangham. Cooking a meal all those years ago required a social group – you needed someone to hunt the food, someone to protect the food from thieves or predators, and of course, someone to cook. And once enjoying the feast, evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar speculates that the fire's bright light may have given the humans longer nights and provided great opportunities for bonding over food. 

灵长类动物学家理查德·兰厄姆表示，火的发现可能开启了我们以狩猎采集为生的祖先的集体饮食。多年前，做饭需要一个社会团体——你需要有人来寻找食物，有人来保护食物免遭小偷或掠夺者的侵害，当然，还需要有人来做饭。进化心理学家罗宾·邓巴（Robin Dunbar）在享用完这场盛宴后推测，火的明亮光芒可能让人类拥有了更长的夜晚，并为通过食物建立联系提供了绝佳的机会。 

But modern humans don't face the same threats as we used to – we can cook and eat a meal by ourselves. So why should we still make group meals a ritual? In Dunbar's 2017 study 'Breaking Bread: the Functions of Social Eating', they found communal eating increased feelings of wellbeing and connectedness with the community. Despite this, the study found a third of weekday evening meals in the UK are eaten in isolation – the main cause being busy work schedules. 

但现代人类不再像以前那样面临同样的威胁——我们可以自己做饭、吃饭。那么为什么我们还要把集体聚餐变成一种仪式呢？在 Dunbar 2017 年的研究“Breaking Bread：社交饮食的功能”中，他们发现集体饮食可以增加幸福感以及与社区的联系。尽管如此，研究发现英国工作日晚餐的三分之一是单独吃的——主要原因是繁忙的工作日程。 

Today's reality is that having meals together can be difficult. Time management, fussy eaters, and family tensions are all things that can get in the way. But, in an article about overthinking family meals, Susannah Ayre and colleagues write 'Five tips to ease the pressure', including dropping the need for perfection. "There is no shame in reheating a frozen meal" or "eating on a picnic rug in the living room". 

今天的现实是一起吃饭可能很困难。时间管理、挑食和家庭关系紧张等因素都可能成为阻碍。但是，在一篇关于过度考虑家庭膳食的文章中，苏珊娜·艾尔和同事写了“缓解压力的五个技巧”，其中包括放弃对完美的需求。“重新加热冷冻食品”或“在客厅的野餐地毯上吃东西”并不丢脸。 

Sharing meals may look different today than it did for our ancestors, but the essence stays the same: food is more than just fuel. It can be a way to connect, share stories and strengthen bonds. 

今天的分享膳食可能看起来与我们祖先的情况有所不同，但本质是一样的：食物不仅仅是燃料。它可以成为联系、分享故事和加强联系的一种方式。 

词汇表

gather round 聚到一起
tuck in 痛快地吃
takeaway 外卖
get-together 团聚，聚会
communal 群体的，集体的
hunter-gatherer 狩猎采集者
feast 盛宴
bond 建立纽带
ritual 仪式
wellbeing 身心健康
connectedness 连结性，联系感
isolation 独立，孤立
fussy 挑剔的，难以取悦的
tension 矛盾，紧张的关系
reheat 再次加热
picnic 野餐