英语听力文摘 English Digest 634 冰箱是如何工作的？

 　　How Do Iceboxes Work?

　　Back when most folks relied on an icebox to cool food, a block of ice was a precious commodity¹. If you put hot food in the icebox, the ice might melt.  And by the time the ice truck came through the neighborhood again, all your food may have spoiled. To preserve the ice as long as possible, people made sure to cool hot foods before putting them in the icebox.

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　　All About Iceboxes

　　These days, before putting hot food in the fridge, many people cool it on the kitchen counter, just as generations before did in the icebox days. But now there’s no precious block of ice to preserve, and refrigerators are designed to handle food hot off the stove or out of the oven.

　　Hot food may make the refrigerator’s motor run a little longer to bring the temperature back down, but that doesn’t overwork the motor. And chilling³ food as soon as possible can help prevent food poisoning. Here’s why.

　　Chilling

　　Warm food is the perfect environment for bacteria to multiply. Chill² the food, though, and the party’s over, because cooler temperatures slow or stop bacterial⁴ growth. Our bodies normally handle small doses of bacteria in food, but what can give you food poisoning is large numbers of harmful bacteria. The sooner you chill food, the sooner any harmful bacteria that may be in it will stop multiplying. With a refrigerator, you can chill hot foods right away. But the principle’s the same as in the icebox days-the longer food stays cold, the less chance it has to spoil.

1 commodity   

n.日用品，商品，物品

参考例句：

• The authorities took measures to roll commodity price back.当局采取措施使物价全面回降。
• Commodity prices remain stable and there are plenty of goods on the market.商品价格稳定，市场货源充足。

2 chill   

vt.使变冷，使冷却，使沮丧；n.寒冷，风寒

参考例句：

• With the chill factor,it's nearly minus forty here.加上风寒指数，气温接近零下40度。
• The bad news cast a chill over the whole family.这坏消息使全家人感到沮丧。

3 chilling   

a.使人寒心的；使人恐惧的

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Their report on the plans for nuclear war is a chilling document. 他们关于核战争的那份报告是很令人恐怖的文件。

4 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。