美国的农业很发达，粮食产量远远超过了消费量。美国政府想方设法提振国内的消费，曾经专门雇人来品尝各类食物，希望能多生产一些受消费者欢迎的农产品。
The taste testers who reshaped America's diet
by Michael Waters
Lucy Alexander boasted one of the strangest jobs on the federal payroll. Her official title was the "chief poultry cook" for the Bureau of Home Economics, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, she ate thousands of pieces of meat from various breeds as part of a program to bring overlooked agricultural goods into the American diet.
boast /bəʊst/ v. 夸耀
federal /ˈfed(ə)r(ə)l/ adj. 联邦的、联邦政府的
payroll /ˈpeɪrəʊl/ n. 工资表
official /əˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ adj. 官方的、正式的
title /ˈtaɪt(ə)l/ n. 头衔
chief /tʃiːf/ adj. 首席的
poultry /ˈpəʊltri/ n. 家禽、禽肉
bureau /ˈbjʊərəʊ/ n. （政府部门）局、署
division /dɪˈvɪʒ(ə)n/ n. 部门
agriculture /ˈæɡrɪkʌltʃə(r)/ n. 农业
throughout /θruːˈaʊt/ prep. 从…的开始到结束
breed /briːd/ n. （动植物）品种
program /ˈprəʊɡræm/ n. 计划、方案
overlook /ˌəʊvəˈlʊk/ v. 忽视
agricultural /ˌæɡrɪˈkʌltʃ(ə)r(ə)l/ adj. 农业的（由agriculture加后缀-al变成形容词）
The tests were designed to find the tastiest versions of meats or crops that were raised at far higher rates than they were consumed. In addition to testing whether characteristics like age or breed impacted the taste of an animal, Alexander and her assistant cooked the meats using a variety of methods – roasting, frying, boiling, or braising – to see which was the most appealing.
tasty /ˈteɪsti/ adj. 好吃的、美味的（由taste加后缀-y变成形容词）
version /ˈvɜːʃ(ə)n/ n. 变体、变种
raise /reɪz/ v. 种植、饲养
rate /reɪt/ n. 比率、速率
consume /kənˈsjuːm/ v. 食用
in addition to 除了…之外
characteristic /ˌkærəktəˈrɪstɪk/ n. 特点、特征
impact /ɪmˈpækt/ v. 影响
roast /rəʊst/ v. 烤
fry /fraɪ/ v. 油炸、油煎
boil /bɔɪl/ v. 煮
braise /breɪz/ v. 炖
appealing /əˈpiːlɪŋ/ adj. 吸引人的
Her team raised the animals themselves at a network of 25 USDA "experiment stations" set up across the country, often offering them specialized feed to see how it affected their flavor. Alexander then relayed her findings to the farmers themselves, so they could then adjust how they raised their crops or livestock（牲畜）.
network /ˈnetwɜːk/ n. 网络
specialize /ˈspeʃ(ə)laɪz/ v. 专门化（由special加后缀-ize变成动词）
feed /fiːd/ n. 饲料
affect /əˈfekt/ v. 影响
flavor /ˈfleɪvə(r)/ n. 风味、滋味
relay /rɪˈleɪ/ v. 转告、转达
adjust /əˈdʒʌst/ v. 调整
That drive to smooth out the farm-to-table pipeline stemmed from a larger desire, as Megan Elias, a professor of gastronomy（烹饪学） at Boston University, puts it, "to make American agriculture the most advanced in the world."
drive /draɪv/ n. （有组织的）活动、努力
smooth out 消除困难、使更容易
pipeline /ˈpaɪplaɪn/ n. （供应货物的）渠道
stem from 因…而起、源于
desire /dɪˈzaɪə(r)/ n. 渴望
put /pʊt/ v. （用词语）表达
Alexander became the Bureau's point person on all things meat. The taste tests she organized were particularly well planned: They began when a volunteer wheeled a set of lamb chops into a makeshift（临时用的） kitchen located in one of the USDA's 25 experimental labs. There, a group of five testers, all USDA employees, were waiting.
point person 负责人、协调人
volunteer /ˌvɒlənˈtɪə(r)/ n. 志愿者
wheel /wiːl/ v. 用小车运
lamb /læm/ n. 羊羔、羊羔肉
chop /tʃɒp/ n. 排骨
experimental /ɪkˌsperɪˈment(ə)l/ adj. 实验的（由experiment加后缀-al变成形容词）
tester /ˈtestə(r)/ n. 测试员（由test加上表示人的后缀-er）
employee /ɪmˈplɔɪiː/ n. 雇员、员工
These meats were from animals that differed in age, sex, feed or breed, and they were prepared either roasted or braised. Of the several dozen meats she'd prepared, Alexander wanted to narrow down the most beloved combination of variables.
differ /ˈdɪfə(r)/ v. 不同、有差别
narrow down 缩小范围
beloved /bɪˈlʌvd/ adj. 深受喜爱的
combination /ˌkɒmbɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 组合（combine加后缀-ation变成名词）
variable /ˈveəriəb(ə)l/ n. 变量
When the lamb was served, the tasters first lifted up their plates and sniffed. Per the test, they had to judge the scent along several different axes, including "intensity" and "desirability." Next, they cut their lambs into squares, which they scored on texture, tenderness, "flavor of fat and of lean," and "quality and quantity of juices." They also noted the meat's color, placing it on a scale from light red to dark brown, before finally tasting it.
taster /ˈteɪstə(r)/ n. 品尝者（由taste加上表示人的后缀-er）
sniff /snɪf/ v. 嗅、闻
per /pɜː(r)/ prep. 按照、依照
scent /sent/ n. 香味
axis /ˈæksɪs/ n. 坐标轴（axes /ˈæksiːz/ 是复数）
intensity /ɪnˈtensəti/ n. 强烈、强烈程度（由intense加后缀-ity变成名词）
desirability /dɪˌzaɪərəˈbɪləti/ n. 想要、想吃的程度
score /skɔː(r)/ v. 评分、打分
texture /ˈtekstʃə(r)/ n. 质地（比如软还是硬）
tenderness /ˈtendənəs/ n. （食物）嫩（由tender加后缀-ness变成名词）
fat /fæt/ n. 脂肪、肥肉
lean /liːn/ n. 瘦肉
quality /ˈkwɒləti/ n. 质量
quantity /ˈkwɒntəti/ n. 数量
juices /ˈdʒuːsiz/ n. 肉汁
place /pleɪs/ v. 放置
scale /skeɪl/ n. 度量范围
Taste testing has not been a significant part of federal work since the Bureau lost its funding in 1962, but the use of tax money to pay for taste tests is still a regular facet of American life. Many local governments continue to organize tests of school lunches, part of a larger effort to engineer new meals out of surplus agricultural products.
significant /sɪɡˈnɪfɪk(ə)nt/ adj. 显著的
funding /ˈfʌndɪŋ/ n. 政府拨款
facet /ˈfæsɪt/ n. 一个方面
engineer /ˌendʒɪˈnɪə(r)/ v. 精心安排
surplus /ˈsɜːpləs/ adj. 过多的、过剩的
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