题目
Mothers have known it for years-Give the childrentheir regular hamburger, and they will love it; spendhours making a novel home-cooked meal, and theymay leave it on the plate. Now French scientists havediscovered why. According to researchers near Paris,the brain does not respond well to unfamiliar tastes.Sensations are not as strong when the mind isstruggling to understand messages that come fromthe tongue. This provides little reason to taste newthings.Human beings are naturally like rats-we are afraid ofanything new. If you give rats some food that theyhave never had before, they will turn their backs on itout of fear. We are the same. It is possible tointroduce new foods, but only in the rightpsychological context, like a birthday. Once theintroduction has been made, the fact of having a fullstomach is physically pleasing, so the next time it iseasier. However, some foods are more tempting thanothers. Scientists are sure that we are born with asweet tooth. This is why children have a natural desirefor sugar.66. Why do children prefer a hamburger to a home-cooked meal?A They associate hamburgers with fun andplaytime.B The food carefully made at home is nottasty.C The brain doesn't respond well to unfamiliartastes.D They prefer food that tastes like ahamburger.
Mothers have known it for years-Give the children
their regular hamburger, and they will love it; spend
hours making a novel home-cooked meal, and they
may leave it on the plate. Now French scientists have
discovered why. According to researchers near Paris,
the brain does not respond well to unfamiliar tastes.
Sensations are not as strong when the mind is
struggling to understand messages that come from
the tongue. This provides little reason to taste new
things.
Human beings are naturally like rats-we are afraid of
anything new. If you give rats some food that they
have never had before, they will turn their backs on it
out of fear. We are the same. It is possible to
introduce new foods, but only in the right
psychological context, like a birthday. Once the
introduction has been made, the fact of having a full
stomach is physically pleasing, so the next time it is
easier. However, some foods are more tempting than
others. Scientists are sure that we are born with a
sweet tooth. This is why children have a natural desire
for sugar.
66. Why do children prefer a hamburger to a home-
cooked meal?
A They associate hamburgers with fun and
playtime.
B The food carefully made at home is not
tasty.
C The brain doesn't respond well to unfamiliar
tastes.
D They prefer food that tastes like a
hamburger.
题目解答
答案
根据文章，法国科学家发现大脑对不熟悉的味道反应不佳。当大脑需要理解新味道时，感觉不会那么强烈，这导致孩子们更倾向于选择熟悉的食物（如汉堡包），而非家常菜。选项分析如下：
- A项：未提及汉堡与娱乐的关联，排除。
- B项：文章未说明家常菜不好吃，排除。
- C项：符合文章核心，大脑对不熟悉味道反应不佳。
- D项：未强调“熟悉”是关键原因，排除。
综上，正确答案是C。
答案：C. The brain doesn't respond well to unfamiliar tastes.
解析
本题考查对文章细节的理解，核心是找出孩子偏爱汉堡而非家常菜的原因。
首先，文章开头提到“Mothers have known it for years-Give the children their regular hamburger, and they will love it; spend hours making a novel home-cooked meal, and they may leave it on the plate.”（妈妈们早就知道——给孩子吃常规的汉堡，他们会很喜欢；花几小时做一道新奇的家常菜，他们可能留在盘子里不吃），随后点出关键：“Now French scientists have discovered why. According to researchers near Paris, the brain does not respond well to unfamiliar tastes.”（现在法国科学家发现了原因：巴黎附近的研究人员称，大脑对不熟悉的味道反应不佳）。
接下来分析选项：
- A项：文章未提及汉堡与“fun and playtime”（乐趣和玩耍时间）的关联，无依据，排除；
- B项：文章未说家常菜“not tasty”（不好吃），只是强调“unfamiliar”（不熟悉），曲解文意，排除；
- C项：直接对应科学家发现的核心原因“the brain does not respond well to unfamiliar tastes”，正确；
- D项：文章未将原因归结为“tastes like a hamburger”（味道像汉堡），而是“familiar”（熟悉），排除。