词汇：chocolate 巧克力
When you think of foods that are good for you, chocolate may not be high up on your list. But, there has been a lot of research into dark chocolate, which shows that it does, in fact, have health benefits.
当你想到对你有益的食物时，巧克力可能不在你的名单上。但是，有很多关于黑巧克力的研究表明，它实际上对健康有好处。
Chocolate is made by roasting cacao seeds, which come from the cacao tree. After being processed into cocoa solids, cocoa butter and combined with sugar and sometimes dairy, chocolate is the result. To know how dark the chocolate is, and to determine the potential health benefits, we need to look at the level of cocoa solids it contains.
巧克力是通过烘焙可可种子制成的，这些种子来自可可树。在加工成可可固体、可可脂，并与糖(有时是乳制品)结合后，就得到了巧克力。要知道巧克力有多黑，并确定其潜在的健康益处，我们需要看它所含可可固体的水平。
If dark chocolate has a high cocoa content, labelled as a percentage, it may be dense in minerals such as magnesium and iron. According to a 2011 study comparing cacao seeds to ‘super fruits’ such as cranberries and pomegranates, dark chocolate may have high levels of antioxidants. Other research includes a 2018 study which found that dark chocolate could significantly reduce inflammation in people with type 2 diabetes.
如果黑巧克力的可可含量高(以百分比标示)，那么它可能富含镁和铁等矿物质。2011年的一项研究将可可籽与蔓越莓、石榴等“超级水果”进行了比较，结果发现黑巧克力可能含有高水平的抗氧化剂。其他研究包括2018年的一项研究，该研究发现黑巧克力可以显著减少2型糖尿病患者的炎症。
But companies trying to market dark chocolate as a healthy snack may have a difficult time – the higher the cocoa content, the more bitter the taste. Plus, commercial dark chocolate tends to be high in calories, saturated fat and can contain significant amounts of sugar. On top of that, during the actual manufacturing process of cleaning, fermenting and roasting the cacao beans, the natural benefits may be lost.
但是那些试图将黑巧克力作为一种健康零食进行营销的公司可能会遇到困难——可可含量越高，味道越苦。另外，市面上的黑巧克力往往含有高热量、饱和脂肪，还可能含有大量的糖。除此之外，在可可豆的清洗、发酵和烘焙等实际生产过程中，天然的好处可能会失去。
All in all, it seems that consuming a moderate amount of dark chocolate can’t do you harm – just look for a high cocoa solid percentage!
总而言之，食用适量的黑巧克力似乎不会对你造成伤害——只要寻找高含量的可可固体就可以了!
词汇表dark chocolate 黑巧克力roast 烤，烘cacao seeds 可可种子cocoa solids 可可块cocoa butter 可可油，可可脂cocoa content 可可含量dense 密度大的magnesium 镁iron 铁cranberry 蔓越莓pomegranate 石榴antioxidants 抗氧化剂inflammation 炎症type 2 diabetes 二型糖尿病market 推销bitter 有苦味的commercial 市面上的calorie 卡路里saturated fat 饱和脂肪manufacturing process 生产过程ferment 发酵moderate 适量的
测验与练习1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. What minerals may chocolate with a high cocoa content have?
2. What did a 2011 study compare cacao seeds with?
3. True or False? Dark chocolate can stop people getting type 2 diabetes.
4. Why is it difficult to market dark chocolate?
5. Why can commercial dark chocolate be unhealthy?
2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。
1. The doctor said I have low levels of _______ in my blood.
cocoa solids iron calories cocoa butter
2. My mum _______ chicken and vegetables at home every Sunday.
ferments markets roasts contains
3. Fried food has high levels of _______ and is not good for you.
inflammation antioxidants saturated fat cocoa content
4. I find the taste of black coffee very _______, so I add a lot of milk.
dense commercial bitter moderate
5. If I feel sad, I usually eat unhealthy snacks like crisps and _______.
magnesium pomegranate cranberries chocolate
答案1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. What minerals may chocolate with a high cocoa content have?It may be dense in minerals such as magnesium and iron.
2. What did a 2011 study compare cacao seeds to?‘Super fruits’ such as cranberries and pomegranates.
3. True or False? Dark chocolate can stop people getting type 2 diabetes.False. A study found that eating a small amount of 84% dark chocolate could reduce inflammation in people with type 2 diabetes.
4. Why is it difficult to market dark chocolate?Because the higher the cocoa content, the more bitter the taste.
5. Why can commercial dark chocolate be unhealthy?It tends to be high in calories, saturated fat and can contain significant amounts of sugar.
2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。
1. The doctor said I have low levels of iron in my blood.
2. My mum roasts chicken and vegetables at home every Sunday.
3. Fried food has high levels of saturated fat and is not good for you.
4. I find the taste of black coffee very bitter, so I add a lot of milk.
5. If I feel sad, I usually eat unhealthy snacks like crisps and chocolate.
,
