Nowadays millions of people watch their weight because they realize it is not healthy in most
cases to be too fat. So they “count calories.” This means they find out how many calories
different foods produce and try to keep the calories down. But after all, what is a calorie? The
amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius ( 1
o
C )
is called one gram calorie. Different foods provide different amounts of calories. One gram of
protein, for instance, contains four calories, and one gram of fat contains nine calories. The
human body turns consumed calories into the energy it needs. It does not care where it gets its
calories as long as it gets enough to keep functioning. How many calories does the body need?
It is estimated that an average adult needs somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 calories per day,
depending on the work the person does. What happens if a person takes in more calories than he
or she needs? Well, the food is not burned off to produce the energy the body needs but is
transformed into fat instead! That is the reason why many people are now “counting calories.” 【題組】49. According to the above passage, which of the following is TRUE?
(A) One gram of fat contains more calories than one gram of protein does.
(B) Extra calories are immediately turned into the energy we need.
(C) People are counting calories because they want to raise water temperatures.
(D) The amount of calories we take in does not influence our weight.