Two people have died in Japan and several are in a critical condition after choking on traditional rice cakes as part of the new year celebrations.
日本有两人在新年庆祝活动中因食用传统年糕被噎住而死亡，另有几人情况危急。

They may seem harmless, but each year the hard-to-eat snack claims several lives, prompting annual warnings from officials.
这些小吃可能看起来对人体没有害处，但是每年都有人因为这一难以吞咽的小吃丧命，这也引发了官方的年度警告。

The cakes, known as mochi, are cute round buns made of soft and chewy rice.
这种叫做“mochi”的年糕是一种很可爱的圆形糕点，是用软软的糯米制作而成的。

The rice is first steamed and then pounded and mashed. The resulting sticky rice mass is then formed into the final mochi shape and baked or boiled.
首先要将大米蒸熟，然后把大米捣碎。将敲打后形成的糯米团做成最终的年糕形状，再进行烘焙或水煮。

The buns are chewy and sticky. Given they are far bigger than bite-sized, they need to be laboriously chewed before swallowing.
年糕粘性大，非常有嚼劲。年糕比一口就能吞下去的大小要大很多，吞咽之前就需要费劲地咀嚼。

Anyone who can't chew properly - like children, or the elderly - will be likely to find them hard to eat.
不能很好地咀嚼食物的人，如儿童或老人，都可能难以食用。

If not chewed but simply swallowed, the sticky mochi gets stuck in the throat - and can lead to suffocation.
如果不嚼就下咽，年糕就会卡在喉咙里，而且会导致窒息。

According to Japanese media, 90% of those rushed to hospital from choking on their new year's dish are people aged 65 or older.
根据日本媒体报道，每年新年被食物噎住而紧急送往医院的人中，90%的人年龄为65岁或以上。