【外刊精读】51. 烹饪对心理健康的影响

本资料来自

一、语篇泛读

‘We are what we eat’ – or so the saying goes. From calorie-inducing meals to low-fat lunches, much of our health depends on what we eat. We know about the benefits of eating properly for our physical wellbeing, but food – and cooking it – is proving to be good for our mental wellbeing as well.

Some people are now advocating the therapeutic value of cooking food. It’s not just about the end result but the experience someone goes through. Dr Mark Salter, a consultant psychiatrist, told the BBC: “Baking and cooking are good occupational therapies that help patients develop planning skills, short-term memory and social skills – all of which suffer in mental illness.”

TV chef and author Nadiya Hussain agrees that cooking is great for helping our mind. She loves to bake and became the champion of the TV show, The Great British Bake Off. She says that “Baking’s always been about therapy… It’s never really been about the cake.” And she thinks that baking is an important tool for our socialisation and mental health.

Certainly, creating some delicious food has helped some of us get through the recent lockdown; it’s helped take our mind off things and given us something to do. People have said that kneading dough to make bread, for example, has given them a sense of calm and control. Research has shown that doing creative tasks, like cooking, makes us feel happier. Nicole Farmer, who studies how food impacts our biology, behaviour and mental health, told BBC online that “cooking represents the shared human experience of food, and nurturing people through food, so I think that’s where it incorporates opportunity for immediate positive emotions.”

Of course, cooking can be a very sociable activity and sharing the end result, a rewarding experience. Hopefully, as we start to mix with friends and family again, we can enjoy the benefits once more and put us all in the right frame of mind.

二、词汇表

三、测试与练习

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。

1. True or false? What you cook is more important than the process of cooking it.

2. What type of cooking does TV chef and author Nadiya Hussain think is good for our socialisation and mental health?

3. Why was cooking during lockdown good for many of us?

4. According to research, what kind of tasks make us feel happier?

5. Which part of the bread-making process has given some people a ‘sense of calm and control’?

2.  选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. One of the _______ of working from home is that I get to spend more time with my children.

wellbeing                  benefits                   

nurturing                  social skills

2. I find painting very _______. It helps me relax.

therapy                     therapying               

therapeutic               therapies

3. Doing crosswords is good for our _______, particularly in old age.

mind                         get through              

rewarding                 therapying

4. The water fountain added to the _______ when we arrived at the hotel spa.

sensing of calm        calm sense             

sense of calms          sense of calm

5. We put the _______ of our employees at the centre of everything we do. It is important that they’re healthy and happy.

getting through          wellbeing               

therapeutic                 social skills

【参考答案】

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。  

1. True or false? What you cook is more important than the process of cooking it.
False. Cooking is not just about the end result but the experience someone goes through.

2. What type of cooking does TV chef and author, Nadiya Hussain, think is good for our socialisation and mental health?
She thinks that baking is an important tool for our socialisation and mental health.

3. Why was cooking during lockdown good for many of us?
Cooking during lockdown helped take our mind off things and gave us something to do. 

4. According to research, what kind of tasks make us feel happier?
Research has shown that doing creative tasks, like cooking, makes us feel happier.

5. Which part of the bread-making process has given some people a ‘sense of calm and control’?
People have said that kneading dough to make bread, for example, has given them a sense of calm and control.

2.  选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. One of the benefits of working from home is that I get to spend more time with my children.

2. I find painting very therapeutic. It helps me relax.

3. Doing crosswords is good for our mind, particularly in old age.

4. The water fountain added to the sense of calm when we arrived at the hotel spa.

5. We put the wellbeing of our employees at the centre of everything we do. It is important that they’re healthy and happy.