新编大学英语文章BOOK2.docx

新编大学英语文章BOOK2.docx

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新编大学英语文章BOOK2

Unit1Food

FoodandCulture

Weallhaveideasaboutwhatkindsoffoodsaregoodtoeat.Wealsohaveideasaboutwhatkindsoffoodsarebadtoeat.Asaresult,peoplefromonecultureoftenthinkthefoodsthatpeoplefromanothercultureeataredisgustingornauseating.WhenthefamousboxerMuhammadAlivisitedAfrica,forexample,onememberofhisgroupbecamequitesickwhenhesawsomeonepickupabutterflyandeatit.Manypeoplewouldfinditdisgustingtoeatrats,butthereareforty-twodifferentcultureswhosepeopleregardratsasappropriatefood.

SomepeopleinAfricathinkAfricantermitesmakeadeliciousmeal.Manyotherpeoplewouldprobablybesickiftheyhadtoeattermites,butonehundredgramsoftermitescontainmorethantwiceasmanycaloriesandalmosttwiceasmuchproteinasonehundredgramsofcookedhamburger.

However,foodlikesanddislikesdonotalwaysseemrelatedtonutrition.Forexample,broccoliisfirstonalistofthemostnutritiouscommonvegetables,butitistwenty-firstonalistofvegetablesthatAmericanslikemosttoeat.Tomatoesaresixteenthonthelistofmostnutritiousvegetables,buttheyarefirstonthelistofvegetablesthatAmericanslikemosttoeat.

Butdislikeisnottheonlyreasonwhysomecultureswillnoteatacertainfood.Insomecultures,certainfoodsaretaboo.TabooisawordfromthelanguageoftheFijiIslandsthatisusedtodescribesomethingthatisforbidden.Somefoodsaretabooincertainreligions,buttherearealsootherfoodtaboosthatarenotconnectedtoareligion.Wedonotusuallythinkaboutwhycertainthingsaretabooinourculture.Wemaynotevenknowwhytheyaretaboo.Anthropologiststrytodiscoverthehiddenreasonsfortaboos.Forexample,thesacredcowsofIndiaarewell-known.CowscangowherevertheywanttointhestreetsofIndia,andtheycaneatanythingtheywantfromthesuppliesofthefoodsellersonthestreet.Asaresult,thecowsareaproblem.However,nooneinIndiawillkillthemoreatthem.Itistabootodoso.Thiscustomseemsstrangetootherpeople,butanthropologistsbelievethattherearereasonsforit.First,cowsarevaluablebecausethefarmersneedthemtohelpplowtheirfields.Second,cowmanureisusedasafertilizeronthefields.InIndia,manyfarmerscannotaffordtospendmoneyonfertilizer.Third,thecowmanurecanbedriedandburnedtomakecookingfires.Therefore,farmersthatkilltheircowsformeatsoonfindthattheycannotploworfertilizetheirfieldsormakeacookingfire.

AnotherexampleisthatAmericansdonoteatdogs,althoughpeoplefromsomeotherculturesregardthemasgoodfood.IntheUnitedStates,dogsareveryimportanttopeopleaspets.Theyareusuallyregardedaspartofthefamily,almostlikeachildinsomecases.Inaddition,dogshavevalueasprotectionagainstcriminals.Thieveswillnotusuallyenterahousewherethereisadogbecausethedogwillbarkandpossiblyattackastrangerwhoistryingtogetintoahouse.Apparently,thedog'splaceinsocietyasacompanionandasaprotectionagainstcriminalsmakesthedogtabooasfood.

Thetabooagainsteatingporkoccursinmorethanoneculture.ThereissomeevidencethatsomeancientEgyptiansdidnoteatpork.TheancientIsraelitesalsoregardedporkastaboo.Oneexplanationforthepig-eatingtabooisthatporkthatisnotcookedsufficientlymayspreadadiseasecalledtrichinosis.However,mostpeoplenolongerthinkthatthisisagoodexplanationfortheporktaboo.AnotherexplanationisthattheIsraeliteswerenomads—theywerealwaysmovingfromplacetoplace.Peoplehavetostayinoneplacetoraisepigs.TheIsraelitesdidnotwanttostayinoneplacebecausetheydidnotwanttochangetheirculture.Asaresult,theydidnoteatpigs.

Anthropologistsbelievethatmostfoodlikesanddislikesarearesultofthewaysoflifeofdifferentpeople.Somepeopleliveinareaswheretherearebothlargeanimalsandmanyinsects.Itisdifficultforthesepeopletokilllargeanimals,anditrequiresalotofenergy.Itiseasierforthemtouseinsectsforfoodbecauseitisnotdifficulttocatchinsectsanditdoesnotrequirealotofenergy.Nomadicpeoplewhomovearoundwillnotwanttokeeppigsforfood.Peoplewillnoteatpetssuchasdogs.Americanseatalotofbeefbecausethereisplentyoflandforraisingcattleandtheirmeatcanbeshippedcheaplyforlongdistancesbyrailroads.

TheNutrientsinFood

Nutrientsarethepartsoffoodthatareimportantforlifeandhealth.Nutrientsareimportantforthreereasons.First,somenutrientsprovidefuelandenergy.Second,somenutrientsbuildandrepairbodytissues.Third,somenutrientshelpcontroldifferentprocessesofthebodyliketheabsorptionofmineralsandtheclottingofblood.Scientiststhinkthereare40to50nutrients.Thesenutrientsaredividedintofivegeneralgroups:

carbohydrates,fats,proteins,minerals,andvitamins.

Thefirstgroupofnutrientsiscarbohydrates.Therearetwokindsofcarbohydrates:

starchesandsugars.Bread,potatoes,andricearestarches.Theyhavemanycarbohydrates.Candy,softdrinks,jelly,andotherfoodswithsugaralsohavecarbohydrates.Carbohydratesareimportantbecausetheyprovidethebodywithheatandenergy.Sugar,forinstance,is100percentenergy.Ithasnootherfoodvalue.Sugardoesnotbuildbodytissuesorcontrolbodyprocesses.Iftherearetoomanycarbohydratesinthebody,theyarestoredasbodyfat.Thebodystoresfuelasfat.

Therearetwotypesoffats:

animalandvegetable.Butter,cream,andthefatinbaconareanimalfats.Oliveoil,cornoil,andpeanutoilarevegetablefats.Thebodyhasfatundertheskinandaroundsomeoftheorgansinside.Theaverageadulthas10to11kilogramsofbodyfat.Ifadultseattoomanycarbohydratesandfats,theycanaddanother45kilogramstotheirbodies.Fatisextrafuel.Whenthebodyneedsenergy,itchangesthefatintocarbohydrates.Thecarbohydratesareusedforenergy.Fatalsokeepsthebodywarm.

Thethirdgroupofnutrientsisprotein.Theword"protein"comesfromaGreekwordthatmeans"offirstimportance".Proteinsare"offirstimportance"becausetheyarenecessaryforlife.Proteinsaremadeofaminoacids,whichbuildandrepairbodytissues.Theyareanimportantpartofmuscles,organs,skin,andhair.Thebodyhas22differentaminoacids.Nutritionistscalleightoftheseaminoacidsessentialbecausethebodydoesnotmanufacturethem.

Therearetwokindsofproteins:

completeproteinsandincompleteproteins.Completeproteins,whichthebodyneedsforgrowth,havealltheessentialaminoacids.Meat,fish,poultry,eggs,milk,andcheesehavecompleteproteins.Thebodyneedscompleteproteinseveryday.Incompleteproteinsdonothavealltheessentialaminoacids.Theproteinsinvegetablesandgrains,forinstance,areincompleteproteins.Twowaystoformcompleteproteinsfromincompleteproteinsare:

（1）tomixvegetablesandgrainscorrectly,or

（2）toaddasmallamountofmeatormilktoalargeamountofgrains.Thebodycanthenusethecompleteproteinswhichresultfromthemixtures.

Extraproteininthebodycanbechangedtofatandstoredasbodyfat.Itcanalsobechangedtocarbohydratesandusedforenergy.Ifpeopledonoteatenoughcarbohydratesfortheenergythattheyneed,theirbodyusesproteinsforenergy.Thenthebodydoesnothavetheproteinsthatitneedstobuildandrepairtissues.Anutritiousdietincludescarbohydratesandfatsforenergy,andproteinsforgrowth.

Thefourthgroupofnutrientsisminerals.Morethantwentydifferentmineralsareinthebody.Threeofthemostimportantmineralsarecalcium,phosphorus,andiron.Calciumandphosphorusworktogether.Thebonesandtheteethhave99percentofthecalciuminthebody.Ifpeoplehaveenoughcalciumandphosphorus,theirbonesandteethwillbestrongandhard.Inaddition,theirmuscles,nerves,andheartwillworkcorrectly.Milkandhardcheesesarethebestsourcesofcalcium.Aftertheageof19,peopleneed400to500milligramsofcalciumaday.Peoplewhodonotdrinkthreeglassesofmilkdailycaneat50hamburgersor56applestogetthecalciumtheyneed.

Ironisthemineralthatmakesbloodlookred.Allleanmeatshaveiron;liverisanespeciallygoodsourceofiron.Wholegrains',nuts,somevegetables,anddriedfruitsalsohaveiron.Ifthereisnotenoughironintheirdiets,peoplewillgetadiseasethatiscommonlycalledanemia.Anemiaisfoundallovertheworld.Peoplewithanemiadonothaveenoughironintheirblood.Becauseironcarriesoxygen,peoplewhodonothaveenoughirondonotgetenoughoxygenfortheirnormalactivities.Theirheartsbeatfastersotheirbodiescangetmoreoxygen.Peoplewhohaveanemiaoftengettiredeasily.Sometimestheirskinlookswhite;itdoesnotlookpinkandhealthy.

Nutritioniststhinktherearethirteenvitaminsthathumansneed.Vitaminsareimportantbecausetheypreventdiseasesandhelpcontrolbodyprocesses.VitaminAisimportantforhealthyskinandeyes.PeoplewhodonothaveenoughvitaminAmayhavenightblindness.SomeautomobileaccidentshappenintheeveningbecausepeoplewholackvitaminAdonotseetheroadwellaftertheylookatthebrightheadlightsofacar.VitaminAinthedietcomesfromdeepyellowfruitsandvegetables,darkgreenleafyvegetables,andwholemilk.

WhenpeoplehaveenoughBvitamins,theirappetiteisgoodandtheirnervesarecalm.Bvitaminsinthedietcomefromsomemeatsandvegetables,milk,cottagecheese,andwholegrains.Whenagrainisprocessed,itlosesvitamins.Forexample,thereisabigdifferencebetweenbrownandwhiterice.Whenrice