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Eating burnt bread is not good for health
食用烧焦的面包对健康不利
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听力材料：英文原文及中文翻译
Many Americans have toasted bread first thing in the morning. For some, the morning meal also includes hash browned potatoes. Or later in the day, they might enjoy potato chips or crispy French fries.
But if you like any of these foods cooked until they are dark brown in color, you might want to limit how much of them you eat.
许多美国人早上第一件事就是烤面包。对有些人来说，早餐还包括炸成棕色的马铃薯。或者当天晚些时候，他们可能还会吃薯片或酥脆的炸薯条。
如果你喜欢吃炸成深棕色的食物，那么你可能需要控制一下摄入量。
That is the finding of a British government agency. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is urging people to avoid eating burnt or very well toasted bread and deeply browned potatoes.
The danger, the agency says, is when starchy foods are cooked until they are very firm or even burnt.
这是一家英国政府机构的发现。英国食品标准局(FSA)奉劝人们避免食用烧焦或烤得很熟的面包以及深棕色的马铃薯。
该机构表示，含淀粉的食物被烤得非常坚硬或烤焦的时候就会有危险。
The concern is a chemical called acrylamide. Acrylamide is produced naturally in food during cooking at high temperatures. It has been identified as a possible cancer-causing substance.
让人们担心的是一种叫做丙烯酰胺的化学物质。丙烯酰胺是食物在高温烹饪过程中自然产生的。它已被确定为一种可能致癌的物质。
New Scientist magazine reports that high levels of acrylamide are present in starchy foods, like potatoes, when they are cooked at temperatures over 120 degrees Celsius. British researchers note that acrylamide can also be present in breakfast cereals, cookies and coffee.
据《新科学家》杂志报道，当淀粉类食品，如马铃薯，在超过120摄氏度的高温中烹调时，就会产生大量的丙烯酰胺。英国研究员们注意到早餐麦片、饼干和咖啡中也可能含有丙烯酰胺。
Steve Wearne is the Director of Policy at the FSA. He says most people do not know that the chemical exists or that it could create a health hazard.
史蒂夫·沃恩是FSA的政策主管。他说，大多数人不知道这种化学物质的存在，也不知道它会对健康造成危害。
The FSA launched a study to identify acrylamide exposure in the British population. Researchers found that most people are exposed to too much of the chemical. They said this contact could increase their overall risk of getting cancer.
FSA开始了一项研究，观察英国人口对丙烯酰胺的接触。研究员们发现大多数人都接触了很多这种化学物质。他们说这种接触可能会增加患癌的整体危险。
How to avoid the risk
如何规避风险
The agency even created an expression to help people remember. The FSA suggests people should "Go for the Gold!" when they prepare starchy foods. Heating bread or potatoes to a golden brown, they claim, is healthier than over-cooking them or burning them.
食品标准局为了帮助人们记忆，还设计了一句表达。FSA建议人们准备淀粉类食品的时候，应该“追求金色”。他们称，将面包或马铃薯烤成金黄色，比将其过度烹调或烤焦更健康。
Wearne says the agency is not saying that people should worry "about the occasional meal that's a bit overcooked." He said these suggestions are about controlling risk during one's lifetime.
沃恩说此机构并不是在说人们应当担心“偶尔一次过度烹饪的食物”。他说这些建议指的是人一生的风险控制。
The agency is also urging people to eat fewer high-calorie foods like potato chips, French fries and cookies -- all of which have acrylamides.
There are other things you can do to limit your exposure to acrylamides.
该机构还劝诫人们少吃高热量食品，如薯片、薯条和饼干，这些食品都含有丙烯酰胺。
还有其他限制丙烯酰胺摄入量的措施。
Experts at New Scientist suggest that you not keep potatoes in the refrigerator. They explain that "at low temperatures, an enzyme breaks down" the sugars in the potato. These sugars can form acrylamide during cooking. They add that frozen foods don't have this risk. Sugars, like sucrose, do not break down at low temperatures.
《新科学家》杂志的专家们建议，不要将马铃薯放在冰箱里。他们解释说“在低温环境中，一种酶会分解马铃薯中的糖分”。在烹饪中，这些糖分会形成丙烯酰胺。他们补充说冷冻食品没有这个风险。类似于蔗糖的糖类，在低温中不会分解。
Another cooking tip is you can also blanch potatoes before frying. Blanching is heating food briefly in water. This will remove the potato skin and half the sugar, resulting in lower levels of acrylamide.
另一个烹饪技巧是，可以在油炸马铃薯前焯一下水。焯水就是在水中短暂加热食物。这样可以去掉马铃薯皮和一半的糖分，从而降低丙烯酰胺的含量。
Scientists have launched other studies to better understand how acrylamide forms in some overcooked foods and how cooking traditions may affect people.
科学家们还开展了其他研究，以更好地了解一些过度烹饪的食物中丙烯酰胺是如何形成的，以及烹饪习惯是如何影响人们的。
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