Passage F
In recent years, a growing body of research has shown that our appetite and food intake are influenced by a large number of factors besides our biological need for energy, including our eating environment and our perception of the food in front of us.
Studies have shown, for instance, that eating in front of the TV (or a similar distraction) can increase both hunger and the amount of food consumed. Even simple visual cues, like plate size and lighting, have been shown to affect portion size and consumption.
A new study suggested that our short-term memory also may play a role in appetite. Several hours after a meal, people’s hunger levels were predicted not by how much they’d eaten but rather by how much food they’d seen in front of them; in other words, how much they remembered eating.
This disparity suggests the memory of our previous meal may have a bigger influence on our appetite than the actual size of the meal, says Jeffrey M. Brunstrom, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Bristol.
Hunger isn’t controlled solely by the physical characteristics of a recent meal. We have identified an independent role for memory for that meal,” Brunstrom says. “This shows that the relationship between hunger and food intake is more complex than we thought.”
These findings echo earlier research that suggests our perception of food can sometimes trick our body’s response to the food itself. In a 2011 study, for instance, people who drank the same 350-calorie milkshake on two separate occasions produced different levels of hunger-related hormones, depending on whether the shake’s label said it contained 620 or 140 calories. Moreover, the participants reported feeling more full when they thought they’d consumed a higher-calorie shake.
What does this mean for our eating habits? Although it hardly seems practical to trick ourselves into eating less, the new findings do highlight the benefits of focusing on our food and avoiding TV and multitasking while eating.
The so-called mindful-eating strategies can fight distractions and help us control our appetite, Brunstrom says
What is said to be a factor affecting our appetite and food intake?
文章第一段第一句话“including our eating environment and our perception of the food in front of us”明确指 出，人们摄入食物的量与对食物的感知有关。因此，本题的正确答案为A。
What would happen at meal time if you remembered eating a lot in the previous meal?
根据文章第三段第二句话“people’s hunger levels were predicted not by how much they’d eaten but rather by how much food they’d seen in front of them”可知，人们的饥饿程度取决于他们记得自己吃了多少食物，如 果印象中上一餐吃了很多，就不会感到很饿。因此，本题的正确答案为D。
What do we learn from the 2011 study?
由文章倒数第三段倒数第二句话“depending on whether the shake’s label said it contained 620 or 140 calories”可以得知，人们的饥饿程度与食物标签上的卡路里数有关，可见人们对食物的认知会被标签影 响。因此，本题的正确答案为B。
What does Brunstrom suggest we do to control our appetite?
文章倒数第二段最后一句话“the new findings do highlight the benefits of focusing on our food”指出，吃 东西的时候要专注于食物。因此，本题的正确答案为C。
What is the main idea of the passage?
本文介绍了多种可以影响饥饿程度的因素，包括记忆中食用的食物数量以及标签的影响等，这些影响 产生的作用都是心理性的。因此，本题的正确答案为B。