Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
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(差异) 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 380-calorie(卡路里) milkshake on two separate occasions produced different levels of hunger-related hormones(荷尔蒙) 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?
由题干中的appetite和food intake定位到首段第一句。 文章开篇指出人们的食欲和食物摄取受到诸多因素的影响， 包括人们的饮食环境和对面前食物的认知， 故答案为A。
What would happen at meal time if you remembered eating a lot in the previous meal?
文章第三段第二句指出， 饭后几小时， 决定人们饥饿程度的不是他们已食用的食物量， 而是他们吃饭时面前所见到的食物量。 也就是说， 影响人们饥饿程度的是他们记忆中的食物量而不是胃里的食物量。 由此可推断， 记忆对饮食造成影响， 如果记忆中上顿饭吃了很多， 那么不管是不是真的吃了很多， 都不会感觉太饿。 故答案为D。
What do we learn from the 2011 study?
第六段第二句详细描述了2011年的一项研究。 在研究中， 参与者在两个不同场合食用了相同卡路里的奶昔， 但是奶昔标签上分别标注了620卡路里和140卡路里， 结果显示， 根据标注的卡路里含量， 参与者分泌了不同水平的与饥饿相关的荷尔蒙， 且当食用了标注620卡路里的奶昔时， 他们感觉更饱。 实际上两份奶昔的卡路里含量是相同的， 由于标签标注的不同， 让人产生自我暗示， 使人体对食物产生了不同的反应。 故答案为B。
What does Brunstrom suggest we do to control our appetite?
文章最后一句指出， 所谓的“用心饮食”策略能够对抗干扰， 帮助人们控制食欲， 即Brunstrom建议我们通过该策略控制饮食。 “用心饮食”和前文中提到的“专注于食物”相照应， 故答案为C。
What is the main idea of the passage?
主旨大意题。 全文可分为三个部分： 第一部分提出论点， 人们的食欲和食物摄取受到包括环境和对食物的认知等诸多因素的影响； 第二部分引用相关科学研究论证这些影响因素， 特别指出饮食环境对食物的记忆，食物包装上的标签对人产生的心理暗示作用影响饮食； 最后一部分提出通过专注饮食来控制食欲的建议， 对食物及饮食环境的认知， 对食物的记忆， 食物标签产生的心理暗示等都属于心理因素。 统观全文， 作者一直围绕“心理因素对食欲的影响”展开论述， 故答案为B。