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我们如何失去了与食物的感官联系(上)
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在现代社会，关于饮食最显著的一点是，我们在很多情况下表现得像是感官失灵了一样。
双语精读
How We Lost Our Sensory Connection With Food--And How to Restore It
我们如何失去了与食物的感官联系以及如何恢复
This is going to sound weird, but I want you to look closely for a moment at your thumbs. See how they flex forwards as well as back. Notice how responsive and grippy the skin is.
这听起来会很奇怪，但我想让你仔细看看你的大拇指，看看它们如何向前和向后弯曲，并留意一下手指皮肤的触觉有多灵敏、抓力有多么好。
The human thumb is not just a device for giving the thumbs-up sign or for picking up dropped keys. It is also one of the most efficient and sensitive tools in existence for determining the ripeness of fruit.
人类的拇指不仅仅是用来竖起大拇指或把掉落的钥匙捡起来。它也是确定果实成熟度的现存最有效和最灵敏的工具之一。
One of the hallmarks of being a hominid is having opposable thumbs: stronger, longer and more flexible than the thumbless hands of a spider monkey or the non-opposable thumbs of a marmoset.
原始人的特征之一是拥有对生拇指：比蜘蛛猴没有拇指的手掌或绒猴的不对生拇指更有力、更长、更灵活。
These opposable thumbs are a trait that humans share with our primate cousins such as chimpanzees. But it has only recently been discovered that our thumbs might have first evolved as a device for measuring whether or not fruit was ripe.
这些对生拇指是人类与黑猩猩等灵长类近亲的共同特征。但直到最近才发现，我们的拇指可能最初是作为一种测量果实是否成熟的工具进化而来的。
In 2016, biologist Nathaniel Dominy studied the way chimpanzees pick figs.
2016年，生物学家纳撒尼尔·多米尼研究了黑猩猩采摘无花果的方式。
Dominy found that chimpanzees use their dexterous hands to give figs a quick squeeze to determine whether they are ripe or not--a technique that works four times quicker on average than the method used by monkeys (plucking figs at random, biting them to check for ripeness and spitting out the unripe ones).
多米尼发现，黑猩猩用它们灵巧的双手快速捏一下无花果，判断果子是否成熟----这个技巧比猴子所用的方法平均快四倍（随机摘下无花果，咬一口来检查成熟度，然后吐出未成熟的无花果）。
Humans also have these incredible hands capable of identifying the ripest fruit from touch alone. But most of us don't use them that way anymore.
人类也有这样神奇的双手，单凭触摸就能识别最成熟的水果。但大多数人不再使用这种方法了。
If you want ripe fruit, you no longer need to rely on your own sense of touch. You can go into the nearest supermarket and buy a plastic tub of pre-peeled, pre-sliced mango or melon labelled "ripe and ready" or "ripe and sweet" and eat it with a fork.
如果想要成熟的水果，你不再需要依靠自己的触觉。你可以走进离你最近的超市，买一盒去皮、切好的芒果或甜瓜，上面标着"成熟即食"或"成熟香甜"的标签，然后拿起叉子开吃。
One of the most striking things about eating in the modern world is that we do so much of it as if we were sense-blind.
在现代社会，关于饮食最显著的一点是，我们在很多情况下表现得像是感官失灵了一样。
We still have the same basic physiognomy as our hunter-gatherer ancestors, yet much of the time, we switch off our senses when choosing what to eat. Our noses can distinguish fresh milk from sour milk, and yet we prefer to look at the use-by date rather than sniffing.
我们仍然与狩猎采集的祖先有相同的基本面貌，但在很多时候，我们在选择吃什么时会关闭我们的感官。我们的鼻子可以区分新鲜牛奶和酸腐的牛奶，但我们更喜欢看保质期，而不是闻一闻。
Senses, wrote the late anthropologist Jack Goody, are "our windows on the world"--the main tools through which humans acquire information about our environments.
已故的人类学家杰克·古迪写道，感官是"我们了解世界的窗口"----人类获取环境信息的主要工具。
Senses are instruments of survival as well as pleasure. But today, we have relinquished many of the functions of our own senses to the modern food industry--which suits that industry just fine. It suits us less well, judging by the current epidemic of diet-related ill health.
感官是生存的工具，也是享乐的工具。但今天，我们已经将感官的许多功能让渡给了现代食品工业----这正好适合这个行业。从目前与饮食相关的流行病来看，这不太适合我们。
词汇预习
device [高考]
美[dɪˈvaɪs] | 英[dɪˈvaɪs]
n. 装置；设备；策略；设计
current [高考]
美[ˈkɜːrənt] | 英[ˈkʌrənt]
n. 趋势；(水、气、电)流 adj. 现在的；流通的
efficient [高考]
美[ɪˈfɪʃnt] | 英[ɪˈfɪʃnt]
adj. 效率高的；胜任的
biologist [高考]
美[baɪˈɑːlədʒɪst] | 英[baɪˈɒlədʒɪst]
n. 生物学家
thumb [高考]
美[θʌm] | 英[θʌm]
n. 拇指 v. 翻阅；示意要求搭车
determine [高考]
美[dɪˈtɜːrmɪn] | 英[dɪˈtɜːmɪn]
v. 决定；决心；确定；测定
technique [高考]
美[tekˈniːk] | 英[tekˈniːk]
n. 技术；技巧；技能
switch [高考]
美[swɪtʃ] | 英[swɪtʃ]
n. 转换；开关；鞭子 v. 改变；交换；转换；鞭打
rely [高考]
美[rɪˈlaɪ] | 英[rɪˈlaɪ]
vi. 依靠；信任
survival [高考]
美[sərˈvaɪvl] | 英[səˈvaɪvl]
n. 幸存；幸存者；生存；残存物，幸存物；【人类学】(失去原有意义、作用的)残存文化特征
flexible [高考]
美[ˈfleksəbl] | 英[ˈfleksəbl]
adj. 柔韧的；灵活的；易弯曲的；可变通的
sensitive [高考]
美[ˈsensətɪv] | 英[ˈsensətɪv]
adj. 灵敏的；敏感的；感光的；易受伤害的；善解人意的 n. 敏感的人
hunter [高考]
美[ˈhʌntər] | 英[ˈhʌntə(r)]
n. 猎人；猎犬；猎马；搜寻者 n. 亨特（姓氏）
existence [高考]
美[ɪɡˈzɪstəns] | 英[ɪɡˈzɪstəns]
n. 存在；生存
distinguish [高考]
美[dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ] | 英[dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ]
vt. 区别；辨认；使显著
random [高考]
美[ˈrændəm] | 英[ˈrændəm]
adj. 任意的；随机的；随意的 n. 随意；任意 adv. 随机地
acquire [高考]
美[əˈkwaɪər] | 英[əˈkwaɪə(r)]
vt. 获得；学到；取得
squeeze [高考]
美[skwiːz] | 英[skwiːz]
v. 挤压；塞进；压榨；设法腾出 n. 挤压；少量；拥挤；严控；财政困难
ripe [高考]
美[raɪp] | 英[raɪp]
adj. 成熟的；熟的
melon [高考]
美[ˈmelən] | 英[ˈmelən]
n. 甜瓜
rely on [高考]
美[rɪˈlaɪ ɑːn] | 英[rɪˈlaɪ ɒn]
v. 依靠；信赖
for a moment [高考]
美[fɔ: ə ˈməumənt] | 英[fɔ: ə ˈməumənt]
片刻, 一会儿
switch off [高考]
美[swɪtʃ ɔːf] | 英[swɪtʃ ɒf]
(用开关)关掉
capable [高考]
美[ˈkeɪpəbl] | 英[ˈkeɪpəbl]
adj. 有能力的；能干的；有...的可能性
incredible [高考]
美[ɪnˈkredəbl] | 英[ɪnˈkredəbl]
adj. 难以置信的；惊人的
epidemic [高考]
美[ˌepɪˈdemɪk] | 英[ˌepɪˈdemɪk]
n. 流行病；传染病 adj. 流行的；传染性的
weird [高考]
美[wɪrd] | 英[wɪəd]
adj. 离奇的；古怪的；怪异的 n. 命运；预言者
trait [四级]
美[treɪt] | 英[treɪt]
n. 特征；特点；少许；一笔
responsive [四级]
美[rɪˈspɑːnsɪv] | 英[rɪˈspɒnsɪv]
adj. 回答的；应答的；易感应的
look at [四级]
美[lʊk æt] | 英[lʊk æt]
（仔细地）看；着眼，考虑
information about [四级]
美 | 英
有关……的信息
at random [四级]
美[æt ˈrændəm] | 英[æt ˈrændəm]
随便地； 任意地； 胡乱地
judging by [四级]
美 | 英
根据 ... 来判断
striking [四级]
美[ˈstraɪkɪŋ] | 英[ˈstraɪkɪŋ]
adj. 显著的; 引人注目的; 容貌出众的; 妩媚动人的 v. 打( strike的现在分词); 击; 敲响; 报时
capable of [六级]
美[ˈkepəbəl ʌv] | 英[ˈkeipəbl ɔv]
有…能力（或技能）的，能…的
tub [六级]
美[tʌb] | 英[tʌb]
n. 桶；浴盆；[口]行进缓慢的旧船 v. 装入桶；洗澡
works [专八]
美[wəks] | 英[wə:ks]
n. 工厂；修建；机器部件；全套物品
flex [专八]
美[fleks] | 英[fleks]
v. 弯曲；伸缩；屈曲 n. 花线；弯曲；弹性
anthropologist [考研]
美[ˌænθrəˈpɑːlədʒɪst] | 英[ˌænθrəˈpɒlədʒɪst]
n. 人类学家
non [考研]
美[nɒn] | 英[nɒn]
adv. [拉]非；不是
gatherer [考研]
美[ˈɡæðərər] | 英[ˈɡæðərə(r)]
n. 收集者；收集器(集合者)
hominid [考研]
美[ˈhɑːmɪnɪd] | 英[ˈhɒmɪnɪd]
n. 原始人类 adj. 灵长类的
don [托福]
美[dɑn] | 英[dɒn]
n. 先生（西班牙用语）；(牛津、剑桥大学的)指导教师 v. 穿上
重点讲解
How We Lost Our Sensory Connection With Food--And How to Restore It
我们如何失去了与食物的感官联系以及如何恢复
sensory adj. 感觉的；感官的
【例】sensory organs/deprivation 感觉器官；感觉丧失
【拓展】sense n. 感觉官能
【例】Dogs have a keen sense of smell.
狗的嗅觉很灵敏。
flex v. 屈伸；活动（四肢或肌肉）；使肌肉收缩
【例】He flexed his stiff arm slowly.
他慢慢地弯曲他那僵硬的手臂.
【拓展】flex one’s muscle 炫耀实力（作为警告或威胁）
【例】With multi-million pound backing from their American investors, United have been flexing their financial muscle.
有美国投资者的数百万英镑撑腰，曼联一直在炫耀其雄厚财力。
This is going to sound weird, but I want you to look closely for a moment at your thumbs. See how they flex forwards as well as back. Notice how responsive and grippy the skin is.
这听起来会很奇怪，但我想让你仔细看看你的大拇指，看看它们如何向前和向后弯曲，并留意一下手指皮肤的触觉有多灵敏、抓力有多么好。
sensory adj. 感觉的；感官的
【例】sensory organs/deprivation 感觉器官；感觉丧失
【拓展】sense n. 感觉官能
【例】Dogs have a keen sense of smell.
狗的嗅觉很灵敏。
flex v. 屈伸；活动（四肢或肌肉）；使肌肉收缩
【例】He flexed his stiff arm slowly.
他慢慢地弯曲他那僵硬的手臂.
【拓展】flex one’s muscle 炫耀实力（作为警告或威胁）
【例】With multi-million pound backing from their American investors, United have been flexing their financial muscle.
有美国投资者的数百万英镑撑腰，曼联一直在炫耀其雄厚财力。
The human thumb is not just a device for giving the thumbs-up sign or for picking up dropped keys. It is also one of the most efficient and sensitive tools in existence for determining the ripeness of fruit.
人类的拇指不仅仅是用来竖起大拇指或把掉落的钥匙捡起来。它也是确定果实成熟度的现存最有效和最灵敏的工具之一。
in existence 现存的；现有的
【例】This is the oldest Hebrew manuscript in existence.
这是现存最古老的希伯来语手稿。
determine v.
1. 查明；准确算出
【例】The policeman wanted to determine all the facts.
警察想要查清全部事实。
2. 决定；影响；支配
【例】The sale of ice cream is partly determined by the weather.
冰淇淋的销量部分取决于天气。
3. 决定；确定
【例】A date for the meeting has yet to be determined.
会议日期尚待确定。
One of the hallmarks of being a hominid is having opposable thumbs: stronger, longer and more flexible than the thumbless hands of a spider monkey or the non-opposable thumbs of a marmoset.
原始人的特征之一是拥有对生拇指：比蜘蛛猴没有拇指的手掌或绒猴的不对生拇指更有力、更长、更灵活。
in existence 现存的；现有的
【例】This is the oldest Hebrew manuscript in existence.
这是现存最古老的希伯来语手稿。
determine v.
1. 查明；准确算出
【例】The policeman wanted to determine all the facts.
警察想要查清全部事实。
2. 决定；影响；支配
【例】The sale of ice cream is partly determined by the weather.
冰淇淋的销量部分取决于天气。
3. 决定；确定
【例】A date for the meeting has yet to be determined.
会议日期尚待确定。
These opposable thumbs are a trait that humans share with our primate cousins such as chimpanzees. But it has only recently been discovered that our thumbs might have first evolved as a device for measuring whether or not fruit was ripe.
这些对生拇指是人类与黑猩猩等灵长类近亲的共同特征。但直到最近才发现，我们的拇指可能最初是作为一种测量果实是否成熟的工具进化而来的。
dexterous adj.
1. （身体或手）灵巧的；熟练的
【例】a dexterous surgeon 手术熟练的外科医生
2. 伶俐的；机敏的
【例】He is a dexterous debater who deals swiftly with interrogators.
他能言善辩，能灵巧自如地应对提问者。
at random 随机；随意
（英文释义：without deciding in advance what is going to happen, or without any regular pattern）
【例】Names were chosen at random from a list.
名字是从名单中随便点的。
In 2016, biologist Nathaniel Dominy studied the way chimpanzees pick figs.
2016年，生物学家纳撒尼尔·多米尼研究了黑猩猩采摘无花果的方式。
dexterous adj.
1. （身体或手）灵巧的；熟练的
【例】a dexterous surgeon 手术熟练的外科医生
2. 伶俐的；机敏的
【例】He is a dexterous debater who deals swiftly with interrogators.
他能言善辩，能灵巧自如地应对提问者。
at random 随机；随意
（英文释义：without deciding in advance what is going to happen, or without any regular pattern）
【例】Names were chosen at random from a list.
名字是从名单中随便点的。
Dominy found that chimpanzees use their dexterous hands to give figs a quick squeeze to determine whether they are ripe or not--a technique that works four times quicker on average than the method used by monkeys (plucking figs at random, biting them to check for ripeness and spitting out the unripe ones).
多米尼发现，黑猩猩用它们灵巧的双手快速捏一下无花果，判断果子是否成熟----这个技巧比猴子所用的方法平均快四倍（随机摘下无花果，咬一口来检查成熟度，然后吐出未成熟的无花果）。
dexterous adj.
1. （身体或手）灵巧的；熟练的
【例】a dexterous surgeon 手术熟练的外科医生
2. 伶俐的；机敏的
【例】He is a dexterous debater who deals swiftly with interrogators.
他能言善辩，能灵巧自如地应对提问者。
at random 随机；随意
（英文释义：without deciding in advance what is going to happen, or without any regular pattern）
【例】Names were chosen at random from a list.
名字是从名单中随便点的。
Humans**** also**** have**** these incredible**** hands capable of**** identifying the ripest**** fruit from**** touch alone.**** But most**** of**** us**** don't use them**** that**** way anymore.****
人类也有这样神奇的双手，单凭触摸就能识别最成熟的水果。但大多数人不再使用这种方法了。
If**** you want**** ripe**** fruit,**** you no**** longer**** need**** to**** rely**** on**** your**** own sense of**** touch.**** You can go**** into**** the nearest supermarket and buy a plastic tub of**** pre-peeled****,**** pre-sliced**** mango or**** melon labelled**** "ripe and ready"**** or**** "ripe and sweet"**** and eat it**** with**** a fork****.****
如果想要成熟的水果，你不再需要依靠自己的触觉。你可以走进离你最近的超市，买一盒去皮、切好的芒果或甜瓜，上面标着"成熟即食"或"成熟香甜"的标签，然后拿起叉子开吃。
One of the most striking things about eating in the modern world is that we do so much of it as if we were sense-blind.
在现代社会，关于饮食最显著的一点是，我们在很多情况下表现得像是感官失灵了一样。
striking adj. 引人注目的；显著的
【例】a striking change/instance/success 显著的变化/突出的事例/惊人的成功
【近义词】noticeable remarkable 显著的；引人注目的
switch off
1. 关闭（电灯；机器等）
【例】Please switch the lights off as you leave.
你离开的时候请把灯关了。
2. 不再注意；失去兴趣
【例】When I hear the word ‘football’ I switch off.
我一听见“足球”两个字，就自动屏蔽了。
distinguish...from... 区分……和……
【例】These are some features that distinguish spoken English from written English.
这是区别英语口语和书面语的一些特征.
We still have the same basic physiognomy as our hunter-gatherer ancestors, yet much of the time, we switch off our senses when choosing what to eat. Our noses can distinguish fresh milk from sour milk, and yet we prefer to look at the use-by date rather than sniffing.
我们仍然与狩猎采集的祖先有相同的基本面貌，但在很多时候，我们在选择吃什么时会关闭我们的感官。我们的鼻子可以区分新鲜牛奶和酸腐的牛奶，但我们更喜欢看保质期，而不是闻一闻。
striking adj. 引人注目的；显著的
【例】a striking change/instance/success 显著的变化/突出的事例/惊人的成功
【近义词】noticeable remarkable 显著的；引人注目的
switch off
1. 关闭（电灯；机器等）
【例】Please switch the lights off as you leave.
你离开的时候请把灯关了。
2. 不再注意；失去兴趣
【例】When I hear the word ‘football’ I switch off.
我一听见“足球”两个字，就自动屏蔽了。
distinguish...from... 区分……和……
【例】These are some features that distinguish spoken English from written English.
这是区别英语口语和书面语的一些特征.
Senses, wrote the late anthropologist Jack Goody, are "our windows on the world"--the main tools through which humans acquire information about our environments.
已故的人类学家杰克·古迪写道，感官是"我们了解世界的窗口"----人类获取环境信息的主要工具。
relinquish v.
1. （尤指不情愿地）放弃
【例】He was forced to relinquish control of the company.
他被迫放弃对公司的控制权。
2. 交出；让与
【例】She relinquished all control over the family business to her daughter.
她将掌管家族企业的全部权力让予女儿。
judging from/by 根据……判断
（英文释义：used to express the reasons why you have a particular opinion）
【例】Judging by her last letter, they are having a wonderful time.
从她上封信看，他们过得非常愉快。
Senses are instruments of survival as well as pleasure. But today, we have relinquished many of the functions of our own senses to the modern food industry--which suits that industry just fine. It suits us less well, judging by the current epidemic of diet-related ill health.
感官是生存的工具，也是享乐的工具。但今天，我们已经将感官的许多功能让渡给了现代食品工业----这正好适合这个行业。从目前与饮食相关的流行病来看，这不太适合我们。
relinquish v.
1. （尤指不情愿地）放弃
【例】He was forced to relinquish control of the company.
他被迫放弃对公司的控制权。
2. 交出；让与
【例】She relinquished all control over the family business to her daughter.
她将掌管家族企业的全部权力让予女儿。
judging from/by 根据……判断
（英文释义：used to express the reasons why you have a particular opinion）
【例】Judging by her last letter, they are having a wonderful time.
从她上封信看，他们过得非常愉快。
课后练习
What can be learned about opposable thumbs?
A. They are a unique feature possessed exclusively by human.
B. They enable human to perform various tasks efficiently.
C. They can give information about the health of a person.
D. They were initially evolved to help human make tools.
What did Nathaniel Dominy find from his study?
A. Chimpanzees’ had more intelligence than monkeys.
B. Chimpanzees learned how to find ripe fruits from human.
C. Thumbs helped chimpanzees obtain food more efficiently.
D. Thumbs became more dexterous after sufficient practice.
The example of buying fruit in the supermarket illustrates that ____.
A. the modern commerce has enriched people’s diet
B. sense of vision is more reliable than touch in daily life
C. there are various ways to determine the ripeness of fruit
D. people’s senses play a less important role in eating
Which of the following statements is true about senses?
A. Senses help human analyze the information of the world.
B. The food industry has sharpened people’s senses.
C. Senses can be deceptive in terms of the choice of food.
D. The functions of senses are too essential to be given up.