1 . Chicken soup. An apple. Hot Ica. When you’re sick, everyone from grandma to the next-door neighbor has a helpful suggestion for food that will put you on the road to recovery. What should we make of this wisdom — do some foods really help us feel better, or even actually get better? And if so, why do we hardly feel hungry during illness when we might think nutrition is needed most?
Yale University immunobiologist Ruslan Medzhitov believes our bodies are working not for making us feel better, but for being alive — and they might not always treat an illness as their greatest risk. Before take-away service was an option, getting food while sick meant putting a weakened body at risk. And finding food also meant losing more energy. Though life has changed, scientists assume these evolutionary holdovers (进化遗存) may still play a role.
That’s a challenge, because your body needs a healthy balanced diet when sick. It requires a specific range of nutrition — protein, fat, vitamins, and more — although Medzhitov says those preferences are a moving target. “The way it changes during illness depends on the type of illness, and that’s the part we don’t know well.” he says. Still by adding protein, fat, a fruit or vegetable, you can maintain a good balance of nutrition. That may be where the original idea of chicken soup came.
There’s no one definite answer as to what to eat during illness. Medzhitov believes that just listening to your body and its preferences is likely the best option. What you desire is more often than not what your body wants. When sick, your desire for one type of food and dislike for another don’t come by accident. Millions of years of evolutionary selection have taught your body to recognize them. “If your body needs vitamin C, you will have desire for something that contains it, even though sometimes we don’t know what that desire is for.”
1. What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 2?| A．To give an example. | B．To show a discovery. |
| C．To make a suggestion. | D．To offer an explanation. |
| A．Nutritional needs change with illness. |
| B．People know little about types of illness. |
| C．Maintaining a balanced diet is a challenge. |
| D．Chicken soup offers well-rounded nutrition. |
| A．Taking in vitamin C. | B．Eating what appeals to you. |
| C．Drinking chicken soup. | D．Minding the body’s change. |
| A．Nature. | B．Culture. | C．Education. | D．Science. |
2 . When it comes to cancer, red meat is often thought to be the bad guy. But new research from the University of Chicago has shown that a nutrient found in red meat may support our body’s ability to fight off cancer cells.
The nutrient in question is called TVA, which is a long-chain fatty acid (酸) that our bodies cannot make by themselves. “TVA in humans is mainly from foods, including beef and lamb,” said study author Jing Chen, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. In the new study, Chen’s team collected 255 bioactive substances from nutrients into a database and tested whether any of the substances could affect the immune (免疫的) system’s ability to fight cancer cells. Specifically, the team focused on their ability to activate a class of white blood cells called CD8+ T cells, also known as killer T cells, finding and destroying infected cells and, in this case, cancers.
After evaluating the top six substances in both human and mouse cells, the team found that TVA produced the best results. “TVA strengthens CD8+ T cell function and thus promotes T cell-based immune system response to battle cancerous growth,” Chen said. The team found that mice with a diet enriched with TVA saw significantly reduced cancerous growth. “Focusing on bioactivity of nutrients rather than individual food might be more important, and taking supplements (保健品) with enriched bioactive nutrients is likely more efficient than consuming foods containing these nutrients,” Chen said.
Chen thinks there may be other nutrients that can do the same. “There is early data showing that other fatty acids from plants signal through a similar receptor as TVA, so we believe there is a high possibility that nutrients from plants can do the same thing,” he said.
1. What might be the general opinion about red meat?| A．It helps fight cancer. | B．It brings health risks. |
| C．It is rich in fatty acids. | D．It contains no nutrients. |
| A．By producing nutrients. | B．By killing infected cells. |
| C．By collecting substances. | D．By activating killer T cells. |
| A．Go vegetarian. | B．Eat less red meat. |
| C．Prevent cancer actively. | D．Take a TVA-enriched diet. |
| A．Science. | B．Education. | C．Sports. | D．Entertainment. |
3 . Renewable energy sources can help combat climate change, but dietary choices also play a significant role. Opting for plant-based diets or lab-grown food can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the food system. We highlight the potential of dietary changes and the importance of providing choices instead of mandates （命令）.
Research shows that a global shift towards vegetarian（素食的） diets could cut emissions from food system by over half. Even small changes towards plant-based diets can have a meaningful impact. Substituting conventional food with lab-grown alternatives could prevent 1 degree of future warming. These findings demonstrate the power of dietary changes in addressing climate challenges.
Dietary choices are influenced by factors like culture, religion, and economics. It is unrealistic to expect everyone to become vegetarian immediately. Respecting individual choices is crucial in promoting sustainable diets. By offering information and raising awareness, individuals can make choices according to their needs and values while contributing to collective efforts.
Transforming industrial food production is necessary, but individual choices are still vital. Education and awareness campaigns can inform people about the environmental impact of different dietary choices and empower them to make informed decisions. Combining individual actions with systematic changes can create a powerful force for human health and the planet. Rather than expecting immediate vegetarianism, acknowledging the impact of small changes is important. Gradual shifts towards more sustainable dietary choices, like reducing animal product consumption and increasing vegetable intake, can result in significant environmental benefits when multiplied across populations.
In conclusion, addressing climate change requires multiple approaches, with dietary choices playing a crucial role. Offering choices while recognizing the challenges associated with dietary shifts is essential. By combining personal dietary changes with broader efforts to reshape the food system, we can make substantial progress towards a healthier planet while respecting individual preferences.
1. Which is a dietary choice to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?| A．Choosing plant-based diets. |
| B．Choosing renewable energy sources. |
| C．Giving the command for dietary changes. |
| D．Increasing consumption of processed food. |
| A．By answering questions. | B．By listing a figure. |
| C．By analyzing the reasons. | D．By using a quotation, |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Skeptical. | C．Favorable. | D．Objective. |
| A．Small changes in life choices can make big impacts |
| B．Renewable energy sources can reduce gas emissions |
| C．Lab-grown nutritional food could prevent future warming |
| D．The power of dietary choices in fighting climate change |
4 . Is there any truth behind the saying “You are what you eat”? We put this to the test by asking three people to open their fridge doors and talk about their lifestyles.
Jenny 31 Teacher
My husband and I avoid all products that come from animals. This means we don’t eat meat. We like cooking at home and make our meals from fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables. Cooking together gives us a chance to relax and catch up on each other’s days. If we have children, I want to bring them up just like us, but my husband says that everyone should be able to make their own lifestyle choices.
Ted 35 Construction worker
Each day at the construction site is more or less the same — tiring! When I get back home, there’s nothing more satisfying than a big meat dinner. I guess I’ve always been a big meat eater and in this house, no family meal is complete without some form of meat. I still don’t think that anything can beat my mum’s homemade sausages, though.
Mike 49 Chef
With five children, we’re one big family! My wife and I both work full-time, so life can get pretty busy! Like a lot of chefs I know, I don’t really do much cooking at home. Sometimes I bring home food from the restaurant where I work. Once a week, we do a big shop and buy a lot of frozen food. I know we should eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, but ready meals are so convenient.
1. What can we learn about Jenny?| A．She likes ready meals. | B．She has children to bring up. |
| C．She enjoys vegetable-free dinners. | D．She enjoys cooking together with her husband. |
| A．My fridge is filled with meat. |
| B．As a chef, I don’t need so much frozen food. |
| C．I provide fresh fruit and vegetables for my children. |
| D．It’s convenient to eat food brought from my workplace. |
| A．Interview notes. | B．A cooking guide. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．Product introductions. |
5 . My brother Jack’s childhood was completely influenced by his extreme picky eating. From three to about 14, he only ate chicken, peanut butter, apples, cereal, and sweets. We tried everything in the book, but none succeeded.
However, in the past three years, he has gone through an amazing change. Today, he will eat close to ten times the types of foods he was willing to try before. He is even willing to try new things; he constantly asks to order something different at a restaurant. I’ve often wondered what makes a person change so much.
Through some research, several factors come out. The first major player in our food preferences is innate (先天的), and it all starts with genetics. As humans, we all are likely to enjoy a few particular tastes for evolutionary (进化的) reasons.
However, genetics aren’t the only factor that explains why we enjoy or dislike particular foods. In fact, most of our preferences are actually learned, sometimes even before we are born. In one study, mothers regularly drank carrot juice late in the stages of their pregnancy (怀孕). After birth, these babies tended to enjoy carrot-flavored milk more than other babies.
Additionally, I believe that sometimes, cultural influences affect your willingness to try food, Possibly, my brother finally got so sick of having to be the one who needed a special order at a restaurant that he forced himself to try and like those things he was afraid of. It simply takes time. People will learn to adapt and realize their true tastes. An open mind is a positive thing, and most will develop an ever-expanding plate as they age.
1. What do we know about Jack’s eating habit before he was 14?| A．He always ate too much. |
| B．He only ate certain foods. |
| C．He had no chance to try new food. |
| D．His family changed his eating habits. |
| A．Surprising. | B．Scary. | C．Dangerous. | D．Funny. |
| A．Our food preference can be learned. |
| B．Genetics influences food preference. |
| C．Eating habits can’t be changed very easily. |
| D．People enjoy certain foods for evolutionary reasons. |
| A．Keep a healthy lifestyle. |
| B．Stick to what we like. |
| C．Understand the food culture. |
| D．Stay open and try something new. |
6 . Australian teenagers are missing important, basic kitchen skills and it’s having a negative influence on their health. It’s also leading our next generation towards increased rates of obesity (肥胖), according to the findings of a new survey.
A national survey of 1,006 parents found that close to half of all 12 to 18 years old teenagers can’t boil an egg; 1 in 5 only have kitchen skills that allow them to pour milk on cereal; 42%can’t boil noodles; 83.9%don’t know how to roast a chicken; 60.1 percent can’t bake a potato.
Research company Pureprofile asked parents to judge how well their kids could perform in the kitchen across some tasks. More than half (67.3%) of parents believe their children could do better when it comes to healthy food and lifestyle knowledge. Close to half of parents (42.5%) believe poor food choices are caused by lack of education at middle school, with 9 in 10 parents in support of schools doing more to encourage a healthy lifestyle.
Miriam Raleigh, an expert on the relationship between food and health, said she was already seeing a generation of young parents who had “no idea how to cook”. “They depend on convenience meals and easy snacks, and those foods often have a higher fat and salt content which can lead to obesity and a lot of health problems,” Ms Raleigh said.
The school’s Kitchen Garden program founder, Stephanie Alexander, said that if more was not done to improve the situation we would be heading towards a generation of fatter and more unhealthy kids. Ms Alexander also said she would introduce her Kitchen Garden program into middle schools so teenagers can learn the art of cooking food.
“I’m so proud of what we have achieved in the primary school and I really believe we can have the same success in middle schools,” she said.
1. What did the national survey find about Australian teenagers?| A．They eat unhealthy food. | B．They are poor at cooking. |
| C．They like convenience meals. | D．They are interested in cooking. |
| A．Explaining the reasons. | B．Providing the data. |
| C．Making comparisons. | D．Giving examples. |
| A．Her worry about the unhealthy lifestyle. |
| B．Her concern in young parents’ education. |
| C．The way to reduce obesity in young people. |
| D．The need to improve everyone’s cooking skills. |
| A．To teach teenagers cooking. | B．To care about teenagers’ health. |
| C．To improve school education. | D．To promote a cooking program. |
7 . The idea that we need to eat meat to get enough protein and iron, a false assumption of some Paleo diet (原始饮食) advocates, is a common misconception. It ignores the abundance of protein and iron in many plant-based foods such as nuts and seeds. Likewise, while we typically associate omega-3 fatty acids with fish, fish themselves incorporate these into their tissue by eating seaweed, which we can consume directly without the concerns of exposure to microplastics in fish flesh.
Indeed, a whole-food, plant-based diet can provide all essential nutrients except for vitamin B12, made by bacteria in soil and ingested by animals, thereby incorporated into their tissue, milk, and eggs. While modern sanitation allows humans to consume clean produce unpolluted by dirt, we can easily and cheaply obtain oral B12 supplements.
Evidently, significantly reducing our consumption of meat would carry vast benefits. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death around the world. Eating highly processed foods and red meat has been repeatedly demonstrated to promote underlying mechanisms of cancer and cardiovascular disease, such as inflammation (炎症) and damage to the lining of blood vessels (血管).
Mounting evidence points to the benefits of a whole-food, plant-based diet. Studies from 2017found that a vegetarian diet is associated with a 25 percent relative risk reduction for coronary heart disease and an 8 percent relative risk reduction for cancer, with a vegan diet related to a 15 percent relative risk reduction for cancer. The World Health Organization has classified processed meat as carcinogenic (致癌的), and (unprocessed) red meat as probably carcinogenic to humans.
In addition to harming ourselves, eating meat harms others. Factory farming practices often entail unspeakable cruelty to animals, and working conditions for human laborers are often unsafe and inhumane as well. Overcrowding of livestock and workers promotes the spread of disease among both people and animals, putting us all at risk for future pandemics. The overuse of “routine” antibiotics (抗生素) to accelerate animal growth and precautiously treat the infections anticipated as a result of living in unclean and overcrowded conditions can promote antibiotic resistance.
While large-scale, well-coordinated national and international action is undoubtedly needed to fight unscrupulous factory farming practices-and to ensure the availability of nutritious and healthy food for all citizens, those with greater influence, such as physicians, educators and policy makers, should consider the importance of acting as role models for healthy behaviors themselves as well as advocating for policies that ensure better nutritional access and education for others.
All of these should not be excuses for individuals to resist implementing change in their own lives and communities. Societies change when enough individuals within them alter their behavior, and it is up to each of us to act as a change agent in whatever capacity we can. We would all be well served to pull this lever in our own lives as well.
1. The author writes the first two paragraphs mainly to ________.| A．show the concerns of Paleo diet advocates |
| B．compare the differences between two diets |
| C．highlight the importance of nutrition intake |
| D．point out a misunderstanding in nutrition source |
A． |
B． |
C． |
D． |
| A．Illegal. | B．Unfair. | C．Immoral. | D．Unnecessary. |
| A．A Meatless Diet Is Better for You | B．Food Problems Call for Joint Efforts |
| C．Say No to Processed Meat Consumption | D．Eatable Greens or Not? That Is a Question |
8 . Food shopping has become a dangerous pursuit. Ready-meals are packed with salt and preservatives (防腐剂), breakfast cereals are sweeter than chocolate bars, and processed meats are packed with nitrite-preservatives, which can form harmful compounds when cooked. A new term is catching on to describe these nutritional bad guys: ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Just how bad are UPFs, and what do they do to us?
In his new book, “Ultra-Processed People”, Chris van Tulleken, a doctor and television presenter, argues that UPFs dominate the food supply in rich countries, and are also creeping into diets in low-and middle-income countries.
The concept of UPFs was put forward by Carlos Monteiro, a Brazilian scientist, in 2009.His team observed that although people in Brazil were buying less sugar and oil, rates of obesity and type-2 diabetes (糖尿病) were rising. That was because they were instead eating more sugar, fats and additives in packaged snacks and pre-made meals.
UPFs often go through many complicated industrial processes. That does not make them all unhealthy — a soya-based meat substitute can be part of a balanced meal — but the frequent consumption of UPFs causes a series of issues. Arguably, some UPFs are more alike to industrial products than food. There is plenty of evidence linking many ingredients in UPFs, such as sugar, salt, and saturated fats (反式脂肪), to negative health outcomes.
Yet UPFs are cheap, tasty and abundant, and for those on a tight budget or on specific diets, such as vegan (严格素食主义者), there are often few available alternatives. It is possible to eat well by selecting the right UPFs, such as whole-grain cereals. Government scientists at the American government’s Agricultural Research Service showed it was possible to build a health y diet with 91% of calories from selected UPFs. But Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, criticised the study, saying the researchers had a conflict of interest through their links to the food industry. Better stay cautious in those tricky supermarket walkways.
1. How does the author introduce the topic in Paragraph 1?| A．By analyzing certain reasons. | B．By comparing different views. |
| C．By explaining the term of UPFs. | D．By providing background information. |
| A．People are addicted to them. |
| B．UPFs contain no nutrition. |
| C．They are packed with artificial flavors. |
| D．They are calorie-rich, and nutrient-poor. |
| A．All UPFs are not healthy. | B．UPFs are good for nothing. |
| C．UPFs are not economical. | D．UPFs are part of ready-meals. |
| A．A healthy diet can certainly be built from UPFs. |
| B．Think twice before choosing UPFs when shopping. |
| C．There’s an association between intake of UPFs and cancer. |
| D．Government scientists represent the interests of consumers. |
9 . Following in the footsteps of Morgan Spurlock, who ate only McDonald’s food for one month in the film Super Size Me, an Australian man has undergone a sugar-heavy diet for 60 days to explore sugar’s effect on his health.
Within three weeks, the formerly healthy Gameau became moody and sluggish (迟钝的). A doctor gave him the shocking diagnosis: He was beginning to develop fatty liver disease. According to the Mayo Clinic, the most severe outcome for fatty liver disease is liver failure.
Gameau reportedly consumed 40 teaspoons of sugar per day, or slightly more than the average teenager worldwide. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the average American consumes 20 teaspoons of sugar daily. The AHA’s daily recommendations for sugar consumption are 6 teaspoons for women and 9 teaspoons for men.
Doctors called Gameau’s mental functioning “unstable”, and the father-to-be reportedly put on nearly four inches of visceral (内脏的) fat around his waist. He was on the fast track to obesity. Gameau said his diet left him feeling hungry, no matter how much he ate. His final meal, which consisted of a juice, a jam sandwich, a bar, and a handful of other snacks, is similar to an ordinary child’s school lunchbox. Gameau wrote on his blog. “The last meal is for all the people out there, especially parents, who are led to believe they are doing the right and healthy thing for their children. They are making an effort, yet they are horribly cheated by the lack of integrity in marketing and packaging strategies.”
Gameau told News.com.au that the experiment’s findings don’t suggest a need to completely cut sugar, but rather a need for more awareness about how much sugar has been added to healthy food.
1. What can we learn about Gameau from Paragraph 2?| A．He became mentally unstable after trying the diet. |
| B．He had complicated personality before he tried the diet. |
| C．He developed liver failure in the end because of the diet. |
| D．He knew the harm of the diet well at the very beginning. |
| A．Men usually consume more sugar than women. |
| B．Teenagers worldwide consume too much sugar. |
| C．Americans consume the most sugar in the world. |
| D．Adults should consume more sugar than teenagers do. |
| A．school children often feel hungry at school |
| B．parents know very well what their children need to eat |
| C．schools attach great importance to children’s diet |
| D．school children aren’t eating healthily at school |
| A．Observation. | B．Trust. | C．Honesty. | D．Patience. |
10 . A recently published paper finds that following a Mediterranean diet for three weeks can help reduce depression and anxiety among young adults.
In the study, participants in the test group were instructed to eat about six more servings of fruits and vegetables per week, compared with the control group. In addition, they were told to get per week three servings of fish besides three recommended servings per day of whole grains. As for milk, the recommendation was three servings per week, unsweetened. Participants were also asked to consume three tablespoons of nuts and seeds per week, as well as two tablespoons of olive oil per day.
“One of the shortcomings of nutrition science is that it often relies on asking people to recall what they ate and how they felt in the past. Given our failing memories, these data can be unreliable,” says Heather Francis, one of the researchers. “But our study included a device, called spectrophotometer, which can detect the degree of yellowness in the skin, which can precisely monitor the intake of carotenoids (类胡萝卜素), which the participants get from their food.”
“We have highly consistent and extensive evidence from around the globe linking Mediterranean diets to reduced depression risk,” says Felice Jacka, a professor at Deakin University in Australia who was not involved in the study. “I think the next step is to show how diets can reduce depression.”
However, it’s almost impossible to unravel how diet changes may help improve mental health according to the strict standard in medical research, where participants do not know that they are part of the group assigned to take the medicine or the placebo (安慰剂).
“In a diet study, there’s no way to ‘blind’ the participants so that they don’t know if they’re getting the ‘medicine’ or ‘placebo’,” says Heather Francis. “And research has shown that if people are told that they’re doing something that may make them less depressed, they will indeed report less depression. That’s known as the placebo effect.”
1. Each day, the young adults following the Mediterranean diet were instructed to eat ________.| A．unsweetened milk and nuts | B．fish and fruits |
| C．vegetables and whole grains | D．olive oil and seeds |
| A．Notice. | B．Prove. | C．Describe. | D．Ask. |
| A．It is impossible to avoid the placebo effect in his study. |
| B．Felice Jacka’s comment about his study is very misleading. |
| C．His testing method is perfect and the conclusion is very reliable. |
| D．The so-called placebo effect is even unavoidable in medical research. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Lifestyle. | C．Science. | D．Advertisement. |
