【新闻精讲】

Nutrition
Bittersweet
Why sugar is bad for you. Really bad.
CHRISTMAS is the most fattening time of the year. There are claims that the average Westerner will consume 6,000 calories on December 25th, well over twice the recommended daily intake for men and more than that for women. He or she could put on nearly two kilos in the last week of the year. Short winter days and too much slouching in front of the television accounts for some of that. But the main cause of festive obesity may well be sugar, an essential ingredient in Christmas pudding, brandy butter, chocolate, marzipan, mince pies and alcohol.
“Sugar spoils no dish,” averred a 16th-century German saying. But it certainly spoils and savages people’s health, says Gary Taubes, an American science writer who has focused heavily on the ills of sugar over the past decade and is the co-founder of an initiative to fund research into the underlying causes of obesity. In “The Case Against Sugar” he argues that dietary fat was fingered for decades as the perpetrator of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Abetted by an industry that funded scientific research linking fat with coronary disease, sugar, the real culprit according to Mr Taubes, was allowed to slip off the hook.

【精讲文本】
CHRISTMAS is the most fattening time of the year. There are claims that the average Westerner will consume 6,000 calories on December 25th, well over twice the recommended daily intake for men and more than that for women.
圣诞节是一年中最让人增肥的日子。据称一个普通西方人在12月25日这一天会摄入6000卡路里的热量，是男性每日建议摄入量的两倍还多，对于女性来说就超出更多了。
fattening adj.增肥的
- fatten v.增肥
consume v.消耗（吃，用）
- The new lights consume less electricity.
intake n.摄入
- intake of food/alcohol

He or she could put on nearly two kilos in the last week of the year. Short winter days and too much slouching in front of the television accounts for some of that. But the main cause of festive obesity may well be sugar, an essential ingredient in Christmas pudding, brandy butter, chocolate, marzipan, mince pies and alcohol.
一个人在一年的最后一周可能会增重近两公斤。冬季白天短，人们窝在电视前的时间太长，这是增重的部分原因。但节日肥胖的主要原因很可能还是糖，它是圣诞布丁、白兰地黄油、巧克力、杏仁蛋白软糖、肉末馅饼和酒类中的关键成分。
slouching n.站立/坐着时候缩着
- slouch v.
- Sit up straight. Please don't slouch!
account for 导致
- Icy roads account for accidents.
fesitve adj.节日的
obesity n.肥胖症
essential adj.主要的
ingredient n.成分
pudding 布丁
marzipan 杏仁膏
mince pie 肉馅饼

“Sugar spoils no dish,” averred a 16th-century German saying. But it certainly spoils and savages people’s health, says Gary Taubes, an American science writer who has focused heavily on the ills of sugar over the past decade and is the co-founder of an initiative to fund research into the underlying causes of obesity.
16世纪的一句德国俗语笃定地称：“菜里加糖准没错。”但美国科学作家加里•陶布斯（Gary Taubes）认为糖确实会损害甚至摧残人们的健康。他在过去十年中一直专注探究糖的危害，并且与他人共同创建了一个项目，为研究肥胖的根本原因提供资助。
spoil v.破坏 (damage)
- The fight spoiled the party.
aver v.断言 (to say something in a very strong way)
- He averred that he was innocent.
savage v.迫害，威胁 (to attack or treat in a cruel and violent way)
initiative n.项目 (a plan or program that is intended to slove problem)
fund v.筹资
underlying adj.根本的 (something that forms the basis)
- An investigation of the underlying issues.
cause n.原因

In “The Case Against Sugar” he argues that dietary fat was fingered for decades as the perpetrator of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Abetted by an industry that funded scientific research linking fat with coronary disease, sugar, the real culprit according to Mr Taubes, was allowed to slip off the hook.
在《糖的罪行》（The Case Against Sugar）一书中，陶布斯指出几十年来膳食脂肪一直被视为导致肥胖、糖尿病和心脏病的元凶。食品行业资助那些将脂肪与冠心病联系在一起的科学研究，使得糖这个陶布斯眼中真正的罪魁祸首得以逍遥法外。
dietary adj.饮食的
- diet n.饮食
- going on a diet 节食
finger v.指出
perpetrator n.犯罪者
- perpetrate v. 犯罪 (do something illegal or wrong)
- He was planning to perperate a robbery.
diabetes n.糖尿病
abet v.支持，教唆做坏事 (to encourage someone in a criminal act)
- Their action was shown to abet terrorism.
coronary adj.冠心病的
culprit n.罪犯
slip off 逃走
hook n.钩子