優美的英語文摘
午休的學問
The Science Of The Siesta
午休的學問
When you go back to work or class after lunch, why is it so hard to stay awake?
當我們用完午餐回去工作或上課時，爲什麼很難保持清醒呢?
Although we get energy from food, we also use lots of energy to digest it. Your energy use increases 25-50% as you digest a meal. With all that action going on in the digestive system, the body sends extra blood to the gut to supply oxygen and other necessities.
儘管我們從食物中獲取能量，但也需要耗費許多能量來消化這些食物。消化一餐就會增加百分之二十五至五十的能量消耗。有了消化系統內的一系列活動，身體才能源源不斷地將額外的血液輸送到消化道以提供充足的氧氣和其它必需物。
How does the body know when to do this?
身體如何知道何時這樣做?
As food enters the stomach, the intestines secrete substances that dilate, or expand, the blood vessels that supply them with blood. As a result, more blood flows to the upper digestive tract, and there’s a bit less to go around to the rest of the body. That might make your arms and legs and brain feel a little sluggish!
當食物進入胃，腸道便分泌許多物質，它們使得爲腸道供血的血管膨脹或擴張。結果便是更多的血液流向上消化道，而循環於身體其它部分的血液則相應減少，這時你可能感覺渾身懶洋洋的，連大腦也變得遲鈍起來。
At the same time, the small intestine releases a hormone that activates the part of the brain that controls sleep, making you drowsy. Finally, the natural components in foods can also contribute to the snooze effect. Certain foods, especially carbohydrates, increase production of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin works both to stop sugar craving, and to make you very relaxed. The larger the meal, the more pronounced that feeling can be. With all of these physiological reasons why we might feel sleepy after eating, a siesta after lunch sounds like a brilliant idea, and maybe after dinner and breakfast too!
同時，小腸釋放出一種荷爾蒙，它可以激活控制睡眠的大腦區域，讓你昏昏欲睡。最後，食物中的天然成分也會讓你打盹。某些食物，特別是碳水化合物，會增加大腦中血清素的生成。血清素既可以抑制吃甜食的慾望，又可讓你倍感放鬆。吃得越多，這種感覺就越明顯。鑑於諸多生理原因導致我們餐後昏昏欲睡，也許午餐抑或早晚餐後小憩一會兒是個明智的選擇。
冰箱是怎樣工作的?
How Do Iceboxes Work?
冰箱是怎樣工作的?
Back when most folks relied on an icebox to cool food, a block of ice was a precious commodity. If you put hot food in the icebox, the ice might melt. And by the time the ice truck came through the neighborhood again, all your food may have spoiled. To preserve the ice as long as possible, people made sure to cool hot foods before putting them in the icebox.
以前，當大多數人們需要倚賴冰盒來冷卻食物的時候，一塊冰塊就是一件珍貴的商品。如果你把熱氣騰騰的食物放入冰盒，冰 塊會融化。等到運送冰塊的卡車再次穿過街區的時候，你所有需要冷藏的食物也許都已經腐壞了。爲了讓冰塊保存得儘可能長久，人們在確保食物冷卻之後再將其放 入冰盒。
All About Iceboxes
有關冰箱的一切
These days, before putting hot food in the fridge, many people cool it on the kitchen counter, just as generations before did in the icebox days. But now there’s no precious block of ice to preserve, and refrigerators are designed to handle food hot off the stove or out of the oven.
如今，在把熱氣騰騰的食物放入冰箱之前，許多人會先把它放在廚房檯面上冷卻，跟上幾代人在冰盒年代的做法一致。但如今我們不再使用珍稀的冰塊來冷藏食物，而冰箱的功能本身就能應付剛從烤爐或烤箱下架的燙手食物。
Hot food may make the refrigerator’s motor run a little longer to bring the temperature back down, but that doesn’t overwork the motor. And chilling food as soon as possible can help prevent food poisoning. Here’s why.
燙手的食物會讓冰箱壓縮機運轉得稍久一點才能把食物溫度降下來，但那樣也不至於造成壓縮機超負荷工作。而且儘快冷卻食物有助於防止食物中毒。來聽聽以下解釋。
Chilling
冷卻食物
Warm food is the perfect environment for bacteria to multiply. Chill the food, though, and the party’s over, because cooler temperatures slow or stop bacterial growth. Our bodies normally handle small doses of bacteria in food, but what can give you food poisoning is large numbers of harmful bacteria. The sooner you chill food, the sooner any harmful bacteria that may be in it will stop multiplying. With a refrigerator, you can chill hot foods right away. But the principle’s the same as in the icebox days-the longer food stays cold, the less chance it has to spoil.
有 一定熱度的食物是細菌繁殖的最佳聖地。讓我們把食物冷卻，那樣，細菌分裂活動就會停止。因爲較低的溫度會減慢或阻止細菌的成長。我們的身體通常能應付食物 中的少量細菌，但是有害細菌的大量存在會讓您食物中毒。越早冷卻食物，其中可能包含的有害細菌就能越快停止繁殖。有冰箱在身邊，您可以迅速冷卻燙手的食 物。不過在冰盒年代，這個道理同樣適用。食物冷藏的時間越長，它發生腐壞的可能就越小。
