If you're hoping to impress a date with a romantic home-cooked meal this Valentine's Day, don't forget the tablecloth.
今年情人節，如果你想用一頓浪漫的家宴給約會對象留下深刻印象，那就別忘了鋪上桌布。
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."
根據發表在《食物質量與偏好》雜誌上的一項研究，當餐桌上有桌布時，用餐者食量更大，用餐時間更久，而且會覺得食物更美味。
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.
在德國霍恩海姆大學開展的一項實驗中，參與者被分成四組，在或明或暗的燈光下喝番茄湯，有的參與者餐桌上鋪了桌布，有的則沒有。研究發現，桌布對食物的品質、參與者的食量和用餐時間的影響最大。
Professor Nanette Ströbele-Benschop, the lead researcher in the study, told CNN the results were "fascinating."
該研究的首席研究員納內特·斯特比-本肖普教授告訴美國有線新聞網，研究結果「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，用餐者被置於不同的燈光條件下，但除了在昏暗的燈光下參與者認為食物不太鹹之外，燈光條件對食量、用餐時間或人們認為湯的味道如何沒有影響。研究人員推測，這可能是因為視覺條件降低時，人們的味覺會增強。
A second study was conducted involving 159 participants, adding table linen as an additional variable and eating in a group, rather than alone.
另一項研究涉及159名參與者，增加了桌布作為一個額外變量。參與者共同用餐而不是獨自用餐。
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.
在燈光昏暗、鋪了桌布的一組中，人們喝湯的量比燈光昏暗且沒有桌布的一組平均多出51%。中性的灰白色格子桌布對用餐時間、食量和享受程度的整體影響要強於燈光變量。
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-本肖普說，這些發現可能有助於養老院、醫院或學校等地出臺激勵用餐措施。她建議，雖然在這些地方很難改善氣氛，但員工可以做一些簡單的事情，比如選擇彩色的盤子。
"It's the combination of decorative aspects," she said. "Any ambient factors could promote more enjoyment."
「這是裝飾方面的結合，」她說。「任何環境因素都能讓人們在用餐時更享受。」
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.
她說，雖然人們並不總是想多吃，但改善就餐環境可以讓食物看起來更美味，有助於讓食客選擇更健康的食物。
The researchers wrote that the human body has a "sophisticated appetite control system which includes a variety of internal signals."
研究人員寫道，人體有一個「複雜的食慾控制系統，包括各種體內信號」。
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.
他們說：「我們每天的食物攝入量會受到生理、環境和心理方面的大量影響，」包括「與他人一起用餐、氣味、顏色和物理環境」。
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.
牛津大學2015年的一項研究發現，有質感的餐具「增強了食物的口感」，而史丹福大學2008年的一項研究發現，參與者得知葡萄酒價格更高后覺得其口感更好。
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-本肖普說，情人節最重要的是「和你愛的人在一起」，創造出兩人都喜歡的一些東西。
But a tablecloth can't hurt. "Valentine's is a day when it's all about ambience."
但是桌布不會有壞處。「情人節是靠氛圍烘託的日子。」