学位英语

第二篇 Some People Do Not Taste Salt Like Others

Low-salt foods may be harder for some people to like than others, according to a study by a Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences food scientist. The research indicates that genetic factors influence some of the difference in the levels of salt we like to eat.

Those conclusions are important because recent, well-publicized (大力宣传的) efforts to reduce the salt content in food have left many people struggling to accept fare that simply does not taste as good to them as it does to others, pointed out John Hayes, lead investigator on the study.

Diets high in salt can increase the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. That is why public health experts and food companies are working together on ways to help consumers lower salt intake through foods that are enjoyable to eat. This study increases understanding of salt preference and consumption.

The research involved 87 carefully screened participants who sampled salty foods such as soup and chips, on multiple occasions, spread out over weeks. Test subjects were 45 men and 42 women, reportedly healthy, ranging in age from 20 to 40 years. The sample was composed of individuals who were not actively modifying their dietary intake and did not smoke cigarettes. They rated the intensity of taste on a commonly used scientific scale, ranging from barely detectable to strongest sensation of any kind.

"Most of us like the taste of salt. However, some individuals eat more salt, both because they like the taste of saltiness more, and because it is needed to block other unpleasant tastes in food," said Hayes. "Supertasters, people who experience tastes more tensely, consume more salt than nontasters do. Snack foods have saltiness as their primary flavor, and at least for these foods, more is better, so the supertasters seem to like them more. "

However, supertasters also need higher levels of salt to block unpleasant bitter tastes in foods such as cheese, Hayes noted. "For example, cheese is a wonderful blend of dairy flavors from fermented (发酵的), milk, but also bitter tastes from ripening that are blocked by salt," he said. "A supertaster finds low-salt cheese unpleasant because the bitterness is too pronounced.

Hayes cited research done more than 75 years ago by a chemist named Fox and a geneticist named Blakeslee, showing that individuals differ in their ability to taste certain chemicals. As a result, Hayes explained, we know that a wide range in taste acuity exists, and this variation is as normal as variations in eye and hair color.

36 John Hayes pointed out that __________.

A food with less salt tastes better.

B many people never eat low-salt food.

C many people make efforts to accept low-salt food.

D it is good to health to eat food without salt.

37 The fourth paragraph briefly describes______?

A why the number of subjects was limited to 87.

B why more male subjects were chosen than female ones.

C how salty foods were made and distributed to the subjects in the research.

D how the subjects were selected and what they were asked to do.

38 It is true that ________.

A nontasters like to share salty cheese with supertasters.

B supertasters like the taste of saltiness to block sweet tastes in food.

C nontasters consume more salt because they like intense tastes.

D supertasters like snack foods more as they contain higher levels of saltiness.

39 Supertasters prefer high-salt cheese because ________.

A it is good to health.

B it tastes less bitter.

C it is rich in nutrition.

D it has intense bitter tastes.

40 It can be inferred from the last paragraph that taste acuity is ________.

A genetically determined.

B identified with certain chemicals.

C developed over time after birth.

D related to one's eye and hair color.

36 C 文章第 2 段提到 John Hayes 指出"尽管对于许多人来说，并不像别人那样喜欢吃低盐食品，但近来大力的宣传使得很多人努力接受了低盐饮食"。选择 C 符合题意。

37 D 第四段主要讲述了这项研究如何选取了研究对象，包括研究对象的人数、性别、健 康状况、口味轻重分级等。由此可知第四段主要描述的是如何选择研究对象以及要求他们做什么。答案为 D。

38 B 文章第五段最后一句话"盐是零食的第一调味品，至少对于这些食物，盐越多越好， 所以口味重的人看起来更喜欢他们"。选项 B 正是这个意思。其他选项的意思与文章原意不符。

39 B 文章第六段最后一句话提到"口味重的人觉得低盐的奶酪吃起来不舒服是因为这种 奶酪苦味太浓"。选项 B 符合文章的意思。

40 A 文章最后一段话讲述了"基因专家认为个人在品尝一些化学物质时有不同的感受，并且这种不同如同人的眼睛和头发颜色一样"，本文的观点是味觉的敏锐程度是由基因决定的。选项 A 符合题意。

（责任编辑：vstara）

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