Fried foods have long been frowned upon. Nevertheless, the skillet（煎锅）is about our handiest and most useful piece of kitchen equipment. Stalwart lumber jacks and others engaged in active labor requiring 4,000 calories per day or more will take approximately one third of their rations prepared in this fashion. Meat, eggs, and French toast cooked in this way are served in millions of homes daily. Apparently the consumers are not beset with more signs of indigestion than afflict those who insist upon broiling, roasting, or boiling. Some years ago one of our most eminent physiologists investigated the digestibility of fried potatoes. He found that the pan variety was more easily broken down for assimilation than when deep fat was employed. The latter, however, dissolved within alimentary tract more readily than the boiled type. Furthermore, he learned, by watching the progress of the contents of the stomach by means of the fluoroscope（透视镜）, that fat actually accelerated the rate of digestion. Now all this is quite in contrast with“authority”. Volumes have been written on nutrition, and everywhere the dictum（格言）has been accepted no fried edibles of any sort for children. A few will go so far as to forbid this style of cooking wholly. Now and then an expert will be bold enough to admit that he uses them himself, the absence of discomfort being explained on the ground that he possesses a powerful gastric apparatus. We can of course sizzle perfectly good articles to death so that they will be leathery and tough. But thorough heating, in the presence of shortening, is not the awful crime that it has been labeled. Such dishes stimulate rather than retard contractions of the gall bladder. Thus it is that bile mixes with the nutriment shortly after it leaves the stomach.

We don't need to allow our foodstuffs to become oil soaked, but other than that, there seems to be no basis for the widely heralded prohibition against this method. But notions become fixed. The first condemnation probably arose because an “oracle”suffered from dyspepsia which he ascribed to some fried item on the menu. The theory spread. Others agreed with him, and after a time the doctrine became incorporated in our textbooks. The belief is now tradition rather than proved fact. It should have been refuted long since, as experience has demonstrated its falsity.

1.This passage focuses on _______.

A. why the skillet is a handy piece of kitchen equipment

B. the digestibility of fried foods

C. how the experts can mislead the public in the area of food Preparation

D. why fried food have long been frowned upon

Best Answer:B

详解：答案B。本文讲述的是煎炸食物的可消化性，故B项是正确的。

2.Apparently much fried food is eaten because ______.

A. it is easily prepared

B. people engaged in active labor need the calories that fat supplies

C. it is healthful

D. it is easily digested

Best Answer:A

详解：答案A。根据文章第二句中的关健词handiest作“最容易的”解，故A项是正确的。B项只是人们吃煎炸食物的一个现象,而不是原因。故B项是错误的。

3.The author strongly implies that the public should ________.

A. avoid fried foods if possible

B. prepare some foods by frying

C. fry foods intended for adults but not for children

D. prepare all foods by frying

Best Answer:B

详解：答案B。根据全文，作者认为煎炸食物是能够很多地被消化，而且油能加快消化，只是油不能过多食用。故B项是正确的。

4.When the author says that an "oracle suffered from dyspepsia which he ascribed to some fried itemon the menu” he is being______.

A. bitter

B. sarcastic

C. inventive

D. humorous

Best Answer:B

详解：答案B。根据文章，作者肯定了自己的观点，选用oracle, authority等词，以讽刺的口吻批判了一些传统观点，故选择B项。

5.The selection was probably taken from _______.

A. a medical journey

B. a publication addressed to the general public

C. a speech at medical convention

D. an advertisement for cooking oil

Best Answer:B

详解：答案B。文章中有科技术语,但医学专业术语并不是很多，并能为广大读者所接受，如shillet，sizzle等等，所以排除A项、C项，全文也不是食油广告，所以D项也是错误的。