阅读理解
根据短文内容,从下框的A - F选项中选出能概括每一段主题的最佳选项.选项中有一项为
多余项.
A.The spreading tea
B.The history of tea growing
C.Changes of tastes for drinks
D.Reducing cancer risks
E.The plant Camellia sinensis
F.A woman's opinion of tea |
1. _____
Americans are far more knowledgeable about drinks than they were 20 years ago. Witness the
Starbucks revolution and you'll know where the trend goes. Now, encouraged by recent studies
suggesting that it can cut the risk of cancer and heart disease and slow the aging process, tea is
enjoying a similar change. Enough fashionable tea houses are springing up to make even longtime
coffee drinkers consider switching drinks.
2. _____
Tea is available in more places than ever. The Tea Association of the United States reports that
from 1990 to 1999, annual sales of the drink grew to $4.6 billion from $1.8 billion. "Green tea is
seen by consumers as a 'functional food'" - delivering health benefits beyond food itself, says Vierhile.
3. ____
Recently published studies point out that only teas that come from the leaves of the plant Camellia
sinensis have been shown to contain health benefits. Other herbal teas may taste good, yet they do
little more than warm up the drinker. But for Camellia sinensis, the evidence is powerful. In a 1998
study, Harvard University researchers found that drinking one cup of black tea a day lowered the risk
of heart attack by as much as 44 percent compared with non-tea drinkers, and other studies have
suggested that the antioxidants (抗氧化剂) in these so-called real teas can also prevent cancer.
4._____
One such antioxidant in green tea is ECGC, a compound 20 times as powerful as vitamin E and
200 times as powerful as vitamin C. "When people ask me for something good and cheap they can
do to reduce their cancer risk, I tell them to drink real tea," says Mitchell Gaynor, director of medical
oncology at New York City's Strang-Cornell Cancer Prevention Center.
5. _____
Among those inspired to become a green-tea drinker is Tess Ghilaga, a New York writer who
took it up after seeking advice from a nutritionist six years ago. "I've never been a coffee drinker,"
says Ghilaga, 33. "She told me to start drinking green tea for the antioxidant qualities." Now Ghilaga
and her husband habitually make tea - they order theirs from InPursuitofTea.com, an Internet tea
company. And although tea contains about half the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee, "you still get
such a kick from it," says Ghilaga.