A New Start

　　After Christmas comes the anti-Christmas.If the festive season is all about filing up on the things you like that are bad for you，then the new year is the detox season-when people across the western world adopt special diets to lose weight and get rid of the vague feeling that they have spent the last few weeks poisoning themselves.

　　But are detox diets really necessary?After all，the body itself gets rid of unwanted substances.Thats what the liver and kidney are for.

　　The detox fad-or fads，as there are many methods-is an example of the capacity of people to believe in and pay for magic despite the lack of any sound evidence1，says Martin Wiseman，professor of human nutrition at the University of Southampton in the UK.

　　Most of the pills，juices，teas and oils that are sold for their detoxifying effects on the body have no scientific foundation for their claims，according to the research.People would be better off having a glass.of water and going to bed early.

　　Detox diets may be magic rather science，but they are the kind of magic which many people want to perform.That may have something to do with the western diet in general.

　　Scientists and dieticians argue that the benefits people feel are not due to their body getting rid of excessive toxins but are due to changing from what is likely to have been apoor diet.

　　Having fewer headaches，for example，is probably the result of being fully hydrated due to drinking so much water and better skin may be due to eating more fruit and vegetables.

　　Detox diets may also be dangerous，as they may deprive vulnerable groups-pregnant women，for instance，or growing teenagers-of the kind of nutrients they need.

　　Yet their popularity continues to rise.This may be something to do with the way that food works within many western cultures2.Generally，a countrys food develops along with its economy and society.Food becomes part of a persons cultural identity.

　　In some countries，this link has been broken.In the UK，for example，rapid industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries saw millions of people move from the countryside to the towns interrupting the development of a national cuisine.The United States，a country of immigrants from many different places，has found it hard to develop a national cuisine.In both places，comparatively few people cook for themselves and food supply is dominated by big processing and agribusiness companies.

　　Detox diets are more popular in these countries than in places like France and Italy，where strong links between food and national culture remain，and where far more people regularly cook for themselves instead of buying processed foods.

　　Perhaps detox diets are successful because many westerners have lost trust in what they eat.On the other hand，they may help re-introduce people to the kind of food that is necessary for a healthy diet.And after learning that，they wont poison themselves in the first place.

　　This would mean radical changes in the way that people eat across the west.And that would be an unwelcome development for the food industry.From the business point of view，it is much better to sell people the problem and then sell them the solution.

　　詞匯：

　　detox/5dI:tCks/v. n.解毒、去毒 fad/fAd/n.風尚

　　dietician/7daIE5tIFEn/n.飲食學家 　hydrate/5haIdreIt/v.水化，使吸水

　　cuisine/kwi:5zi:n/n.烹飪術 agribusiness/5A^rIbIznIz/n.農業綜合經營

　　模擬試題：

　　1. Detox begins after Christmas when people think that they have been overeating during the Christmas season and have taken in many substances that are bad for their health.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　2. Many pregnant women and growing teenagers are suffering from mai-nutrition because of the detox-diets they take.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　3. Both the UK and the USA lack a national cuisine as a result of similar historical

　　development.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　4. The French and the Italians cook for themselves more often than the British and the Americans，which helps them to keep the link between food and their culture.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　5. On the whole the eastern people like the Chinese and the Japanese have a stronger link between their food and their culture than the western people.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　6. A positive effect of detox diets is that it helps people to see what foods are good for their health.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　7. Food industry would make even greater profits if people should all start to eat healthy foods and stop poisoning themselves.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　答案與題解：

　　1. A 這句話正是文章第一段的意思。圣誕節大吃大喝，新年一開始人們就開始設法減肥，并消除在過去幾周里吃下了不利健康的有毒物質的疑慮。

　　2. B 文章里講到解毒飲食甚至有危險，有可能使像孕婦和正在長身體的青少年營養不足。不過這個情況并沒有真正發生。

　　3. B 這句話的前半句是對的，英美兩國都缺乏典型的飲食;但后半句話不對，造成這種情況的原因兩國不同，英國是工業化的結果，美國則是移民國家的結果。

　　4. A 在文章的倒數第三段里講的很清楚。

　　5. C 文章中沒有提及東方文化的情況。

　　6. A 答題依據在倒數第二段。解毒飲食容易受到西方人的追捧，因為他們對自己吃的東西已經失去信心。但反過來說，解毒飲食可能有助于重新向人們介紹那些對一種健康的飲食來說是必要的食物。

　　7. B 答題依據在最后一段里。食品工業并不希望人們都吃健康食品，因為先把有問題的不健康的食品賣給大家吃，然后再把解決問題的飲食方式推銷給大家，食品工業可以兩邊都盈利。

　　A New Start

　　After Christmas comes the anti-Christmas.If the festive season is all about filing up on the things you like that are bad for you，then the new year is the detox season-when people across the western world adopt special diets to lose weight and get rid of the vague feeling that they have spent the last few weeks poisoning themselves.

　　But are detox diets really necessary?After all，the body itself gets rid of unwanted substances.Thats what the liver and kidney are for.

　　The detox fad-or fads，as there are many methods-is an example of the capacity of people to believe in and pay for magic despite the lack of any sound evidence1，says Martin Wiseman，professor of human nutrition at the University of Southampton in the UK.

　　Most of the pills，juices，teas and oils that are sold for their detoxifying effects on the body have no scientific foundation for their claims，according to the research.People would be better off having a glass.of water and going to bed early.

　　Detox diets may be magic rather science，but they are the kind of magic which many people want to perform.That may have something to do with the western diet in general.

　　Scientists and dieticians argue that the benefits people feel are not due to their body getting rid of excessive toxins but are due to changing from what is likely to have been apoor diet.

　　Having fewer headaches，for example，is probably the result of being fully hydrated due to drinking so much water and better skin may be due to eating more fruit and vegetables.

　　Detox diets may also be dangerous，as they may deprive vulnerable groups-pregnant women，for instance，or growing teenagers-of the kind of nutrients they need.

　　Yet their popularity continues to rise.This may be something to do with the way that food works within many western cultures2.Generally，a countrys food develops along with its economy and society.Food becomes part of a persons cultural identity.

　　In some countries，this link has been broken.In the UK，for example，rapid industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries saw millions of people move from the countryside to the towns interrupting the development of a national cuisine.The United States，a country of immigrants from many different places，has found it hard to develop a national cuisine.In both places，comparatively few people cook for themselves and food supply is dominated by big processing and agribusiness companies.

　　Detox diets are more popular in these countries than in places like France and Italy，where strong links between food and national culture remain，and where far more people regularly cook for themselves instead of buying processed foods.

　　Perhaps detox diets are successful because many westerners have lost trust in what they eat.On the other hand，they may help re-introduce people to the kind of food that is necessary for a healthy diet.And after learning that，they wont poison themselves in the first place.

　　This would mean radical changes in the way that people eat across the west.And that would be an unwelcome development for the food industry.From the business point of view，it is much better to sell people the problem and then sell them the solution.

　　詞匯：

　　detox/5dI:tCks/v. n.解毒、去毒 fad/fAd/n.風尚

　　dietician/7daIE5tIFEn/n.飲食學家 　hydrate/5haIdreIt/v.水化，使吸水

　　cuisine/kwi:5zi:n/n.烹飪術 agribusiness/5A^rIbIznIz/n.農業綜合經營

　　模擬試題：

　　1. Detox begins after Christmas when people think that they have been overeating during the Christmas season and have taken in many substances that are bad for their health.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　2. Many pregnant women and growing teenagers are suffering from mai-nutrition because of the detox-diets they take.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　3. Both the UK and the USA lack a national cuisine as a result of similar historical

　　development.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　4. The French and the Italians cook for themselves more often than the British and the Americans，which helps them to keep the link between food and their culture.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　5. On the whole the eastern people like the Chinese and the Japanese have a stronger link between their food and their culture than the western people.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　6. A positive effect of detox diets is that it helps people to see what foods are good for their health.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　7. Food industry would make even greater profits if people should all start to eat healthy foods and stop poisoning themselves.

　　A.Right B.Wrong C.Not mentioned

　　答案與題解：

　　1. A 這句話正是文章第一段的意思。圣誕節大吃大喝，新年一開始人們就開始設法減肥，并消除在過去幾周里吃下了不利健康的有毒物質的疑慮。

　　2. B 文章里講到解毒飲食甚至有危險，有可能使像孕婦和正在長身體的青少年營養不足。不過這個情況并沒有真正發生。

　　3. B 這句話的前半句是對的，英美兩國都缺乏典型的飲食;但后半句話不對，造成這種情況的原因兩國不同，英國是工業化的結果，美國則是移民國家的結果。

　　4. A 在文章的倒數第三段里講的很清楚。

　　5. C 文章中沒有提及東方文化的情況。

　　6. A 答題依據在倒數第二段。解毒飲食容易受到西方人的追捧，因為他們對自己吃的東西已經失去信心。但反過來說，解毒飲食可能有助于重新向人們介紹那些對一種健康的飲食來說是必要的食物。

　　7. B 答題依據在最后一段里。食品工業并不希望人們都吃健康食品，因為先把有問題的不健康的食品賣給大家吃，然后再把解決問題的飲食方式推銷給大家，食品工業可以兩邊都盈利。