五秒定律是真的么？

胡杨

Imagine1 youre just about to relax on the couch2 on a Saturday afternoon. You have a bag full of potato chips...or a hot dog...or a chocolate...to eat while you watch TV. But on your way to sit down， you drop something on the floor. The food from the plate falls to the floor.

想象一下，周六下午你正准备躺在沙发上休息。你有一整袋薯片，或者一根热狗，或者一块巧克力，可以一边看电视一边吃。但是在你坐下的时候，你把东西掉在了地上，盘子里的食物掉到了地上。

What are you going to do？ Youre so hungry. If you pick it up quickly—for example， in five seconds—shouldnt it still be okay to eat？ The food wont go bad in a short time， right？ Or could it have？

你打算做什么？你太饿了，如果你很快就把它捡起来——比如在五秒钟内——它还可以吃吗？食物不会在短时间内变坏，对吗？或者有这个可能？

Today we will take a closer look at the idea we all know as the five-second rule. It is that food falling to the ground is still safe as long as it is eaten within five seconds of falling to the ground. But is it true？ Is it really safe for you to eat the food？

今天，我们将深入探讨大家都知道的五秒钟定律，即食物掉到地上后，只要能在五秒钟内捡起并食用，就仍然是安全的。但这是真的吗？吃这些食物真的安全吗？

Some of you may ask why we should talk about this question. Many people just cant buy the idea of eating food picked up from ground. You can always get another potato chip， right？ But others will think potato chips will soon be eaten， its okay. They often are with an idea of “Five-second rule”！

有些人可能会问，我们为什么要讨论这个问题。许多人就是不能接受吃从地上捡起来的食物。你总是能拿到另一块薯片，对吗？但其他人会认为薯片很快就会被吃掉，这没什么。他们经常会有“五秒钟定律”的想法！

As this “rule” is so common3， we think it is worth4 to talk about. We want to know whether it has any real value5， or it just may be bad for us. Scientists6 are good at studying whether we need to follow the rules.

由于这个“定律”如此普遍，我们认为值得讨论。我们想知道它有没有真正的价值，或者有可能对我们有害。科学家善于研究我们是否需要遵守这类规律。

According to the study， it seems that the five-second rule is just a myth7. Foods dropped onto the floor can quickly become contaminated8 with germs9 in a few seconds. The longer food stays on the floor， the more germs it has. Where food falls is important. Clean， dry floors are less likely to have germs than moist10 places. A high-traffic area， such as a hallway11， will likely have more germs and dirt than other areas.

根据这项研究，“五秒钟定律”似乎只是一个神话。掉在地上的食物在幾秒钟内就会很快被细菌污染。食物在地板上停留的时间越长，就会沾上越多的细菌。食物掉落的地方很重要，干净、干燥的地板不像潮湿的地方那样容易滋生细菌。一个“交通繁忙”的区域，比如走廊，可能比其他区域有更多的细菌和灰尘。

Are a few germs a big deal， though？ Of course. All in all， viruses12 can cause13 a lot of diseases14. So， if your food hits the floor， you can just pick it up and put it in the trash15. Your health is important. Get some more food. No potato chip is worth the risk16 of disease！

不过，几个细菌有什么大不了的吗？当然啦。总而言之，病毒可以导致各种疾病。所以，如果你的食物掉到地上，你可以把它捡起来，然后扔进垃圾桶，你的健康更重要。再拿点吃的，没有什么薯片值得你冒生病的风险！

（英语原文选自：wonderopolis.org）