10．What's your opinion on spicy food？Some people cannot handle even the smallest amount of chili（辣椒） in their dinner while others can't get enough of it．
Scientists have long been puzzled by why some people love chili and others loathe it．Plenty of research has been done on the subject，dating back to as far as the 1970s．Previous results showed that a love of chili is related to childhood experiences，and cultural influences affect our taste buds，too．But the latest study has found that a person's love of spicy food may be linked to his or her personality more than anything else，CBC News reported．
"We have always assumed that liking drives intake---we eat what we like and we like what we eat．But no one has actually directly bothered to connect these personality traits with intake of chili peppers，"said Professor John Hayes from Pennsylvania State University，who led the study．
But before you look at the study，you should first know that"spicy"is not a taste，unlike sour，sweet，bitter and salty．It is，in fact，a burning sensation that you feel on the surface of your tongue．This got scientists thinking that maybe a love of spicy food is brought about by people's longing for thrill，something they usually get from watching action movies or riding a roller coaster．
In the study，97participants，both male and female，were asked to fill out questionnaires about certain traits of their personality，for example．Whether they like new experiences or tend to avoid risks．They were then given cups of water with capsaicin（辣椒素），the plant chemical that makes chili burn，mixed into them．
By comparing the answers to questionnaires and what participants said they felt about the spicy water．Researchers found that those who most tended to enjoy action movies or take risks were about six times more likely to enjoy the spicy water．
Interestingly，we used to believe that the reason some people can withstand spicy food is that their tongue have become less sensitive to it．However，this latest study has found otherwise．It's not that it doesn't burn as badly，it's that you actually learn to like the burn，"Hayes explained．
29．What's the meaning of the underlined word"loathe"in the second paragraph？A
A．dislike
B．fear
C．put up with
D．a(chǎn)dapt to
30．What did Professor John Hayes and his team discover from their study？C
A．what we eat actually helps to develop our personalities．
B．Males are more likely to enjoy spicy food than females．
C．Those trying to avoid risks tend to be less interested in spicy food．
D．People are wrong to treat spicy as a kind of taste rather than a feeling．
31．Why do some people like spicy food according to the recent study？B
A．Because their taste buds have become less sensitive．
B．Because they love the burning sensation．
C．Because they want to challenge themselves．
D．Because the more they try spicy food，the less it burns．
32．What's the main idea of the passage？B
A．What he or she likes to eat mainly decides on his or her personality．
B．That a person enjoys spicy food depends largely on the personality．
C．His or her childhood experiences decide on his or her personality．
D．His or her cultural background decides on his or her personality．
分析 本文主要向我們介紹了一項關(guān)于人為什么喜歡辣味食物的研究，研究表明，人們喜歡吃辣跟一個人的個性有關(guān)，是因為喜歡刺激和舌頭燃燒的感覺．
解答 29．A 詞義猜測題，根據(jù)第二段Scientists have long been puzzled by why some people love chili and others loathe it可知科學(xué)家們對于為什么一些人很喜歡辣椒而其他人很不喜歡感到很困惑，loathe與love為反義詞，為不喜歡，故選A．
30．C 細(xì)節(jié)理解題，根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段Researchers found that those who most tended to enjoy action movies or take risks were about six times more likely to enjoy the spicy water．可知研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)那些喜歡冒險的人更喜歡辣椒，由此可知不喜歡冒險的人不喜歡辣椒，故選C．
31．B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題，根據(jù)第四段in fact，a burning sensation that you feel on the surface of your tongue可知辣味的食物會帶來舌頭燃燒的感覺，以及最后一段It's not that it doesn't burn as badly，it's that you actually learn to like the burn，"Hayes explained．可知人們喜歡吃辣是因為人們喜歡燃燒的感覺，故選B．
32．B 主旨大意題，通讀全文可知文章講的是通過研究表明，人們喜歡吃辣與一個人的個性有關(guān)，是因為喜歡刺激和燃燒的感覺，故選B．
點評 考查學(xué)生的細(xì)節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力．做細(xì)節(jié)理解題時一定要找到文章中的原句，和題干進(jìn)行比較，再做出正確選擇．在做推理判斷題時不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實，要根據(jù)文章事實進(jìn)行合乎邏輯的推理判斷．
