世界讨厌香菜日来了
元宵节快乐！今天还是个奇怪的日子——世界讨厌香菜日。你喜欢吃香菜吗？有研究发现，爱不爱吃香菜似乎是基因决定的？我们一起来看看。
🤔️小作业：
1. What genetic factor is implicated in the aversion to cilantro as per the findings of a study conducted by 23andMe?
A) The taste receptor gene
B) The OR6A2 olfactory receptor gene
C) The SNP in taste sensitivity
D) The enzyme for digesting aldehydes
A) More disliked by South and East Asians
B) Uniformly distributed across ethnicities
C) Less disliked by South and East Asians
D) More disliked by Europeans than by Asians
无注释原文：
Why do some people think cilantro tastes like soap?
From: Live Science
Cilantro is one divisive herb: People either love it or hate it. Julia Child disavowed the stuff, claiming it had a soapy taste in 1955 — and the comparison stuck. Between 3% and 21% of people, depending on their location in the world, dislike cilantro for its soapiness. But how can people have such vastly different sensations from the same herb?
Genetics plays a major role, it turns out.
It's no surprise that people have different reactions to the same food, but usually, they're responding to the same taste experience. Chilis are a classic example: Everyone experiences the burning sensation, and only some people like it.
Cilantro is different, said John Hayes, a sensory expert and professor of food science at Penn State. People describe a fundamentally different experience or sense when they consume the herb. "Nobody knows exactly which genes are involved in cilantro preference," Hayes said. But in a large observational study a specific olfactory receptor gene, OR6A2, has been implicated.
The study was done by 23andMe. The consumer DNA testing company looked at a "crude measure of sensory phenotype but over a very large population," Hayes explained.
A 23andMe team surveyed thousands of respondents about their cilantro preference and identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associated with cilantro aversion. The SNP lies in a cluster of genes that code for olfactory receptors, researchers at the company reported in the journal Flavour in 2012.
One of those genes encodes for the receptor OR6A2, which happens to specifically bind to aldehydes that give cilantro its specific odor, according to 23andMe.
The 23and Me study also found that cilantro preference is likely heritable and varies by ethnicity, according to 23andMe's findings. Of the Southern and Northern European respondents, about 13% said cilantro tastes like soap. But only 8% of East Asian respondents and 4% of South Asian respondents were anti-cilantro. Since cilantro is a featured herb in South and East Asia, "it may be that cultures that experienced less soapiness would be more likely to adopt it," Hayes said.
Even though cilantro preference is innate, it's not concrete. Just like other food preferences, you can grow accustomed to cilantro with repeated exposure. "Biology is not destiny," Hayes said. So, even if you hate cilantro now, it's never too late to change.
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注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考
含注释全文：
Why do some people think cilantro tastes like soap?
From: Live Science
Cilantro is one divisive herb: People either love it or hate it. Julia Child disavowed the stuff, claiming it had a soapy taste in 1955 — and the comparison stuck. Between 3% and 21% of people, depending on their location in the world, dislike cilantro for its soapiness. But how can people have such vastly different sensations from the same herb?
香菜这种草本植物在人们之间引发了极大的分歧：有人喜欢，有人则反感。朱莉娅·查尔德（Julia Child）在1955年就宣称自己无法忍受香菜，称其有一种肥皂味——这种说法一直持续到现在。根据地理位置的不同，大约3%到21%的人因香菜的“肥皂味”而厌恶它。但为何同样的香菜在不同的人群中会引发如此迥异的感受呢？
cilantro
cilantro /sɪˈlæn.trəʊ/ 表示“芫荽，香菜”，英文解释为“the leaves of the coriander plant, used to add flavour to food”
📍词根“cilan-”来源于拉丁语“coriandrum”，表示“香菜”。近义词：coriander（香菜），常用短语：add cilantro to taste（根据口味加香菜）
divisive
divisive /dɪˈvaɪ.sɪv/ 表示“有争议的；引起分歧的”，英文解释为“used to describe something that causes great and sometimes unfriendly disagreement within a group of people”举个🌰：The Vietnam war was an extremely divisive issue in the US. 越南战争在美国是一个极具争议的问题。
📍经济学人（The Economist）在一篇介绍月饼的文章中提到：MOONCAKES are among the most divisive treats. 月饼是最有争议的食物之一。
📍词根“-vis-”来自拉丁语“dividere”，表示“分开”。近义词：controversial（有争议的），同根词：divide（分开），常用短语：a divisive topic（引起分歧的话题）
herb
herb /hɜːb/ 表示“（用作调味品或药材的）香草，药草；草本植物”，英文解释为“a type of plant whose leaves are used in cooking to give flavour to particular dishes or in making medicine”如：dried/fresh herbs 干/新鲜药草。
📍这个词来自拉丁语“herba”，直接表示“草本植物”。近义词：plant（植物），同根词：herbal（草本的），常用短语：herb garden（草本植物园）
disavow
disavow /ˌdɪsəˈvaʊ/ 表示“不承认；否认；拒绝对…承担责任”，英文解释为“to state publicly that you have no knowledge of sth or that you are not responsible for sth/sb”举个🌰：They disavowed claims of a split in the company. 他们否认了公司内出现分裂的说法。
📍2017年政府工作报告Part 10中有个句子：决不能“新官不理旧账”就被译为：and new officials must not disavow obligations undertaken by their predecessors.
📍词根“-avow”来自拉丁语“advocare”，表示“承认”。前缀“dis-”表示否定。近义词：deny（否认），同根词：avow（公开承认），常用短语：disavow knowledge of something（否认对某事的了解）
soapy
soapy /ˈsəʊ.pi/ 表示“含有肥皂的；像肥皂的”，英文解释为“containing or like soap”举个🌰：I soaked it in some soapy water and the stains came out. 我把它浸泡在肥皂水中，污渍就被洗去了。
sensation
1）表示“轰动；哗然；引起轰动的人（或事物）”，英文解释为“very great surprise, excitement, or interest among a lot of people; the person or the thing that causes this surprise”举个🌰：The band became a sensation overnight. 一夜之间，这支乐队名声大振。
📍此前，戳爷Troye Sivan被传已分手数月？文中出现过，pop sensation可以理解为“流行巨星”，“流行天王”。还有，63岁中国爷爷成油管网红文中标题就是Master carpenter's ancient Chinese skills are a YouTube sensation.
2）作可数名词，还可以表示“感觉；知觉”，英文解释为“a feeling that you get when sth affects your body”如：a tingling/burning sensation 刺痛/烧灼的感觉。
3）作不可数名词，可以表示“感觉能力；知觉能力”，英文解释为“the ability to feel through your sense of touch”举个🌰：She seemed to have lost all sensation in her arms. 她的两条胳膊好像完全失去知觉了。
🎬电影《困在爱中》（Stuck in Love）中的台词提到：I was overcome by the oddest sensation. 我像是被一种怪异的冲动（感觉）驱使着。
📍词根“-sens-”来自拉丁语“sensare”，表示“感觉”。近义词：phenomenon（现象），同根词：sensitive（敏感的），常用短语：cause a sensation（引起轰动）
Genetics plays a major role, it turns out.
研究显示，遗传学在这一现象中扮演了关键角色。
genetics
genetics /dʒəˈnet.ɪks/ 表示“遗传学”，英文解释为“the study of how, in all living things, the characteristics and qualities of parents are given to their children by their genes”
📍词根“-gen-”来自希腊语“genesis”，表示“起源”。想象“遗传学”在决定我们的身体特征中扮演了重要角色，你看到科学家正在研究“遗传学”，探索人类的起源。近义词：heredity（遗传），同根词：gene（基因），常用短语：study of genetics（遗传学研究）
It's no surprise that people have different reactions to the same food, but usually, they're responding to the same taste experience. Chilis are a classic example: Everyone experiences the burning sensation, and only some people like it.
尽管人们对同一食物有不同的反应并不罕见，但通常人们感受到的是相同的味觉体验。以辣椒为例：每个人都会感受到灼烧感，但只有部分人喜欢这种感觉。
chili
chilli /ˈtʃɪl.i/ 表示“辣椒”，英文解释为“the small, red or green seed case from particular types of pepper plant that is used to make some foods very hot and spicy”举个🌰：Add 2 chopped red chillies. 加入两根切成块的辣椒。
Cilantro is different, said John Hayes, a sensory expert and professor of food science at Penn State. People describe a fundamentally different experience or sense when they consume the herb. "Nobody knows exactly which genes are involved in cilantro preference," Hayes said. But in a large observational study a specific olfactory receptor gene, OR6A2, has been implicated.
宾夕法尼亚州立大学食品科学教授、感官专家约翰·海斯（John Hayes）说，香菜则不同。人们在食用香菜时会有一种完全不同的体验或感觉。海耶斯说：“没有人确切知道哪些基因与香菜偏好有关。”但在一项大规模的观察性研究中，研究者证实了一种特定的嗅觉受体基因OR6A2与此有关。
gene
gene /dʒiːn/ 表示“基因”，英文解释为“a part of the DNA in a cell that controls the physical development, behaviour, etc. of an individual plant or animal and is passed on from its parents”举个🌰：The illness is believed to be caused by a defective gene. 据信，这种疾病是由基因缺陷引起的。
olfactory
olfactory /ɒlˈfæk.tər.i/ 表示“嗅觉的”，英文解释为“connected with the ability to smell”如：the olfactory nerve 嗅觉神经。
📍词根“olfact-”来自拉丁语“olfacere”，表示“嗅”。近义词：smell（嗅觉），同根词：olfaction（嗅觉），常用短语：olfactory bulb（嗅球）
receptor
receptor /rɪˈsep.tər/ 表示“受体；接受器；感受器”，英文解释为“a nerve ending that reacts to a change, such as heat or cold, in the body by sending a message to the central nervous system”
implicate
implicate /ˈɪm.plɪ.keɪt/ 表示“牵连，涉及”，英文解释为“to show that someone is involved in a crime or partly responsible for something bad that has happened”举个🌰：Have they any evidence to implicate him in the robbery? 他们有证据表明他涉嫌抢劫案吗？
📍be implicated in表示“牵涉其中的；负有责任的”，英文解释为“If someone or something is implicated in a crime or a bad situation, they are involved in it or responsible for it.”
The study was done by 23andMe. The consumer DNA testing company looked at a "crude measure of sensory phenotype but over a very large population," Hayes explained.
这项研究由23andMe公司完成。海斯解释说，这家消费者DNA检测公司“针对一个非常大的人群，对感官表型进行了一种粗略的测量”。
crude
crude /kruːd/ 1）表示“粗糙的；简陋的；粗制的；未加修饰的”，英文解释为“simple and not skilfully done or made”如：a crude device/weapon 简陋的装置/粗制的武器。
2）表示“粗俗的；粗野的；无礼的”，英文解释为“rude and offensive”如：a crude remark/comment 粗俗的话/评论。
sensory
sensory /ˈsen.sər.i/ 表示“感觉的；感官的”，英文解释为“connected with the physical senses of touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight”
phenotype
phenotype /ˈfiː.nəʊ.taɪp/ 表示“表现型（尤指生物体的可观测性状）”，英文解释为“the physical characteristics of something living, especially those characteristics that can be seen”
A 23andMe team surveyed thousands of respondents about their cilantro preference and identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associated with cilantro aversion. The SNP lies in a cluster of genes that code for olfactory receptors, researchers at the company reported in the journal Flavour in 2012.
23andMe公司的一个团队调查了数千名受访者对香菜的偏好，发现了一种与讨厌香菜相关的单核苷酸多态性（SNP）。该公司的研究人员在2012年的《风味》（Flavour）杂志上报告称，SNP位于一组编码嗅觉受体的基因中。
respondent
respondent /rɪˈspɒn.dənt/ 表示“回答者；答复者；应答者”，英文解释为“a person who answers a request for information”举个🌰：In a recent opinion poll, a majority of respondents were against nuclear weapons. 在最近的一次民意调查中，大多数调查对象表示反对发展核武器。
aversion
aversion /əˈvɜː.ʃən/表示“厌恶，反感；讨厌的人（或事物）”，英文解释为“(a person or thing that causes) a feeling of strong dislike or of not wishing to do something”举个🌰：LR felt an instant aversion to him. LR立刻对他产生了反感。
cluster
cluster /ˈklʌs.tər/ 作动词，表示“群集，丛生；聚集”，英文解释为“be ore come into a cluster or close group; congregate”举个🌰：The children clustered together in the corner of the room. 孩子们聚集在房间的角落里。
作名词，1）表示“（人或动物的）群，团，组”，英文解释为“a group of people, animals or things close together”如：a cluster of spectators 一群旁观者；
2）表示“（同类物丛生或聚集的）簇，团，束，串”，英文解释为“a group of things of the same type that grow or appear close together”
One of those genes encodes for the receptor OR6A2, which happens to specifically bind to aldehydes that give cilantro its specific odor, according to 23andMe.
据23andMe公司称，其中一个基因编码了受体OR6A2，而该受体恰好能与赋予香菜特殊气味的醛类物质（aldehydes）发生特异性结合。
bind
bind /baɪnd/ 1）表示“装订（书籍）；把…装订成册”，英文解释为“When a book is bound, the pages are joined together and the cover is put on.”举个🌰：Each volume is bound in bright-coloured cloth. 每一册都用颜色鲜亮的布料装订。
2）表示“捆绑；捆扎”，英文解释为“to tie something tightly or to fasten something”举个🌰：They bound the packages with brightly coloured ribbon. 他们用鲜艳的彩带把包裹扎了起来。
3）表示“使团结；使联合”，英文解释为“to unite people”举个🌰：The things that bind them together are greater than their differences. 将他们团结在一起的力量胜过他们的分歧。
📍bind someone to something表示“使…保证；迫使…遵守约定”，英文解释为“to force someone to keep a promise”举个🌰：His sister had been bound to secrecy. 他妹妹被迫承诺保守秘密。We are bound to the original contract. 我们都得遵守原始合同。
🎬电影《指环王1：护戒使者》（The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring）中的台词提到：His life force is bound to the Ring, and the Ring survived. 他的生命与这魔戒是一体的 而魔戒仍然幸存。
odor
英式 odour /ˈəʊ.dər/ 美式 odor 表示“气味；臭味”，英文解释为“a smell, especially one that is unpleasant”，如：a foul/musty/pungent odor 难闻的气味、难闻的霉味、刺鼻的气味等。
The 23and Me study also found that cilantro preference is likely heritable and varies by ethnicity, according to 23andMe's findings. Of the Southern and Northern European respondents, about 13% said cilantro tastes like soap. But only 8% of East Asian respondents and 4% of South Asian respondents were anti-cilantro. Since cilantro is a featured herb in South and East Asia, "it may be that cultures that experienced less soapiness would be more likely to adopt it," Hayes said.
23andMe公司的研究结果还发现，对香菜的偏好可能是可遗传的，并且因种族而异。在南欧和北欧受访者中，约13%的人表示香菜尝起来像肥皂。但只有8%的东亚受访者和4%的南亚受访者不喜欢香菜。海斯说，由于香菜是南亚和东亚的一种特色草本植物，“可能是体验过较少肥皂味的文化更有可能接受它。”
heritable
heritable /ˈher.ɪ.tə.bəl/ 表示“遗传（疾病或特征）”，英文解释为“A heritable disease or characteristic can be passed from a parent or grandparent to a child through the genes.”举个🌰：Autism is a heritable neurological disorder. 自闭症是一种可遗传的神经系统疾病。
ethnicity
ethnicity /eθˈnɪsəti/ 表示“种族特点；种族渊源”，英文解释为“Ethnicity is the state or fact of belonging to a particular ethnic group.”举个🌰：He said his ethnicity had not been important to him. 他说他的种族渊源对他向来都不重要。
Even though cilantro preference is innate, it's not concrete. Just like other food preferences, you can grow accustomed to cilantro with repeated exposure. "Biology is not destiny," Hayes said. So, even if you hate cilantro now, it's never too late to change.
尽管对香菜的偏好是天生的，但并非不可改变。正如对其他食物的偏好一样，通过反复接触，人们可以逐渐接受香菜。“生物学特征并不决定一切命运，”海斯说。所以，即使你现在讨厌香菜，现在改变也为时不晚。
innate
innate /ɪˈneɪt/ 1）表示“（素质）天生的，与生俱来的，固有的”，英文解释为“an innate quality or ability is something you are born with”，举个🌰：Children have an innate ability to learn language. 儿童学习语言的能力是与生俱来的。
2）表示“（信仰）根深蒂固的”，英文解释为“an innate belief is something you feel strongly about and are unlikely to change”如：the innate conservatism of the farming community 农业社区固有的保守主义。
📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述判断力问题的文章中提到：Some people think that good judgment is innate. 有些人认为良好的判断力是与生俱来的。
concrete
concrete /ˈkɒŋ.kriːt/ 作形容词，表示“确定的，确实的；具体的，有形的，实在的”，英文解释为“clear and certain, or real and existing in a form that can be seen or felt”举个🌰：They think she killed her husband, but they have no concrete evidence. 他们认为她杀死了自己的丈夫，但是没有确凿的证据。
作名词，表示“混凝土”，英文解释为“a very hard building material made by mixing together cement, sand, small stones, and water”如：reinforced concrete 钢筋混凝土。
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