三、 篇章結構      It’s well-known that as people get old, their senses change. It’s common for elderly people to suffer problems with their hearing and sight. (1) . That is, their ability to taste the food they eat diminishes*. There is a specific reason for this, and it may surprise
you!
  (2)   . Rather, it is because their sense of smell is not as strong as it once was. As you likely know, there is a close connection between taste and smell, but you might not understand just how strong this link is.
  (3)   . This is because our noses can recognize as many as 10,000 different smells. On the other hand, our tongues can tell the difference between only five tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and savory (food that is salty or spicy but not sweet).   (4)   .
So, enjoy your food while you are still young and healthy!
註：diminish 降低


【題組】1.
(A) The main reason that older people might not taste flavors as easily or clearly asbefore is not because of their tongues.
(B) It’s been said that as much as 80% of what we taste comes from our sense of smell.
(C) Another common problem that many might not be aware of is that people’s senseof taste also changes.
(D) This also explains why food doesn’t taste as good when we suffer from a cold andwhen our noses are blocked