今天给大家介绍的阅读话题是关于美国美国的食品政策：Americans are drinking fewer sugary sodas，美国人越来越少地选择饮用含糖碳酸饮料。具体内容如下：

Americans are drinking fewer sugary sodas—in 2012 production was 23% below what it had been a decade earlier. Even sales of diet drinks are losing their fizz, as consumers question the merits of artificial sweeteners. From one angle, it would seem that health advocates such as Ms Nestle have won. Yet in America companies still produce 30 gallons of regular (not diet) fizzy drinks per person per year. In many countries, particularly developing ones, consumption is on the rise. However, for millions of people in many countries, they are not.

与往年相比，美国人对碳酸饮料的消费逐渐减少，在2012年其产量减少了23%。并且，随着消费者对饮料中是否含有人工甜味剂提出了越来越多的质疑，膳食饮料也不再受人青睐。从某个角度来看，像奈斯特女士这样的健康倡导者似乎赢得了胜利。然而，美国软饮料公司每年生产的常规碳酸饮料(而非膳食饮料)人均多达30加仑。在许多国家，尤其是发展中国家，常规碳酸饮料的消费仍呈上涨趋势。在许多不发达国家，很多普通百姓仍然在消费碳酸饮料。

Drinking a lot of sweet fizzy drinks is plainly unhealthy. Unlike a Big Mac, they have no nutritional value; nor do their calories satisfy hunger. Encouraging people to drink fewer fizzy drinks, however, is fiendishly difficult. Soda companies spend billions on marketing; it is a tribute to the admen that Coca-Cola is one of the world’s best-loved brands, despite selling what is essentially fattening sugar-water. Once people get used to consuming sugary drinks, they are loth to give them up. There is evidence suggesting that sugar is addictive—some laboratory animals prefer sugar to cocaine.

毫无疑问，过度消耗碳酸饮料对我们的身体健康绝对是有害的，并且料毫无营养价值，它产生的热量也无法抵抗饥饿。但是鼓励人们尽量少喝碳酸饮料却出奇的难。碳酸饮料企业在营销上花费巨资。尽管可口可乐售卖的实际上是令人增肥的糖水饮料，但可口可乐无疑是世界上最受消费者青睐的品牌之一。而这对于广告人而言，是件可喜可贺的事情。人们一旦习惯了消费含糖饮料，便很难戒掉。有证据表明食糖是会上瘾的——与可卡因相比，实验室的动物们更喜欢食糖。

这篇文章给我们介绍了当今美国社会碳酸饮料的消费情况，和我们之前的认知大有不同，美国人对饮料的消耗是减少了，而这种消耗在发展中国家却是一个上升趋势。每年的阅读真题选材都具有很强的实效性，所以考生也要扩大视野，掌握最新的时文消息。多做泛读，一来可以巩固阅读的基础，二来可以培养阅读的兴趣，并且增强语感。老师还会不断给大家介绍最新的时文选材。