Why do you think people who live in some hot countries eat very spicy（辛辣的）food? Is it because the spices make the food taste better? Is it just because their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents liked hot food，or is there some connection between spices and healthy food?

Researchers from Cornell University think that it is because spice plants have some important chemicals（化学物质）．These chemicals can kill bacteria（细菌）which spoil food．

“Most common spices can kill 75 to 100 percent of the bacteria in food，”explains one of the scientists．The bacteria grow more easily and spoil food more quickly at higher temperatures．For this reason，it is more difficult to keep food from spoiling in hot climates，

Do you like your food spicy? Your answer probably tells something about the country you come from．If you like spicy food，it is possible that hundreds of years ago，when there were no fridges，people in your country started using spices to keep the food from spoiling．The traditional spicy dishes helped those people to live longer，healthier lives．Today，in a time of fridges，the spices just make the food taste good．

1．The chemicals in spices keep food from spoiling by_________．

A．making food taste better                              B．making food hotter

C．killing bacteria in food                                 D．preventing bacteria getting into food

2．Food goes bad more quickly in hot climates because_______．

A．high temperature makes more bacteria

B．high temperature helps bacteria grow faster

C．bacteria get used to hot food

D．bacteria spoil food only at high temperature

3．According to the passage，spices are useful in an the following things except_______．

A．replacing fridges                                         B．helping you to live longer

C．helping to keep you healthier                        D．making your food taste better