新概念雙語：生活小能手：不得不知的冰塊八妙用

1. Reheat rice 熱米飯

Microwaving old rice used to mean hard and dried out starch. Change that by placing an ice cube in the center of the rice and then wrapping the top with plastic wrap, with a few punctures of course, before reheating it. 微波爐熱的剩飯總是又硬又干一坨淀粉。改變一下吧，在米飯中間放一塊冰塊，然后蓋上保鮮膜，當(dāng)然，加熱之前還要在保鮮膜上戳幾個(gè)孔。

2. Steam out wrinkles 蒸汽除皺

You're dreading doinglaundry because it's so hot out. Grab just a few ice cubes and throw them into the dryer to steam out wrinkles on dry shirts and pants but not jeans or heavy clothes. 你害怕洗衣服，因?yàn)樘鞖馓珶崃?。只需要抓幾塊小冰塊，然后丟進(jìn)烘干機(jī)里，燙平干襯衫跟褲子的褶皺，牛仔褲和厚實(shí)的衣物除外。

3. Skim the fat from soup 除去湯里的脂肪

Defat your soups and stews by dropping a few ice cubes in warm — not hot — soup. Ladle them out after a few seconds and you'll find excess fat clinging to them. 熬湯煮羹時(shí)想去除油脂，丟幾塊冰塊在溫?zé)岬粻C的湯里就可以。幾秒之后把冰塊盛出來，你就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)冰塊上附著多余油脂。

4. Remove chewing gum 擦掉口香糖

Gum on your table or carpet? Get it ready for removal by hardening it with an ice cube and scraping that sucker off. 你桌上、地毯上黏到口香糖了?準(zhǔn)備好用冰塊把口香糖硬化然后擦掉它。

5. Thicken salad dressings instantly 讓沙拉醬變濃

Upgrade your oil-based salad dressing by placing an ice cube in the container before shaking it up. The ice will harden the oil, making the consistency of the dressing thicker. 提升色拉醬品質(zhì)，只要搖之前在碗里面放一小塊小冰塊就行了。冰塊會(huì)使油凝固，讓沙拉醬更濃稠。

6. Brush out carpet dents 除掉地毯上的壓痕

Upon moving furniture, you may discover really hard dents in your carpet. Letting an ice cube melt in the dent and then brushing it out when it's wet and soft will solve that unsightly problem. 每次搬家具，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)你的地毯上會(huì)留有難以恢復(fù)的凹痕。放一小塊冰塊在有壓痕的地方融化，趁地毯濕軟刷一下凹陷的地方，老大難問題變迎刃而解。

7. Water plants 給植物澆水

Water plants in a pinch by dropping a few ice cubes in its pot, making sure that the ice doesn't touch the roots but thoroughly moistens the soil. 必要的時(shí)候，在花盆里放入幾顆小冰塊澆花，確保冰不會(huì)碰到植物的根，但是又能濕潤泥土。

8. Mask the taste of medicine 蓋住藥味

This isn't only reserved for kids. Give anyone who doesn't like the taste of medicine an ice cube to numb their tongue beforehand. 這不唯獨(dú)是小孩子的權(quán)益，凡有人不喜歡藥的味道，就給塊冰，吃藥前讓舌頭先麻木了。