The first time I questioned the traditional wisdom on the nature of a healthy diet, it was 40 years ago, and the subject was salt. Researchers found that salt supplementation( 补充 ) was unnecessary after exercise, and this advice was passed on by health reporters. I recalled high school football practices in hot days. Without salt pills, I couldn’t make it through a two-hour practice.
Although sports nutritionists have recommended consuming more salt when we sweat hard in physical activity, the message that we should avoid salt at all other times remains strong. And salt is still considered deadly.
So why have we been told that salt is so deadly? The advice has always sounded reasonable: Eat more salt, and your body keeps water to maintain a stable concentration of sodium ( 钠 ) in your blood. This is why salty food might make us thirsty: We drink more; we keep water. The result can be a temporary increase in blood pressure. The scientific question is whether this temporary phenomenon leads to permanent problems: If we eat too much salt for years, does it cause high blood pressure, and then kill us? It makes sense, but it’s only a hypothesis( 假设 ), which hasn’t been proved but unfortunately accepted as a fact.
In reality, eating less salt can worsen health. Decades ago, Italian researchers’ study reported that reducing salt consumption increased the risk of dying early and that reducing sodium to a government-recommended “safe upper limit” is actually harmful.
Supporters of the eat-less-salt campaign( 运动 ) tend to deal with this opposing evidence ( 证据 ) by implying that anyone raising it is a shill( 同谋 ) for the food industry (widely criticized for adding salt to processed foods to improver taste). When several government agencies held a hearing last November to discuss how to ensure Americans eat less salt, anti-salt supporters argued that the latest reports suggesting damage from lower-salt diets should simply be ignored. This attitude, which lacks respect for science, has been held for the anti-salt campaign for decades. Maybe now is the time for it to change.
1 ． The underlined phrase in paragraph 1 refers to the belief that_________.
A ． people should take in salt after exercise
B ． salt intake was needless after physical activity
C ． salt pills were helpful during football practices
D ． a healthy diet does not necessarily include enough salt
2 ． What does the Italian researchers’ study show?
A ． Eating less salt can harm our health.
B ． Eating too much salt raises blood pressure.
C ． We should try to avoid salt on a daily basis.
D ． We should follow the recommended “safe upper limit”.
3 ． What do the eat-less-salt campaigners do with the opposing evidence?
A ． They treat it with some respect.
B ． They report it to the government agencies.
C ． They do scientific experiments to support it.
D ． They suggest that the food industry is behind it.
4 ． What is the writer’s attitude towards the anti-salt campaign?
A ． Supportive. B ． Unconcerned.
C ． Puzzled. D ． Negative.
1 ． B
2 ． A
3 ． D
4 ． D
【解析】
【导语】
这是一篇议论文。人们普遍认为摄入过多的盐会对身体造成伤害，并形成了反盐运动，认为盐是致命的。但作者对这样的运动持怀疑态度，认为少吃盐会恶化健康状况。
1 ．
词句猜测题，根据第一段 “Researchers claimed that salt supplementation ( 补充 ) was unnecessary after intense exercise, and this advice was passed on by health reporters. I recalled high school football practices in hot days. Without salt pills, I couldn’t make it through a two-hour practice. （研究人员声称，在剧烈运动后补充盐是不必要的，这个建议被健康记者传递下去。我回忆起高中在热天的足球训练。没有盐药片，我无法进行两小时的练习） ” 推知，划线部分 “the traditional wisdom （传统智慧） ” 指的是 “ 剧烈运动后补充盐是不必要的 ” ，所以作者才会质疑这个传统智慧。故选 B 。
2 ．
细节理解题。根据第四段 “In reality, eating less salt can worsen health. Decades ago, Italian researchers’ study reported that reducing salt consumption increased the risk of dying early and that reducing sodium to a government-recommended “safe upper limit” is actually harmful. （事实上，少吃盐会恶化健康。几十年前，意大利研究人员的临床试验报告称，减少盐的摄入会增加早死的风险，而将钠降低到政府建议的 “ 安全上限 ” 实际上是有害的） ” 可知，意大利研究人员的临床试验表明了少吃盐会对我们的健康构成威胁。故选 A 。
3 ．
细节理解题。根据最后一段 “Supporters of the eat-less-salt campaign tend to deal with this confusing evidence by implying that anyone raising it is a shill ( 同谋 ) for the food industry (widely criticized for adding salt to processed foods to improve taste). （ “ 少吃盐运动 ” 的支持者们在面对这一相反的证据时，往往会暗示，任何提出这一建议的人都是食品行业的托儿（食品行业因为在加工食品中添加盐以改善味道而受到广泛批评）） ” 可知，在面对相反的证据时，那些倡导少吃盐的人认为食品工业是幕后黑手，那些反对 “ 少吃盐 ” 的人都是食品行业的托，因为食品行业需要大量盐来改善味道。故选 D 。
4 ．
推理判断题。根据第一段 “The first time I questioned the conventional wisdom on the nature of a healthy diet, it was 40 years ago, and the subject was salt. （我第一次质疑关于健康饮食本质的大众观念是在 40 年前，当时的话题是盐） ” 和最后一段 “This attitude, which lacks respect for science, has been the norm for the anti-salt campaign for decades. Maybe now is the time for it to change. （这种不尊重科学的态度已经成为反盐运动几十年来的准则。也许现在是时候改变了） ” 推知，作者对于反盐运动持否定态度。故选 D 。