A
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away. ”is one of the most common sayings in the English language. This is because apples were one of the first foods that medical professionals recognized as healthy—their benefits became obvious when, quite simply, doctors found that people who ate apples were sick less often than those who did not. Today we have a more specific understanding of why apples are so beneficial to overall health.
Apples can help keep your levels of bad cholesterol(胆固醇)down. The pectin(果胶)in apples helps you to maintain cardiovascular health and reduce LDL cholesterol(which is the“bad”kind). Apples themselves do not add cholesterol to your diet and are full of water and fiber to help prevent the cholesterol in other foods you might digest. According to Health Diaries, people who eat two apples per day may lower their cholesterol by as much as 16 percent.
Apples are naturally low in calories and high in water content. Eating an apple can satisfy your hunger and keep you from reaching for high-sugar, high-calorie snacks. By eating apples, you will be more able to maintain a healthy weight because they fill you up, potentially stopping you from eating food that encourages a waistline increase.
Apples contain respectable levels of boron(硼), which helps build healthy bones, and can also prevent diseases like arthritis. Apples are rich in vitamin C, which is known to help build immunity.
Studies have shown that apples can decrease the risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, and liver cancer. One theory is that the apple skins are responsible for this, so be sure not to peel your apples before you eat them, as you could remove some of the health benefits.
【语篇概述】一天一苹果, 医生远离我。这句谚语说明了在日常生活中苹果对我们的健康很有益处。本文介绍了吃苹果在哪些方面有益于我们的健康。
1. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. An explanation of an English saying.
B. How to make full use of apples.
C. Apples are beneficial to our health.
D. How to keep healthy in our daily life.
【解析】选C。主旨大意题。本文主要叙述了吃苹果在哪些方面有益于我们的健康。首段末句“Today we have a more specific understanding of why apples are so beneficial to overall health. ”便引出中心话题, 故选C项。
2. By eating apples we can get many benefits EXCEPT .
A. lowering the cholesterol
B. keeping a healthy weight
C. building immunity
D. preventing heart disease
【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第二、三、四段可知, 吃苹果可以降低胆固醇, 维持健康体重和增强免疫力, 而预防心脏病文章并未提及, 故选D项。
3. Which of the following words can most probably replace the underlined word“respectable”?
A. Admirable. B. Considerable.
C. Reliable. D. Valuable.
【解析】选B。词义猜测题。A项“可敬的”; B项“值得考虑的, 相当多的, 巨大的”; C项“可信赖的”; D项“有价值的”。根据本句中定语从句“可帮助增强骨骼健康, 防止疾病”可知, 苹果内含大量的硼元素, 故选B项。
4. Which plays an important role in reducing the risk of breast cancer?
A. The pectin in apples.
B. The apple skins.
C. The flesh of apples.
D. The number of apples.
【解析】选B。细节理解题。根据最后一段首句和第二句中的“One theory is that the apple skins are responsible for this. . . ”可知, 苹果皮能起到抗癌作用, 故选B项。
