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Recently, yoga, meditation, and essential oils have had a surge of renewed popularity as ways of improving your health. Though essential oils have been all the _(1)_ , we should not forget about the oils that we use in everyday life. Olive, sesame, and coconut oil can be bought at most grocery stores for a fraction of the price of essential oils. Research proves that these common oils are just as beneficial _(2)_ their sexily scented cousins.

　　Associated with high cholesterol and heart disease, the consumption of saturated fats has been discouraged. Coconut oil, _(3)_ is a saturated fat, has also been given a bad rap. But in countries such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and some parts of New Zealand, coconut oil is used in large _(4)_ for cooking. It turns out that people in these areas have lower cholesterol and a lower incidence of heart disease.

　　Lately, studies have _(5)_ that Western health trends have been misleading when _(6)_ comes to the benefits of coconut oil. In fact, coconut oil is now being hyped as "The Miracle Oil." Researchers suggest lower cholesterol, clear and healthy skin, and even weight loss are some of the beneficial side effects of using coconut oil. While experts have yet to find a cure-all for human ailments, it may do us all _(7)_ to give different things a try.

──by Tara McAteer

(A) which (B) rage (C) good (D) amounts (E) it (F) as (G) proven

近來瑜珈、靜坐和精油因對健康有益而重新掀起一股熱潮。雖然精油已風靡全球，但我們也不應忘了日常生活中所使用的油。橄欖油、芝麻油和椰子油皆可在雜貨店裡用一點小錢買到。研究證明這些一般的實用油就和迷人芬芳的精油一樣有益健康。
　　飽和脂肪向來和高膽固醇及心臟疾病劃上等號，因此我們通常不被鼓勵食用飽和脂肪。椰子油也因為是飽和脂肪而大受撻伐。但在有些國家，像是菲律賓、斯里蘭卡以及紐西蘭的部分地區，椰子油在料理時被大量使用。結果顯示這些地區的人膽固醇指數較低，也較不易罹患心臟疾病。
　　近來的研究則顯示西方的健康潮流一直誤導對椰子油的益處。事實上椰子油現在被炒作成『神奇之油』。研究員表示使用椰子油會帶來低膽固醇、乾淨健康的皮膚和減重等附加效益。在營養學家尚未找出一樣治療人類所有病痛的萬靈丹之前，多嘗試一些不同的東西也不錯。

標準答案: 1. (B) 2. (F) 3. (A) 4. (D) 5. (G) 6. (E) 7. (C)　

1. meditation n. 沉思, 冥想

2. essential oil　　精油

essential a. 精華的, 提煉的

3. sesame n. 芝麻

4. beneficial a. 有益的

5. scented a. 有香氣的

6. cholesterol n. 膽固醇

7. consumption n. 消費

8. saturated a. 飽和的

9. rap n. 嚴厲的批評

10. incidence n. 發生 (率)

11. trend n. 趨勢, 潮流

12. misleading a. 誤導的, 給錯誤印象的

13. side effect　　副作用

14. ailment n. 身體上的不適

1. a surge of... 　　一波的……
surge n. 波浪

2. a fraction of... 　　微量的……

 

1. improve vt. 改善
例: The engineers improved the flow of traffic in this area.
（工程師改善了這一區的交通流量。）

2. prove vt. 證明
例: I will prove to you that I did not steal that book.
（我會向你證明我並沒有偷那本書。）

3. be associated with...　 　
與……聯想一起; 和……結交/來往
例: We are certain that he is associated with known criminals in Japan.
（我們確信他和日本惡名昭彰的罪犯有來往。）

4. discourage vt. 不建議, 阻止
discourage sb from Ving　　
阻止某人 (做)……, 使某人打消……念頭
例: The barriers were put up to discourage children from playing in the fountain.
（架起柵欄是要阻止學童進入噴水池玩耍。）

5. It turns out + that子句　　結果/最後……
例: It turns out that Jill was a special agent before she got married.
（最後證實吉兒在婚前是名特務。）

6. hype vt. 大肆宣傳
例: The leader hyped the plan so much that the people foolishly believed him.
（該領導人大力炒作那項計劃，使得人們愚昧地相信他。）

7. give...a try　　嘗試 (做)……
=give...a shot
例: Next year I plan to give scuba diving a try.
（明年我想要嘗試浮潛。）

from 常春藤解析英語雜誌