Food and the brain

A study suggests dieting followed by binging can change the way the brain reacts to food. ITN's Rachel Phillips reports.

精听建议：
先完整地把一条新闻听一到三遍，争取掌握大意。然后，一句一句精听，力争每句话都听明白。遇到实在不懂的地方，再听写。

下面的文本材料中空缺部分里面要填的词都很简单，不过是一些值得注意的连读或者典型的美式发音哦，有些语速比较快。试试看，你能不能全部写对？

（参考文本，欢迎指出错误^^）

1 the experts, constant images of ultra thin models encourage an unhealthy desire in other people to imitate them, but now they’re warning the battle for size zero is not only putting our weight at risk, but also our brain. New research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry states that studies on animals show that 2 followed by binging on highly palatable foods, such as burgers or chocolate, can lead to a desire to over-consume and engage in addictive behavior.

If you starve yourself, you then might overeat. You can’t keep a starved state going. It is dangerous because it affects the way our brain works and the whole of the rest of our body. And it can lead us to overeat and become unhealthily obsessed with our food. So, binge priming is quite a dangerous way of acting.

The size zero debate reared its head at last year’s London Fashion Week as protests were held against 3 skinny models. But some model agencies reject women for being too thin. Emma Jane Dolphin is in one of those agencies. At size 14 she believes keeping healthy should be a model’s priority.

It’s primal that you, you know, that you eat when you’re hungry. And if you’re being deprived of that, then you’re not gonna to 4 . Then your nervous system is gonna be working overtime, this is just gonna lead to all sorts of problems and illnesses later on. So I think, you know, eat regularly like everyone else.

It’s hoped today’s revelations about the threat of famine-then-feast behavior will encourage those trying to achieve size zero to consider the 5 effects and perhaps ask the question, is it really worth it?

Rachel Phillips, ITV news.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. size zero

Size 0 is a women's clothing size in the US catalog sizes system equivalent to a UK size 4 or a Europe size 32-34. It is also a concept within the fashion media relating to models with low body mass.

2. starvation : n-uncount

Starvation is extreme suffering or death, caused by lack of food.

3. binge : verb

If you binge, you do too much of something, such as drinking alcohol, eating, or spending money. (INFORMAL)

4. palatable : adj

If you describe food or drink as palatable, you mean that it tastes pleasant. (FORMAL)

5. burger : n-count

A burger is a flat round mass of minced meat or vegetables, which is fried and often eaten in a bread roll.

6. rear its head : phrase v

If something unpleasant rears its head or rears its ugly head, it becomes visible or noticeable.