英语听力精选进阶版 7160（在线收听）

Background: 背景：荷兰的一项研究表明，在对4万名每天都喝几杯茶或咖啡的人群进行了13年的跟踪后，专家们发现这一人群患心脏疾病的可能性较小。

The study in the journal of the American Heart Association could make pleasant reading for those who like a regular cup of tea.

It found that those who drank more than six cups of tea a day were a third less likely to develop heart problems than those who drank none.

Coffee drinkers also fared well, but only up to a point.

Those who consumed between two and four cups a day had a twenty percent lower risk of heart disease than those who drank little.

But the protective effects stopped with very heavy consumption.

The Dutch do not add milk to their tea as liberally as the British, and the jury's still out as to whether milk reduces the effectiveness of flavonoids, which are thought to be the key ingredient.

The British Heart Foundation welcomed the study, but warned that drinking all your tea while slouched on the couch was unlikely to offer many health benefits.

Glossary 词汇表

association 协会 

pleasant 令人愉快的 

fared well 结果不错、身体不错 

up to a point 一定程度 

consumed 喝 

protective 保护的，防卫的 

liberally 大量地 

jury's still out 仍是未知数 

foundation 基金 

slouched 无精打采地坐着

Questions and Answers

Drinking how many cups of tea a day was seen to lower the risk of heart problems? 

In the study those that drank six cups of tea or more were a third less likely to develop heart problems.

What stopped with very heavy consumption of coffee? 

The study found that the protective effects stopped with very heavy consumption of coffee.

True or false? The Dutch add more milk to their tea than the British. 

False. The British tend to add more milk to their tea than the Dutch.

What ingredient within tea and coffee is thought to lower the risk of heart disease? 

Flavonoids are the key ingredient in tea and coffee which is thought to lower the risk of heart disease.