阅读第四十五篇：咸度味感因人而异

　　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 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)

　　练习：

　　1. In paragraph 2, John Hayes points out that

　　A. it is good to health to eat food without salt。

　　B. many people reject low-salt food completely。

　　C. many people accept low-salt tasteless food reluctantly

　　D. food with reduced salt tastes better。

　　2. The fourth paragraph describes briefly

　　A. how to select subjects and what to do in the research。

　　B. how to identify supertasters and nontasters。

　　C. why to limit the number of subjects to 87 persons。

　　D. why to select more male subjects than female ones。

　　3. The article argues that supertasters

　　A. like the taste of saltiness to block sweet tastes in food。

　　B. like snack foods as saltiness is their primary flavor。

　　C. consume less salt because they don't like intensive tastes。

　　D. like to share salty cheese with nontasters。

　　4. Which of the following applies to supertasters in terms of bitter taste?

　　A. They like bitterness in foods as well as saltiness。

　　B. They like high-salt cheese as it has intense bitter taste。

　　C. They prefer high-salt cheese, which tastes less bitter。。

　　D. They prefer high-salt cheese as it is good to health。

　　5. What message do the last two paragraphs carry'?

　　A. Taste acuity is genetically determined。

　　B. Taste acuity is developed over time after birth。

　　C. Taste acuity is related to one's eye and hair color。

　　D. Taste acuity is still a mysterious subject in science。

　　译文：

　　宾州州立大学农学院食品科学家进行的一项研究表明，有些人很难喜欢含盐量低的食物。该研究指出，遗传因素导致我们对咸度的不同喜好。

　　该研究负责人、食品科学副教授约翰·海斯指出，这些结论非常重要，因为近期对减少食物含盐量的大力宣传使得许多人努力去接受适合其他人而不适合自己口味的食物。

　　含盐量高的饮食会增加高血压和中风的风险，这就是公共健康专家和食品公司共同努力、通过可口的食品帮助消费者减少盐摄入量的原因。该研究使人们更加理解对盐的喜好和摄入的差异。

　　该研究包括87名经过仔细筛选的参与者，他们在几周的不同时间品尝了汤和薯条等含盐食物。参与者包括45名男性和42名女性，身体健康，年龄在20岁到40岁之间。参与者不会主动改变自己的饮食习惯，且不吸烟。他们通过一种常用的科学量表来区别咸度味感，分为“最轻微味感”到“最强烈味感”等级别。

　　海斯说，“大部分人都喜欢盐的味道。但是，有些人吃盐较多，这不仅是因为他们更喜欢咸味，也因为他们需要咸味来遮盖食物其他讨厌的味道。口味超重的人比口味清淡的人消耗更多的盐。因为快餐食品的主要味道就是咸味，而且咸度越高，味道越好，所以口味超重的人更喜欢快餐。”

　　海斯还提到，口味超重的人还需要盐来遮盖奶酪等食物中讨厌的苦味。“例如，奶酪是牛奶味和发酵苦味的完美结合，而盐可以遮盖苦味。口味超重的人不喜欢低盐奶酪，因为苦味太明显了。”

　　海斯举出了化学家福克斯和遗传学家布雷克斯里75年前进行的研究，该研究表明，人们品尝特定化学制品的能力是不同的。海斯解释说，由此我们知道每个人的味觉敏度是不同的，这一差异和头发眼睛颜色的差异一样正常。海斯说，“口味超重的人觉得苦味混合物非常之苦，而口味清淡的人会觉得同样的苦味混合物没有味道，或稍微有些苦。对苦味混合物的反应只是确定在食物偏好方面生物差异的众多方法之一，因为口味超重的人不只是对苦味敏感。

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