英语听力文摘 English Digest 698 为何香蕉会那么快坏掉？（在线收听）

When Good Bananas Go Bad

Have you ever wonder why bananas seem to go bad so quickly? And why do they develop those brown spots?

Well, those spots are a natural part of the ripening process. You see, just like all fresh produce, your bananas are alive. They’re taking in oxygen to help them convert sugars into energy, and releasing carbon dioxide. This process is called respiration.

The quicker a fruit or vegetable respires, the quicker it ripens. For most fruits, the respiration rate slows down after the initial growth stage and the fruit ripens slowly. The growth and ripening process of bananas, however, is different. Although at first the banana’s respiration slows down too, when it’s ready to ripen, the banana’s pulp releases a chemical that increases respiration. This converts the starches in the banana to sugars and gives it its fabulous taste.

With all this respiration, the banana eventually processes all the starches available. And that’s when it begins to die. Those brown .

为何香蕉会那么快坏掉？

你有没有想过香蕉为什么会这么快变坏？为什么它们会长出这些褐色斑点？

嗯，这些斑点是成熟过程中的自然部分。你看，就像所有新鲜农产品一样，你的香蕉是活的。它们吸收氧气帮助糖转化为能量，并释放二氧化碳。这个过程叫做呼吸。

水果或蔬菜呼吸越快，成熟越快。对于大多数水果来说，在最初的生长阶段之后，呼吸速率减慢，果实成熟缓慢。然而，香蕉的生长和成熟过程是不同的。虽然一开始香蕉的呼吸也会减慢，但当它准备成熟时，香蕉的果肉会释放一种化学物质来增加呼吸。这将香蕉中的淀粉转化为糖，并赋予其美妙的口感。

在所有这些呼吸作用下，香蕉最终会处理所有可用的淀粉。这就是它开始死亡的时候。那些棕色的。