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From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle report.
这里是VOA慢速英语健康生活频道。
Restaurant chefs, home cooks, and foodies, people who love good food, often say that we eat with all of our senses.
热衷于美食的餐厅厨师、家庭料理师及美食家们常常会说，我们用所有的感官来品尝食物。
First, we use our sense of sight to appreciate how a meal is presented, either on a dinner plate or a dining table.
首先，通过视觉我们可以欣赏餐盘或餐桌上的美食。
Our sense of touch can also be important when preparing or sharing food.
然后，通过触觉我们可以准备烹饪或分享美食。
Next, with our sense of smell, we breathe in the mouth-watering aromas rising up from the meal.
接着，通过嗅觉我们可以闻到食物诱人的香味。
Finally, we enjoy and perhaps even savor the food with our sense of taste.
最后，通过味觉我们可以尽情享用美食。
But what about our sense of hearing?
那么听觉的作用是什么呢？
Does sound also affect our dining experience?
声音对于我们的就餐有什么影响吗？
A new report answers, 'yes,' it does.
最新一则报道给出了肯定的答复。
That answer comes from researchers at Brigham Young University and Colorado State University in the United States.
美国杨百翰大学和科罗拉多州立大学的研究人员对此做出回应。
They found that hearing is important in the eating experience.
他们发现听觉在就餐过程中起着很大的作用。
Hearing is often called "the forgotten food sense," says Ryan Elder.
赖安·埃尔德认为，听觉又被称为"被遗忘的食感"。
Elder is an assistant professor of marketing at Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management.
埃尔德是杨百翰大学麦里特商学院市场学助理教授。
He says that if people notice the sound the food makes as they eat it, they might eat less.
他认为，如果人们更注意聆听进食的声音，那么进食量便会减少。
On the other hand, watching loud television or listening to loud music while eating can hide such noises.
另一方面，人们在进食时若观看音量较高的电视节目或听喧闹的音乐，这些设备的噪音会掩盖咀嚼声。
And this could lead to overeating.
这样会导致过度进食。
For the study, the researchers wanted to test whether the sounds of eating, chewing, chomping and crunching,had any effect on how much a person ate.
研究人员想要测验进食、咀嚼和嘎吱响的摩擦等声音是否会影响人的食欲。
During the experiments, the test subjects wore headphones and listened to noise at either a high or low audio level.
研究人员要求实验对象头戴音量大小不一的耳机。
Then researchers gave them a crunchy snack: pretzels.
之后研究人员分给他们一包松脆可口的零食：脆饼干。
The study found that subjects who listened to the higher volume noise ate more pretzels than those with the low audio levels.
结果发现，听高音量的实验对象比听低音量的实验对象进食多。
Elder says that when hiding the sounds of eating, like when you watch television or listen to loud music,we take away the sense of hearing.
埃尔德称，吃东西时看电视或者听很嘈杂的音乐会把你进食的声音屏蔽掉，其实就是掩盖了你的听觉。
And this may cause you to eat more than you would normally.
如此摄食量会超过其正常食量。
The researchers are calling this, the "crunch effect."
研究人员将这种现象称为"咀嚼声奇效"。
The researchers admit that the effects may not seem like much at one meal.
研究人员指出这种效果的影响也许不明显。
But over a week, a month, or a year, all that food can really add up.
但日积月累，其产生的减肥效果将非常显著。
But besides not overeating, there is another upside.
倾听咀嚼声除了能避免过度饮食外，还有另外一个好处。
Hearing the noises of your meal as you eat, could help you to be more mindful of the experience and perhaps help you to enjoy it more.
倾听进食的声音能帮你更加关注就餐的经历，也会让你格外享受这次美食体验。
The researchers reported their findings in the journal Food Quality and Preference.
研究人员将这一研究刊登在《食品质量与选择》期刊上。
I'm Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥。
本栏目视频字幕与文本并不完全对应，且视频播放缓冲时间较长，敬请谅解！
