VOA慢速英语2017--南瓜有益于健康
时间：2019-01-03 作者：英语课 分类：2017年VOA慢速英语(十一)月
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
There is one food that takes center stage during autumn – the pumpkin 1!
Many people use this orange gourd 3 as a decoration at Halloween.
But we also use it in many foods that are popular during the fall season – foods like pumpkin bread, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin cookies, pasta made with pumpkin and pumpkin pie. In fact, pumpkin pie is one of THE most common desserts at an American Thanksgiving table.
But perhaps we should try to eat pumpkin all year long, and not just in the fall.
Pumpkins are packed with important nutrients 5 and vitamins. If cooked in a healthy way, meaning without much butter or sugar, pumpkin is a powerhouse of health benefits.
Pumpkin is good for your eyesight
The nutrient 4 beta-carotene and Vitamin A are necessary for maintaining good eyesight. Pumpkins are a great source of both. In fact, one nutrition website says that one cup of cooked, mashed 7 pumpkin can give you more than 200 percent of your daily recommended amount of Vitamin A.
Pumpkin may help reduce your risk of getting cancer
The National Cancer Institute in the United States says on its website that antioxidants may help reduce a person’s risk of getting cancer. That is because antioxidants neutralize 8 something called free radicals 9 in the body. The Institute defines free radicals as “highly reactive chemicals that have the potential to harm cells.”
Antioxidants help to get rid of these free radicals. Examples of antioxidants found in food include beta-carotene, lycopene, and vitamins A, C, and E. And as we said earlier, pumpkin is full of beta-carotene as well as vitamin A.
Pumpkin helps your skin
Beta-carotene also helps to keep your skin healthy and young-looking. Yet another good reason to eat pumpkin!
Pumpkin may help your heart
Pumpkin is also loaded with potassium. Health experts say that consuming potassium may help treat hypertension or high blood pressure, just as decreasing your intake 10 of sodium 11 does.
Pumpkin may be good for weight loss
Pumpkin also has a lot of fiber 12. Fiber slows down digestion 13 of food. So, when you eat pumpkin you feel full and eat less.
So, if it is available where you live, try to find ways to include pumpkin in your next meal.
And that’s the Health & Lifestyle report. I’m Anna Matteo.
Words in This Story
center stage – n. a central or highly prominent position
gourd – n. any of a family (Cucurbitaceae, the gourd family) of chiefly herbaceous tendril-bearing vines including the cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin
dessert – n. a usually sweet course or dish (as of pastry 14 or ice cream) usually served at the end of a meal
powerhouse – n. someone or something that is full of a particular thing : <Seaweed is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals.>
maintain – v. to keep in an existing state
mash 6 – v. to reduce to a soft pulpy 15 state by beating or pressure
potential – adj. capable of becoming real
intake – n. the amount of something (such as food or drink) that is taken into your body
sodium – n. a soft silver-white element that is found in salt, baking soda, and other compounds
- They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
- It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！
- I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）
- Are you going with him? You must be out of your gourd.你和他一块去？你一定是疯了。
- Give me a gourd so I can bail.把葫芦瓢给我，我好把水舀出去。
- Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
- The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。
- a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
- Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
- Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰，是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。
- two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
- Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。
- Nothing could neutralize its good effects.没有什么能抵消它所产生的好影响。
- Acids neutralize alkalis and vice versa.酸能使碱中和碱，亦能使酸中和。
- Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句
- Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
- There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。
- Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
- Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。
- The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
- The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。
- This kind of tea acts as an aid to digestion.这种茶可助消化。
- This food is easy of digestion.这食物容易消化。
- The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
- The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。