Some People Do Not Taste Salt Like Others(A級)(無換題現象)

Low-salt foods may be harder for some people to like than others, according to a study by a Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences1 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 efforts to reduce the salt content in food2 have left many people struggling to accept fare that simply does not taste as good to them as it does to others3, pointed out John Hayes, assistant professor of food science, who was 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 weeks5. 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 also because it is needed to block other unpleasant tastes in food," said Hayes. "Supertasters, people who experience tastes more mtensely, 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, 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 pronounced6.

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.

"Some people, called supertasters, describe bitter compounds as being extremely bitter, while others, called nontasters, find these same bitter compounds to be tasteless or only weary bitter," he said. "Response to bitter compounds is one of many ways to identify biological differences in food preference because supertasting7 is not limited to bitterness. (476)

1. In paragraph 2, John Hayes points out that在第二段中，約翰.海斯指出了___________________。

A. it is good to health to eat food without salt.吃無鹽食物對身體有好處。

B. many people reject low-salt food completely..有些人完全反對含鹽量低的食物。

C. many people accept low-salt tasteless food reluctantly有很多人不情愿的去接受低鹽度的食物。(正確答案)

D. food with reduced salt tastes better..含鹽量低的食物更好吃。

2. The fourth paragraph describes briefly 第四段簡要的介紹了_________________。

A. how to select subjects and what to do in the research. 怎樣選擇被測試者以及研究中做了什么。(正確答案).

B. how to identify supertasters and nontasters.怎樣定義超重口味的人和沒口味的人。

C. why to limit the number of subjects to 87 persons.為什么把人的數量限制在87個。

D. why to select more male subjects than female ones.為什么挑選更多的男性。

3. The article argues that supertasters文章指出口味超重的人________________。

A. like the taste of saltiness to block sweet tastes in food.喜歡用咸味阻擋食物里的甜味。

B. like snack foods as saltiness is their primary flavor. 快餐食品是他們最主要的食品。(正確答案)

C. consume less salt because they don't like intensive tastes.吃更少的鹽，因為它們不喜歡重口味。

D. like to share salty cheese with nontasters.喜歡和沒口味的人分享咸奶酪。

4. Which of the following applies to supertasters in terms of bitter taste? 對于口味超重的人，下列哪項比較適用于苦味?

A. They like bitterness in foods as well as saltiness.他們喜歡食物中的苦和咸。

B. They like high-salt cheese as it has intense bitter taste.他們喜歡很咸的奶酪，因為它有強烈的苦味。

C. They prefer high-salt cheese, which tastes less bitter.. 他們更喜歡高鹽度的而不是很苦的奶酪。(正確答案)

D. They prefer high-salt cheese as it is good to health.他們更喜歡很咸的奶酪，因為它對身體更健康。

5. What message do the last two paragraphs carry'? 文章的最后兩段所帶有的信息是____。

A. Taste acuity is genetically determined. 一般情況下，味覺的敏感度由基因決定。(正確答案)

B. Taste acuity is developed over time after birth.自從出生后，味覺的敏感度一直在提高。

C. Taste acuity is related to one's eye and hair color.味覺的敏感度和一個人的眼睛和頭發的顏色有關。

D. Taste acuity is still a mysterious subject in science.味覺的敏感度在科學上仍然是一個謎。