Question

High-sugar diets raise risks for heart disease, obesity and diabetes, but we do love our sweets, so health experts have tried to suggest alternatives, and honey has been foremost among them.

Honey is actually sweeter than sugar is , which means, in theory at least, that you could enhance flavor equally with a smaller quantity of honey. But honey actually has a higher calorie count. It may have more minerals, which looks better on a label but, in reality, these are such trace amounts that they don’t offer any real advantages.

Honey’s reputation as a medicine is not wholly unfounded. Some honey does indeed have antibacterial properties. One byproduct of enzymes in honey is hydrogen peroxide, a powerful germ killer. Plus, honey’s texture and consistency are good for keeping wounds clean, and bad for bugs that might want to infect them. Honey is moist and its gooey consistency mean it can easily spread over and stay over wounds while keeping the tissue from becoming dry and fragile. The sticky substance means bacteria can not accumulate and multiply easily. It is particularly well-known for fighting bacteria like staph, salmonella, E. Coliand certain bacteria that can infect the gut and cause ulcers.

However, scientists can only say this for sure about Makuna and Malaysian Tualang honey. We don’t know yet whether local home grown honey has the same potency-or safety. A hot cup of tea with some honey stirred in certainly sounds like it would make you feel better. But it’s difficult to say for sure that it will.

When you have a cold, contact with warm water (from tea) may help to bust up phlegm(痰）that blocks your airways. But some suspect the real secret to the qualities of a cuppa is in the honey. There are studies that suggest that honey does work as well or better than cough suppressant（抑制性的）drugs like Robitussin.

Most of these, however, were considered by the academic world to be widely misinterpreted by the media. One of the findings that seemed to have given the honey trend some additional legs came from a study that said there was “no difference”, statistically speaking, between honey and one particular cough suppressant.

1.What can we learn from the passage?

A. Honey has more minerals than sugar.

B. Honey can be used to treat wounds.

C. The sweetness in honey can fight bacteria.

D. All kinds of honey can act as medicines.

2.What is the author's attitude when it comes to the functions of honey?

A. Objective    B. Critical

C. Supportive    D. Skeptical

3.What might be talked about next?

A. Honey will be widely used in other fields.

B. Honey will not be recommended in medical treatment any more.

C. Other studies showed honey worked better than some cough medicines.

D. Other studies showed neither honey nor some cough medicines functioned well.

Answer

1. B

2. A

3. B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。高糖饮食会增加患心脏病、肥胖症和糖尿病的风险，但我们确实爱吃甜食，所以健康专家们试图提出替代食品，蜂蜜是其中最重要的。同时蜂蜜可以用来治疗伤口。

1.推理判断题。根据第三段中Plus, honey’s texture and consistency are good for keeping wounds clean, and bad for bugs that might want to infect them.可知，蜂蜜可以用来治疗伤口。故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据第五段中There are studies that suggest that honey does work as well or better than cough suppressant（抑制性的）drugs like Robitussin.和第六段第一句Most of these, however, were considered by the academic world to be widely misinterpreted by the media.可知，作者对蜂蜜的作用持客观的态度。故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段中One of the findings that seemed to have given the honey trend some additional legs came from a study that said there was “no difference”, statistically speaking, between honey and one particular cough suppressant.可知，文章接下来讲述的应该是“蜂蜜将不再被推荐用于医疗。”故选B。