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You Are What You Eat 健康饮食观

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Mary, a nutritionist, and her friend Fred have just left an organic food restaurant. Fred has been feeling tired lately. Mary suspects it might be his deplorable eating habits:  营养学家玛丽和朋友佛瑞德刚走出一家有机餐厅。佛瑞德最近觉得很疲倦，玛丽怀疑是他的不良饮食习惯所致：

F: I feel awesome after that healthy meal!

吃完刚才的健康餐，我觉得很舒服。

M: Great, but eating one healthy meal doesn’t mean you’ll automatically have more energy. You need to do more.

很好，不过只吃一顿并不能就让你精力充沛，你得经常这样做。

F: Hey, every journey begins with a single step. I might even switch from four sugars in my coffee to three.

嘿，登高必自卑、行远必自迩。或许我会改变习惯，改成一杯咖啡只加三块糖，而不是四块。

M: Using that much sugar drains your energy and shows you’re addicted to the stuff. You really need to pay attention to your recommended daily allowance, or RDA.

加那么多糖会消耗掉你的能量，可见你已经上瘾了。你实在应该留意你的每日建议摄取量多寡，或叫做RDA的。

F: Now you’re talking like I’m on drugs! And what’s my RDA?

照妳说的，我好像在吸毒！什么是我的每日建议摄取量？

M: RDA is a guide to the quantity of vitamins and minerals that our bodies need based on your age and gender. And yes, food is like a drug; like anything that pleases us, it can be abused.

依照我们年龄、性别不同，人体对维他命、矿物质的需求量会不同，所以有RDA每日建议摄取量做为指导。而且没错，食物就像毒品，能让我们觉得舒服的东西，都可能被滥用。

F: You’re saying that I abuse food? Are you suggesting I trick myself into thinking that food will give me more energy?

妳说我滥用食物？妳意思是我自己骗自己，误认为食物可以让我精力更旺盛？

M: Yep. You can control frequent snacking on junk food by eating only when you are hungry. Otherwise, you’re liable to fall into a routine of grazing when you aren’t hungry and gain unwanted pounds.

没错，你可以控制自己唯有当肚子饿时才吃东西，而不要常常吃垃圾零嘴。否则你会吃成习惯，不是真饿也吃东西，就愈来愈胖了。

Vocabulary

单词发音

you are what you eat 人如其食（西方谚语，指饮食可反映一个人性格与生活环境）

deplorable [dɪˋplorəb!] adj.【正式】糟透的﹐ 可悲的﹐ 极可哀叹的

awesome [ˋɔsəm] adj.【美﹐非正式】很好的﹐ 了不起的

drain [dren] n. 耗尽；使枯竭

allowance [əˋlaʊəns] n. 允许量﹐ 限额

drug [drʌg] n. 麻醉药品；毒品

gender [ˋdʒɛndɚ] n.【口】性别

abuse [əˋbjus] v. 滥用

trick [trɪk] v. 哄骗

snack [snæk] n. 小吃，点心

liable [ˋlaɪəb!] adj. 易患……的；易……的[（+to）][+to-v]; 会……的；【美】【口】可能的[+to-v]

graze [grez] v.（牛，羊等）吃草；(非定时饮食)边拿边吃

Sentence of the Day

He snacks from force of habit.

他习惯吃零食。

from force of habit 由于习惯, 出于习惯

课文讲解

Mary and Fred run into each other in a downtown park the following week:  隔周后，玛丽和佛瑞德在城里的公园内碰面了：

M: Sorry if I was negative last week. You know, food really is a pleasure. It can be enjoyed on a myriad of levels: the way it looks, feels, smells, and how it brings us together socially.

真抱歉，我上周对你讲些不顺耳的话，你晓得食物是很令人陶醉的东西，可以多层次享用：不论视觉上、感官上、或嗅觉上，社交上还能相互联系。

F: That’s true. I’ve been reading up on nutrition since we ate last week. Last night, I went for dinner with a few friends and they added to the things I’ve been learning.

确实如此。上周我们一起吃过饭后，我读了些有关营养方面的知识。昨晚我和几位朋友一起吃饭，他们更增加我在这方面的相关常识。

M: Really? What did you learn?

真的？你学到些什么？

F: Eating increases our body’s metabolism, so eating three meals and two snacks a dayspreads that metabolic increase over the entire day. Doing this is better than eating only one or two big meals a day because it burns calories longer and extends our energy boost.

进食能增加我们身体的新陈代谢，所以一天吃五顿、也就是三餐再加上两回点心，可以把新陈代谢均衡分布在一整天。这样做比一整天只吃一、两顿大餐所燃烧的卡路里、增强能量的效果久些。

M: Don’t forget to avoid eating snacks two to three hours before bed. Food eaten before bed gets converted to fat very quickly because your body knows you are winding down.

别忘了睡前二至三小时避免吃点心。睡前吃的食物很快就会变成脂肪，因为身体知道你快要关机了。

F: I’ll have to stop you there. I need to grab some water – the most important nutrient. There are lots reasons to drink water, not the least of which is its filling effect. It helps to curb my appetite.

抱歉我得打断妳了，我要去喝水－水是最重要的营养素。要多喝水的理由很多，其中蛮重要的一项就是它有饱足感，能帮忙抑制食欲。

M: Now you’re preaching to the choir!

现在你是班门弄斧。

－by Jonathan Alderman

Vocabulary

单词发音

negative [ˋnɛgətɪv] adj.  (回答或决定)否定的，表示否认的; 消极的; 悲观的

myriad [ˋmɪrɪəd] n. 无数，大量[（+of）]

read up 研究; 攻读, 用功研读 to study or learn by reading

metabolism [mɛˋtæb!͵ɪzəm] n. 新陈代谢

boost [bust] n. 增加﹐提高﹐促进

convert [kənˋvɝt] v. 转变，变换[（+to/into）]

wind down 松懈, 放松一下 to diminish gradually in force or power; relax

not the least of which 最大的; means "one of the biggest" or "one of the important" 

filling [ˋfɪlɪŋ] adj. 使人感到饱的

curb [kɝb] v. 控制，遏止

preach to the choir 对已有相同看法的人鼓吹同样的主张，白费唇舌  to talk about something with a group of people who already agree with you

choir [kwaɪr] n.（教堂的）唱诗班；圣乐团

Sentence of the Day

Soon he'll be full of beans.

他很快地会精力充沛。

full of beans  精神饱满