“危險(xiǎn)”的生魚片？

“危險(xiǎn)”的生魚片？

在紐約和倫敦的金融區(qū)，聚集著眾多以商務(wù)人士為主要顧客群體的小型餐館飯店。近幾年，這些小店提供的食物從簡(jiǎn)單的三明治變換成了壽司和生魚片。隨著經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展，生活水平提高，人們紛紛尋找新的健康美食。日式壽司和生魚片好像在幾年前成為了“健康”的新代言人。但是最近人們卻發(fā)現(xiàn)，來(lái)自大海的這色香味俱全的美味，也暗藏洶涌。

測(cè)試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識(shí)：

mercury 水銀

sashimi 生魚片

marlin 槍魚

albacore tuna 長(zhǎng)鰭金槍魚

dietary 食譜

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Sushi addicts need to be aware of mercury toxicity risk（578words）

By Charles Wallace

* * *

Is eating sushi safe?

During a recent meal with a Wall Street financial adviser, he mentioned that he eats sushi several times a week because he believed it to be the most healthful and convenient way to dine while continuing to work at his desk. I was left wondering if that was as healthful as he said, given the recent concern about mercury in fish.

All around the financial centres in London and New York, shops which once featured only simple sandwiches now stock different types of sushi and sashimi, including those made from various types of tuna. This despite the well-publicised concern when Richard Gelfond, CEO of the US cinema group Imax, reported that he had been diagnosed with mercury toxicity after eating sushi on a daily basis.

In addition, the actor Jeremy Piven, star of ITV’s Mr. Selfridge franchise, also was reported to have been hospitalised for mercury toxicity from eating sushi.

While the European Food Safety Authority issued a new advisory notice on fish consumption earlier this year, it said that the types of fish consumed in Europe and fish-eating habits were so different across the continent that it was up to the individual countries to give specific advice.

Britain’s NHS has advice about canned tuna but not about sushi. The US Food and Drug Administration recently set its first minimum fish consumption target , emphasising the benefits of eating more low-mercury fish.

Given this confusion, I asked Michael Gochfeld, who has studied mercury toxicity for 30 years, what his best advice is about fish consumption.

Dr. Gochfeld, an adjunct clinical professor in the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute at New Jersey’s Rutgers University, said most people do eat too little fish, an excellent source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown in some studies to be protective against heart disease and cancer. But he acknowledged that there can be too much of a good thing.

“If you eat fish rarely, such as less than once a month, it’s likely that your health will benefit from eating more fish,” Dr. Gochfeld explains. “If you eat fish frequently, more than twice a week, you have to pay attention to eating low mercury fish if you don’t want to get food poisoning.”

Among the fish that have been found to have the highest mercury content are swordfish, shark, marlin and albacore tuna. “If you go to a high-end sushi bar in New York, the chances are the tuna sushi will be bigeye tuna with high mercury levels,” he says, adding that in Japan, sushi is a prized delicacy but eaten only once a month. Sushi is often made from fish other than tuna, which can be safe to eat in larger quantities.

This mercury warning is especially true for pregnant women. “Having even one meal with high mercury fish, like one swordfish serving, at the wrong time could have an impact on a developing foetus,” Dr. Gochfeld cautions.

While he loves tuna sushi himself, he restricts his consumption to once a month and eats low mercury fish such as salmon a couple of times a week.

That advice is similar to the counsel from the British government, which says that pregnant women and young children should not eat swordfish, shark or marlin, and that other adults should limit their intake to one portion a week. As for me, I love salmon so that is my dietary mainstay, but also eat other low-mercury fish.

請(qǐng)根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測(cè)題目：

1. What’s the author’s opinion towards eating sushi and sashimi on a regular basis?

a. Healthy

b. Deadly

c. No idea

d. Concern

2. When would it be safe to eat sushi and sashimi?

a. If you rarely eat fish

b. If you eat fish more than two times a week

c. If you really love fish

d. If you live on the sea

3. Which fish is not one of those with high mercury level?

a. Swordfish

b. Salmon

c. Shark

d. Albacore tuna

4. The possibility of mercury toxicity is most dangerous to which group of people?

a. Businessmen

b. Pregnant Women

c. Fashion Model

d. Government Official

[1] 答案d. Concern

解釋：文章第二段最后作者在講述了他的朋友的想法后，提到自己并不認(rèn)為經(jīng)常吃壽司和生魚片那么健康。相反，基于最近一些關(guān)于魚類水銀含量的調(diào)查結(jié)果讓他很擔(dān)憂。

[2] 答案a. If you rarely eat fish

解釋：文章第九段作者援引一位助理臨床醫(yī)師的話來(lái)指出，對(duì)于很少吃魚的人來(lái)說(shuō)，生魚片和壽司能為健康帶來(lái)幫助；但如果一周吃魚超過兩次，再在此基礎(chǔ)上增加生魚片和壽司的食用就會(huì)帶來(lái)可能水銀中毒的危害。

[3] 答案b. Salmon

解釋：文中倒數(shù)第四段作者點(diǎn)到了幾種公認(rèn)的含水銀量多的魚類，包括劍魚(swordfish)、鯊魚(shark)、槍魚(marlin)和長(zhǎng)鰭金槍魚(albacore tuna)，而三文魚(salmon)恰恰相反是含水銀量較少的魚類。

[4] 答案b. Pregnant Women

解釋：文章最后三段都強(qiáng)調(diào)了對(duì)于過多食用壽司或生魚片帶來(lái)水銀中毒的影響最大的群體就是懷孕的婦女。