学英语，英国B-B-C的经验是，“为什么不用学母语的方式学英语呢？”大家学母语都是先学说后认字的吧？听说应该先于阅读才对。

B-B-C的慢速英语收集整理了很多生活话题，它从身边事物入手，引导大家循序渐进学习，侧重于听力练习，让你不知不觉学会英语。

虽然辛辣食物会刺激口内黏膜，让人舌头发麻、嘴巴冒火，浑身冒汗，但很多人认为吃辣是 “痛并快乐的”，甚至 “无辣不欢”。辣椒是世界各地许多菜肴中的关键成分。本期节目从科学和历史两方面分析人们热衷吃辣的原因。

点击下方听音频

BBC英语-我们为什么喜欢吃辣.mp3（没法传音频，需要私）

单词表

先听一遍，肯定有生词，不要紧，看看下面的单词表。

⇒go numb 发麻
⇒masochistic 自讨苦吃的，自找罪受的
⇒taste 味道
⇒sour 酸的
⇒bitter 苦的
⇒sensation 感觉
⇒trigger 引发，触发
⇒chemical compound 化合物
⇒capsaicin 辣椒素
⇒contain 含有
⇒trick 使产生错觉
⇒temper 使缓和
⇒release 释放
⇒endorphin 内啡肽
⇒conscious 有意的
⇒rational being 理性的动物
⇒derive 获得，得到
⇒thrill-seeking 寻求刺激的
⇒benign masochism 良性自虐，从不适中得到享受
⇒develop a taste for 养成吃…的习惯
⇒cultivate 种植
⇒intervention 干预
⇒content 含量
⇒going strong 依旧强烈。

看英文原稿

学习了生词，回过头再听几遍，争取每句话都听懂，没听出来的对照下面的英文原稿。

You know the feeling – your ears start to warm up, your tongue goes numb, you start sweating and taking deep breaths. You've just eaten something spicy knowing it would be painful, and, yet, you chose to do it anyway. Are humans just masochistic, or is there something else going on? The answer lies in both science and history.

Let's start with the science. Spicy isn't actually a taste like salty, sweet, sour and bitter – it’s a sensation. This sensation is triggered by a chemical compound found in chilli peppers called 'capsaicin'. When we eat foods containing capsaicin, our bodies are tricked into thinking the temperature is actually rising. In trying to temper the burning sensation, our bodies release endorphins which control pain and, at the same time, give a feeling of pleasure – like painkillers.

This is what is happening chemically, but there is also a conscious side to choosing spicy food. Dr Tamara Rosenbaum, Cognitive Neuroscientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, explains in an interview with the B/B/C that this is because we are rational beings – we know that the burning sensation of chilli does not physically harm us. Furthermore, we derive pleasure from the other ingredients chilli is generally cooked and eaten with – including fat, sugar and salt. So – like skydiving – eating chilli is a form of thrill-seeking or 'benign masochism', where we get pleasure from a seemingly negative sensation.

This masochistic relationship with capsaicin has been a long one, starting in the Andes of South America, where chilli peppers originate. Humans were one of the few mammals on Earth that developed a taste for capsaicin so, archaeological evidence suggests, they started cultivating chilli peppers about six thousand years ago. Human intervention changed the chilli pepper to suit human tastes and needs – including the pepper's colour, size and capsaicin content – helping to explain the many different types of chilli peppers now available.

Fast-forward to today, and our love affair with the chilli pepper is going strong. We eat around 57.3 million tons of peppers globally each year, and chilli is a key ingredient in traditional dishes from Mexico to Korea. Maybe we are masochistic after all.

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