Healthy chocolate 健康的巧克力

媒體英語會帶大家一起學習 BBC 撰稿人在報道世界大事時常用到的單詞和短語。

Might chocolate become a 'health food'?

英國華威大學（University of Warwick）科學家員找到一種方法，可以把巧克力的脂肪含量減少一半但「口感」不變。

BBC記者 Jason Palmer報道：

Here's the problem with chocolate - what makes it velvety and smooth in the mouth is exactly what ends up elsewhere - fat.

Low-fat versions disappoint because it's difficult to replace the tiny globules of fat with anything else that disperses within the chocolate and maintains its texture.

The trick, it seems, is to use agar - a widely available gelling agent. Thoroughly blended bits of it, the researchers say, act as tiny sponges that soak up any liquid - fruit juice, plain water, even alcohol.

Stefan Bon, who led the research, said that the method opens up whole new markets for chocolate, and that additives such as fruit juice could further increase chocolate's health credentials.

Stefan Bon:

"It would both lower fat content and sugar content, so for people who have a craving and want to just down a bar of 200g, you take half the amount of fat in, so it's great."

But for the less health-conscious, students in the group have made a chocolate bar containing four shots of vodka.

Quiz 聽力測驗

What is it in chocolate that gives it a smooth texture?

What do scientists replace fat with in the new chocolate?

Aside from reducing the fat, how can this kind of chocolate be made even more healthy?

This kind of chocolate's health credentials can be boosted by using additives like fruit juice.

Which word means a small amount of alcohol?

Glossary 词汇表 （点击单词收听发音）

velvety 天鵝絨般的

globules 小球體

disperses分散

agar瓊脂

gelling agent膠凝劑

sponges海綿

additives添加劑

credentials資格

craving強烈慾望

health-conscious有健康意識

shots一口酒