单选题 Spices not only enhance the flavor of foods we eat, but they also have anti-microbial (抗微生物) properties that can keep food from spoiling. And as anyone who has had their power go out in the summer can tell you, meat products spoil much faster than vegetables due to growth of bacteria and other microbes. So if it's true that a major reason spicy foods have been popular for so long is because they help prevent spoilage, one might expect traditional meat dishes to be spicier than vegetable dishes. Here, the authors did a scientific analysis of the spiciness of dishes in more than 100 cookbooks from 36 countries and found exactly that.
Spices are aromatic (芳香的) plant materials that are used in cooking. Recently it was hypothesized that spice use yields a health benefit: cleansing food of parasites and pathogens (病原体) before it is eaten, thereby reducing food poisoning and food borne illnesses. In support, most spices have antimicrobial properties and use of spices in meat-based recipes is greatest in hot climates, where the diversity and growth rates of microorganisms are highest. A critical prediction of the antimicrobial hypothesis is that spices should be used less in preparing vegetables than meat dishes. This is because cells of dead plants are better protected physically and chemically against bacteria and fungi than cells of dead animals (whose immune system ceased functioning at death), so fewer spices would be necessary to make vegetables safe for consumption. We tested this corollary (推论) by compiling information on 2, 129 vegetable-only recipes from 107 traditional cookbooks of 36 countries. Analyses revealed that spice use increased with increasing ambient temperature, but less dramatically than in meat-based recipes. In all 36 countries, vegetable dishes called for fewer spices per recipe than meat dishes; 27 of these differences were significant. Of 41 individual spices, 38 were used less frequently in vegetable recipes; 30 of these differences were significant. Proportions of recipes that called for spice were also significantly lower for vegetable dishes. By every measure, vegetable-based recipes were significantly less spicy than meat-based recipes. Within-country analyses control for possible differences in spice plant availability and degrees of cultural independence. Results thus strongly support the antimicrobial hypothesis.

单选题 Spices are used ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】本题的答案在文章开头第一句话：“Spices not only enhance the flavor of foods we eat，but they also have anti-microbial properties that can keep food from spoiling”；选项D和这句话意思相符，为答案。选项A)具有一定的迷惑性，文中确实谈到了香料可以防止食物变质，但这并不是香料的主要功能，其主要功能还是在于增添食物的味道，同时防止食物的变质。

单选题 What is the founding of the scientific analysis of the spiciness of dishes in cookbooks from 36 countries? ______

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】作者在文中介绍了对来自36个国家的100多本烹饪书上介绍的食物烹饪时放香料情况分析的结果，这个结果证明了人们的猜想：传统的肉类菜肴都比蔬菜菜肴所使用的香料多，味道重。文中对应的语句在第1段的末尾：“…one might expect traditional meatdishes to be spicier than vegetable dishes. Here, the authors did a scientific analysis of the spiciness of dishes in more than 100 cookbooks from 36 countries and found exactly that”。选项A和文章内容相符，为答案。

单选题 Spices are used fewer in vegetable dishes than in meat dishes because ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】为什么在蔬菜菜肴中使用的香料比在肉类菜肴中少呢?文章在第2段中间部分回答了这个问题，那是因为死去的植物的细胞还能更好地预防细菌的滋生，而死去的动物，其免疫系统已经停止工作，因而其肉更容易腐烂变质，人们在烹饪的时候，也需放入更多的香料去防止食物变质。文中对应的语句为：“This is because cells of dead plants are better protected physically and chemically against bacteria and fungi than cells of dead animals (whose immune system ceased functioning at death), so fewer spices would be necessary to make vegetables safe for consumption”。选项C和文章内容相符，为答案。

单选题 Which of the statements is NOT true according to the analysis of 2,129 vegetable-only dishes? ______

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】题干中的关键信息是2,129 vegetable-only dishes，题干中的数字是很好的提示成分，学生能很方便地在文中找到对应的地方。细读关键词前后部分，可以判断，和文中信息不符的选项是B。B选项说的是：2,129道菜的菜谱中所涉及的所有香料(41种)在蔬菜菜肴中的使用频率都比在肉类菜肴中低。这个是与文中信息不符的，文中相关语句为：“of 4l individual spices，38 were used less frequently in vegetable recipes”，也就是说，所涉及的41种香料中，38种在蔬菜菜肴中使用频率都比在肉类菜肴中低。