双语阅读 | 为什么尝到酸味时，我们的脸会缩成一团？

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Why Do We Make Weird Faces When We Taste Something Sour?

为什么我们在尝到酸味时会做出奇怪的表情？

When you eat something really sour, thesensation isn't limited to your tongue. An especially tart bite has a way of making your entire face contract into a scrunched-up look of discomfort.

当你吃很酸的东西时，这种感觉并不局限于你的舌头。特别酸的一口会让你的整个脸收缩成一团，看起来很不舒服。

If you can't resist puckering（起皱；起褶） your mouth when you lick a lemon or snack on Sour Patch Kids, you can thank evolution.

如果你在舔柠檬或吃酸奶饼干时忍不住噘起了嘴，那你应该感谢进化。

That unmistakeable sour flavor thatprickles you tastebuds is a product of the hydrogen ions that acids releasewhen they combine with saliva（唾液；涎）. When your mouth detects this sign of acid, it lets you know in a dramatic way. Your taste receptors light up and your facetwists involuntarily in what's known as a rejection response, according to Live Science.

那种刺痛味蕾的酸味是酸与唾液结合时释放的氢离子的产物。当你的口腔检测到这种酸的迹象时，它会以一种戏剧性的方式让你知道。据《生活科学》报道，你的味觉感受器会兴奋起来，你的脸会不由自主地扭曲，这就是所谓的拒绝反应。

Your tongue's reactions to bitter or spicyfoods are rejection responses as well. Many plants found in nature with these flavors are poisonous, and your body's strong reaction is its way of protecting you from harm.

舌头对苦味或辛辣食物的反应也是一种排斥反应。在自然界中发现的许多含有这些味道的植物都是有毒的，你身体的强烈反应是保护你免受伤害的方式。

Sourness shows up naturally in fruits likecitrus, but it can be a warning of food-borne illness in many cases. Spoiled fruits and dairy products contain acid, which gives them a sour taste too.

在柑橘等水果中自然会出现酸味，但在许多情况下，这可能是食源性疾病的警告。变质的水果和乳制品含有酸，这也使它们具有酸味。

It's hard to ignore the sour flavor of what you're eating when it contorts your entire facial expression. This reaction isn't necessarily enough to help someone who have already taken a bite of a bad apple, but it may protect the people they're with.

当你吃东西的酸味使你的整个面部表情扭曲时，你很难忽略它。这种反应不一定足以帮助那些已经吃了一口坏苹果的人，但它可能会保护他们身边的人。

When our early human ancestors foraged（搜寻食物） for food, a sudden grimace（怪相；鬼脸） may have communicated that whatever that person put in their mouth wasn't good to eat.

当我们早期的人类祖先寻找食物时，一个突然的鬼脸可能会传达出这个人放进嘴里的东西不好吃的信息。

The pucker response to sour flavors helped early humans avoid getting sick, but it doesn't stop us from eating sour foods today.

对酸味的噘嘴反应帮助早期人类避免生病，但这并不能阻止我们今天吃酸味的食物。

The flavor is so sought after that there's an entire candy market devoted to maximizing it in processed products.

酸味是如此受欢迎，以至于整个糖果市场都致力于在加工产品中最大限度地发挥它的作用。

So why do we love to eat the very thing that our face and tongue warns us might kill us?

那么，为什么我们喜欢吃我们的脸和舌头警告我们可能对我们有害的东西呢?

The answer is acquired taste. Humans don'tinnately crave bitter, spicy, or sour foods, but foods with these characteristics are important components of a nutritious diet. Instead of loving these flavors from birth, we're conditioned to enjoy them through repeated exposure.

答案是后天的品味。人类天生不喜欢苦、辣或酸的食物，但具有这些特征的食物是营养饮食的重要组成部分。我们不是一出生就喜欢这些味道，而是习惯于通过反复接触来享受它们。

By becoming acquainted with the taste viaour peers and family members, humans gradually learn which sour (and bitter and spicy) foods are healthy and which are potentially harmful.

通过我们的同伴和家庭成员熟悉味道，人类逐渐了解哪些酸（以及苦和辣）的食物是健康的，哪些是潜在的有害的。

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