Nutrition “Facts”原版英文小故事內(nèi)容：

Americans get confused when they try to understand the food labels (“Nutrition Facts”) on their packaged food. This is partly because the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture often seem more interested in the welfare of the food industry than in the health of consumers.

For example, even though health practitioners1 and the federal government itself tell consumers to watch their salt intake2, processors continue to add salt to packaged food. Salt occurs naturally in many foods, so why do processors add more? Perhaps processors think that extra salty food will make the consumers thirsty enough to buy more soda3 and other beverages4 that the processors also make.

“Serving Size” is supposed to be the amount an average adult would eat at one sitting as part of a regular meal. However, a 6-ounce container may have anywhere from 1 to 3 servings, depending on the food inside the container. A 6-ounce can of Crabmeat contains one serving, while a 6-ounce can of Pink Salmon5 Chunks6 contains 3 servings.

With the federal government’s approval, processors use labeling that helps to sell the product, regardless of how confusing or deceptive7 the label is to the consumer. If a consumer sees “200 calories” on a can of tuna fish, he might not buy it because 200 is a lot of calories. But if the consumer sees “20 calories” (because the can of tuna fish has 10 servings!), he doesn’t worry that the can contains too many calories. All he sees is the number 20. That makes him happy, and it makes the processor happy.

1 practitioners n.習(xí)藝者，實(shí)習(xí)者( practitioner的名詞復(fù)數(shù) );從業(yè)者(尤指醫(yī)師)

參考例句：

one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小說家之一

The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 這種技術(shù)是試驗(yàn)性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 來自辭典例句

2 intake n.吸入，納入;進(jìn)氣口，入口

參考例句：

Reduce your salt intake.減少鹽的攝入量。

There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口涼氣。

3 soda n.蘇打水;汽水

參考例句：

She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜歡喝巧克力汽水。

I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我給你的飲料重加一些蘇打水和冰塊。

4 beverages n.飲料( beverage的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )

參考例句：

laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒類銷售的法規(guī)

regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精飲料的銷售管理?xiàng)l例

5 salmon n.鮭，大馬哈魚，橙紅色的

參考例句：

We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我們看見一條大馬哈魚在那邊瀑布中跳躍。

Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?現(xiàn)在有新鮮大馬哈魚賣嗎?

6 chunks 厚厚的一塊( chunk的名詞復(fù)數(shù) ); (某物)相當(dāng)大的數(shù)量或部分

參考例句：

a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠蘿塊

Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 這些肉塊相當(dāng)大，還能再切小一點(diǎn)嗎?

7 deceptive adj.騙人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

參考例句：

His appearance was deceptive.他的外表帶有欺騙性。

The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情節(jié)看似簡單，其實(shí)不然。