An Exotic Fruit|来自异国的超级食物──酪梨

by Brian Foden

When was the last time you tasted an avocado?

To some people, it's a dessert ingredient best eaten with milk and sugar. To others, it's a vegetable that's added to salads and other dishes. Most know it only as the primary ingredient in guacamole, the popular Mexican dip used to liven up nacho chips. _(1)_ being grown and used for thousands of years, the avocado remains a bit exotic and hard to classify. Some consider it a vegetable, but it is indeed a fruit.

While the avocado tree _(2)_ in Mexico, which remains the largest exporter of the fruit, production has spread to many other places with hot and humid climates. _(3)_, avocado trees are found in Peru, Chile, Southeast Asia, Australia, South Africa, India, and parts of the United States, mostly California, Florida, and Hawaii. Pear-shaped but also round in some cases, avocados _(4)_ over 1,000 varieties.

_(5)_ a very light taste, avocados get their smooth, buttery texture from their high fat content. While this comes down to about 250 calories for one cup of sliced avocados, the fat is monounsaturated, _(6)_ has been linked to health benefits, including lowering cholesterol levels. Avocados have even been described as a kind of superfood because they have the highest protein content of any fruit. In addition, they are _(7)_ vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants that help in preventing heart disease. So the next time you are making your grocery list, why not include avocados? Your body will thank you for it.

1.  (A) Since   (B) Despite (C) Except  (D) Concerning

2.  (A) originated  (B) orbited (C) inhabited   (D) interacted

3.  (A) On the contrary (B) By no means (C) That way    (D) For example

4.  (A) come in (B) turn on (C) yield to    (D) show off

5.  (A) By having   (B) To have (C) Having  (D) Had

6.  (A) what    (B) which   (C) that    (D) there

7.  (A) absent from (B) familiar to (C) packed with (D) longing for

来自异国的超级食物──酪梨

你上次吃酪梨是什么时候？

　　对有些人而言，它是制作甜点的食材，搭配牛奶和糖一起吃味道最棒。对另一些人而言，它是加到色拉和其他菜肴里的蔬菜。大多数人只知道它是制作酪梨色拉酱的主要原料，这是一种受欢迎的墨西哥式调味沾酱，它使得墨西哥玉米脆饼吃起来更有风味。尽管酪梨的种植和食用已有好几千年历史，它至今仍有股异国风情，并且难以分类。有些人认为它是蔬菜，但实际上它是一种水果。

　　酪梨树原产自墨西哥，该国至今仍是酪梨的最大输出国，许多其他气候炎热、潮湿的地方也有生产酪梨。例如，秘鲁、智利、东南亚、澳洲、南非、印度，以及美国的一些地区，主要分布在加州、佛州和夏威夷一带。酪梨状似西洋梨，但偶尔也看得到圆形的种类，其品种高达 1 千多种。

　　酪梨的味道很淡，因为富含脂肪，所以有奶油般的绵滑口感。虽然 1 杯切片的酪梨热量有 250 大卡，但其脂肪为单元不饱和脂肪，而这种脂肪对健康大有好处，包括可降低胆固醇的含量。酪梨甚至被形容是超级食物，因为其蛋白质含量位居所有水果之冠。此外，酪梨还富含维他命、纤维，和对预防心脏病很有帮助的抗氧化物。所以你下次在列购物清单时，不妨把酪梨列入，你的身体绝对会受益良多。

答案：1. (B)2. (A)3. (D)4. (A)5. (C)

6. (B)7. (C)

酪梨酱是中美洲阿兹特克文化里的传统调味料，用酪梨制成果酱以便用来蘸着主食吃。除了用酪梨外，还可以加入洋葱、辣椒、大蒜等。

在美国，酪梨酱很受欢迎，是年轻人开派对时经常准备的蘸酱，用来和炸马铃薯片、炸玉米片等一起食用。（数据源：维基百科）