16．Why do you think people who live in some hot countries eat very spicy（辛辣的）food？Is it because the spices make the food taste better？Is it just because their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents liked hot food，or is there some connection between spices and healthy food？Researchers from Cornell University think that it is because spice plants have some importan t chemicals．These chemicals can kill bacteria（細菌）which spoil food．
"Most common spices can kill 75to 100percent of the bacteria in food，"explains one of the scientists．The bacteria grow more easily and spoil（變質）food more quickly at higher temperatures．For this reason，it is more difficult to keep food from spoiling in hot climates，
Do you like your food spicy？Your answer probably tells something about the country you come from．If you like spicy food，it is possible that hundreds of years ago，when there were no fridges，people in your country started using spices to keep the food from spoiling．The traditional spicy dishes helped those people to live longer，healthier lives．Today，in a time of fridges，the spices just make the food taste good．
1．The chemicals in spices keep food from spoiling byD．
A．making food taste better
B．making food hotter
C．preventing bacteria getting into food
D．killing bacteria in food
2．Food goes bad more quickly in hot climates becauseC．
A．cold temperature makes bacteria
B．bacteria get used to hot food
C．high temperature helps bacteria grow faster
D．bacteria spoil food only at high temperature
3．According to the passage，spices are useful in the following things exceptD．
A．helping you to live longer
B．helping to keep you healthier
C．making your food taste better
D．taking the place of fridges．
分析 你為什么認為住在一些炎熱國家的人會吃非常辛辣的食物？是因為香辛料（spices）使食物味道更好？是因為他們的父母、祖父母和曾祖父母喜歡吃辛辣的食物？還是在那里健康食品和香辛料之間存在聯系？康奈爾大學的研究人員認為，這是因為香辛料中有一些重要的化學物質，這些化學物質可以殺死使食物變質的細菌．"最常見的香辛料可以殺死食物中75%到100%的細菌，"一位科學家解釋說．細菌在較高的溫度下更容易生長，使食物更快地變質．因此，在炎熱的氣候下，很難使食物不變質．
你喜歡辣的食物嗎？你的答案可能暗示了你來自哪個國家．如果你喜歡辣的食物，那么可能幾百年前在沒有冰箱的情況下，你們國家的人使用香辛料來保存食物．傳統(tǒng)拉的食物使那些人更長壽、更健康的生活．如今，在有冰箱的時代，香料只是使食物的味道很好．
解答 1．D．細節(jié)理解題．根據These chemicalscan kill bacteria（細菌）which spoil food．可知，香辛料中含有的化學成分能夠殺死食物中的細菌，答案為D．
2．C．細節(jié)理解題．根據The bacteriagrow more easily and spoil（變質）food more quickly at higher temperatures．可知，細菌在較高溫度下很容易生長，食物變質很快，換言之就是較高溫度下細菌生長較快（grow faster），答案為C．
3．D．細節(jié)理解題．根據The traditionalspicy dishes helped those people to live longer，healthier lives．Today，in a time of fridges，the spices just make the food taste good．可知，傳統(tǒng)辛辣食物能夠使人們更健康、更長壽，現在的功能主要是使食物更加的美味，因此香辛料的用處包括使人們更長壽（A）、保持健康（B）和使食物變得更美味（C），因此答案為D．
點評 本文是一篇科普類文章．做題時要在理解好文意的基礎上，與題目有機的結合，從文章中找到相關細節(jié)性的句子與選項細細比對，進行選擇或推理判斷，選出符合文章內容的正確選項．做題注意靈活，有時可采用排除法或直選法確定出最終答案．
