If I ask you to shut your eyes and gave you a piece of apple to eat, would you be able to tell me what it is just by tasting it? Of course, you could. Your tongue is covered with tiny “taste buds” which help you know what different foods taste like. Do you know that foods would taste different if you did not have a nose? This experiment shows how important your nose is when you taste things.
What You Need:
? a friend to help
? small pieces of any food like carrot, orange, banana
? small pieces of apple, raw(生的) potato, and onion
What You Do:
There are actually three different experiments. You and your friend should take turns to try them on each other.
Experiment 1:
Have your friend close her eyes and open her mouth.
Give her a piece of the food and ask her to taste it.
Then, ask her what she thinks it is. She will probably guess correctly.
Experiment 2:
While your friend has her eyes closed, give her a piece of the raw potato. At the same time, hold a piece of apple right under her nose. Ask her to eat the potato (but don’t call it by name) and tell you what she thinks it is. She will say it is a piece of apple!
Experiment 3: (for the brave)
Take a piece of raw onion. You don’t have to close your eyes this time. Squeeze your nose closed with your other hand so that no smells can get into your nose. Now take a nibble of the onion. Surprise! As long as you hold your nose, you will not be able to taste the onion.
The Science Secret
You already know the science secret. Your nose and your tongue work together to make food taste the way it does. Your tongue, however, can taste only certain flavors like salty, bitter, sour, and sweet. All of the other “tastes” are actually “smells,” and you need your nose to “taste” them. Oh, and you might use this science secret the next time you are told to eat something you don’t like the taste of. If you hold your nose while you eat it, you won’t “taste” it at all.
小題1: According to this article, what could a reader know about food?
| A．People hold their noses to eat onions. | B．If you can smell potatoes, you will taste apples. |
| C．People need a sense of smell to taste some food. | D．If you close your eyes, food will taste better. |
小題2:What is the most likely reason Experiment 3 is called “for the brave”?
| A．You keep your eyes open. | B．You have to eat a raw onion. |
| C．You have to squeeze your nose. | D．You do the experiment alone. |
小題3:What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Your Eyes Knows | B．Your Nose Knows |
| C．Your Mouth Knows | D．Your Tongue Knows |
