新编大学英语阅读部分第二册Unit1-1

Unit 1
Food

In-Class Reading

Food and Culture

I. Word List
Directions: Memorize the words and phrases before class. You will benefit from your effort when you get the passage from your teacher and read it in class.

Proper Names

Fiji
(地名)斐济

Israelite
犹太人，希伯莱人；古以色列人

Muhammad Ali
(男子名)穆罕默德.阿里

The Fiji Islands
斐济群岛(位于南太平洋)

New Words

anthropologist¹
n. a person who specializes in the study of people, their societies, cultures, etc. 人类学家

apparently² *
adv. according to appearances, seemingly³ 看来，显然地
e.g. I wasn't there, but apparently it was a good party.

appropriate *
adj. correct or suitable for a particular time, situation, or purpose 适当的，恰当的
e.g. The children were given tasks appropriate to their abilities.

bark *
v. make the short, loud sound that dogs and some other animals make 吠叫
e.g. He shouldn't bark at me; I'm one of the family.

broccoli⁴
n. 花椰菜

butterfly *
n. a type of insect that has large wings, often with beautiful colors 蝴蝶

calorie *
n. a unit for measuring the amount of energy that food will produce 卡(路里)

disgusting *
adj. extremely unpleasant and making someone feel sick 令人作呕的，令人恶心的
e.g. That fish smells disgusting.

fertilize⁵ *
v. add manure⁶ or chemical substances to soil to make crops grow well 使肥沃
e.g. The farmers fertilize their farmlands.

fertilizer *
n. 肥料

forbid
v. (forbade, forbidden) order somebody not to do something 禁止
e.g. She was shut away and forbidden to read.

gram *
n. a unit of weight 克

hamburger
n. 汉堡包

manure
n. 粪便

nauseating⁷
adj. disgusting 使人恶心的

nomad⁸
n. person without a fixed⁹ home 游牧部落的一员，流浪者

nomadic¹⁰
adj. unsettled 游牧的，游牧生活的

nutritious¹¹ *
adj. healthful 有营养的
e.g. Raw spinach¹² (菠菜) is especially nutritious because it contains many of the substances needed for life and growth.

pork *
n. the meat from pigs 猪肉

protection *
n. the act of protecting from harm or being kept from harm 保护
e.g. I ) Their flimsy (轻而薄的) tent gave hardly any protection against the severe storm.
II) An umbrella offers some protection against the rain.

protein *
n. 蛋白质
e.g. Meat and nuts are good sources of protein.

rat *
n. 鼠

sacred *
adj. holy and deserving respect 神圣的
e.g. This box holds the sacred relics¹³ (遗物) of a saint¹⁴.

sufficiently¹⁵ *
adv. enough or adequately 足够地
e.g. The food was fairly good and the portions were sufficiently large to please the men.

termite¹⁶
n. 白蚁

trichinosis
n. 旋毛虫病，毛线虫病

Food and Culture

1 We all have ideas about what kinds of foods are good to eat. We also have ideas about what kinds of foods are bad to eat. As a result, people from one culture often think the foods that people from another culture eat are disgusting or nauseating. When the famous boxer¹⁷ Muhammad Ali visited Africa, for example, one member of his group became quite sick when he saw someone pick up a butterfly and eat it. Many people would find it disgusting to eat rats, but there are forty-two different cultures whose people regard rats as appropriate food.
2 Some people in Africa think African termites¹⁸ make a delicious meal. Many other people would probably be sick if they had to eat termites, but one hundred grams of termites contain more than twice as many calories and almost twice as much protein as one hundred grams of cooked hamburger.
3 However, food likes and dislikes do not always seem related to nutrition. For example, broccoli is first on a list of the most nutritious common vegetables, but it is twenty-first on a list of vegetables that Americans like most to eat. Tomatoes are sixteenth on the list of most nutritious vegetables, but they are first on the list of vegetables that Americans like most to eat.
4 But dislike is not the only reason why some cultures will not eat a certain food. In some cultures, certain foods are taboo¹⁹. Taboo is a word from the language of the Fiji Islands that is used to describe something that is forbidden. Some foods are taboo in certain religions, but there are also other food taboos²⁰ that are not connected to a religion. We do not usually think about why certain things are taboo in our culture. We may not even know why they are taboo. Anthropologists try to discover the hidden reasons for taboos. For example, the sacred cows of India are well-known. Cows can go wherever they want to in the streets of India, and they can eat anything they want from the supplies of the foodsellers on the street. As a result, the cows are a problem. However, no one in India will kill them or eat them. It is taboo to do so. This custom seems strange to other people, but anthropologists believe that there are reasons for it. First, cows are valuable because the farmers need them to help plow²¹ their fields. Second, cow manure is used as a fertilizer on the fields. In India, many farmers cannot afford to spend money on fertilizer. Third, the cow manure can be dried and burned to make cooking fires. Therefore, farmers that kill their cows for meat soon find that they cannot plow or fertilize their fields or make a cooking fire.
5 Another example is that Americans do not eat dogs, although people from some other cultures regard them as good food. In the United States, dogs are very important to people as pets. They are usually regarded as part of the family, almost like a child in some cases. In addition, dogs have value as protection against criminals. Thieves will not usually enter a house where there is a dog because the dog will bark and possibly attack a stranger who is trying to get into a house. Apparently, the dog's place in society as a companion and as a protection against criminals makes the dog taboo as food.
6 The taboo against eating pork occurs in more than one culture. There is some evidence that some ancient Egyptians did not eat pork. The ancient Israelites also regarded pork as taboo. One explanation for the pig-eating taboo is that pork that is not cooked sufficiently may spread a disease called trichinosis. However, most people no longer think that this is a good explanation for the pork taboo. Another explanation is that the Israelites were nomads-they were always moving from place to place. People have to stay in one place to raise pigs. The Israelites did not want to stay in one place because they did not want to change their culture. As a result, they did not eat pigs.
7 Anthropologists believe that most food likes and dislikes are a result of the ways of life of different people. Some people live in areas where there are both large animals and many insects. It is difficult for these people to kill large animals, and it requires a lot of energy. It is easier for them to use insects for food because it is not difficult to catch insects and it does not require a lot of energy. Nomadic people who move around will not want to keep pigs for food. People will not eat pets such as dogs. Americans eat a lot of beef because there is plenty of land for raising cattle and their meat can be shipped cheaply for long distances by railroads. (813 words)

Time taken: _____ minutes


Phrases and Expressions
be sick
bring food up from the stomach through the mouth, vomit²² 呕吐
e.g. You'll be sick if you eat any more of that chocolate.

be sick of... be very annoyed about...
对......感到厌烦的
e.g. I'm sick of the way you're behaving.

in addition besides 此外
e.g. She can sing, and, in addition, she can dance.

pick up
lift or take up 拿起
e.g. If you need advice, you have only to pick up the phone, or come to us.

regard...as... think of... as...
把......看成......
e.g. My mother still regards me as a child.

related to connected in some way
与......相关
e.g. You can't prove that violent crime is related to violence on television.

1 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 seemingly   

adv.从表面上看起来，似乎是

参考例句：

• Seemingly,we can do nothing to prevent this from happening.我们似乎没有什么办法阻止这件事发生。
• For several seemingly interminable seconds no one spoke.有几秒钟没有人讲话，这几秒钟似乎十分漫长。

4 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

5 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

6 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

7 nauseating   

adj.令人恶心的，使人厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I had to listen to the whole nauseating story. 我不得不从头到尾听那令人作呕的故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• There is a nauseating smell of rotten food. 有一股令人恶心的腐烂食物的气味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 nomad   

n.游牧部落的人，流浪者，游牧民

参考例句：

• He was indeed a nomad of no nationality.他的确是个无国籍的游民。
• The nomad life is rough and hazardous.游牧生活艰苦又危险。

9 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

10 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

11 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

12 spinach   

n.菠菜

参考例句：

• Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
• You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。

13 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

14 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

15 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

16 termite   

n.白蚁

参考例句：

• The termite control was also probed into further in this text.本文还进一步探讨了白蚁的防治方法。
• Termite often destroys wood.白蚁经常破坏树木。

17 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

18 termites   

n.白蚁( termite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Termites are principally tropical in distribution. 白蚁主要分布在热带地区。 来自辞典例句
• This spray will exterminate the termites. 这种喷剂能消灭白蚁。 来自辞典例句

19 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

20 taboos   

禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为）

参考例句：

• She was unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos. 她被藩蓠、法律及外来的戒律赶下了马。
• His mind was charged with taboos. 他头脑里忌讳很多。

21 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

22 vomit   

v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物

参考例句：

• They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
• She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。