2024年4月24日发(作者：)

高考英语外刊时文精读精练 (30)

Unravelling the mystery of autobrewery syndrome

解开“自动酿酒综合症”之谜

【外刊导读】

国外一项研究发现，有些人患有一种罕见病，在滴酒未沾的情况下也会“醉酒”，

甚至会出现“大脑断片”的情况。患者往往会出现胃痛、腹胀、昏迷等酒后反应，身

边的人也会误以为他们喝醉了，但实际上他们根本没有饮酒。这是一种什么样的病？

【外刊原文】

（斜体单词为超纲词汇，认识即可；下划线单词为课标词汇，需熟记。）

It would happen two to three times a week. Nick Carson would start slurring his words and then

become progressively less steady on his feet. His conversations would go around in circles and

eventually he would collapse into a deep sleep. The father-of-two was showing all the signs of being

drunk. Except Carson hadn't consumed any alcohol.

"Before this I had never seen him drunk," says Carson's wife, Karen. Carson himself could only

recall the events of these episodes in a foggy way the next day."I did not have a clue what was

happening." says 64-year-old Carson, who lives in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in the UK. "Six to eight hours

later I would wake up like there is nothing wrong with me, very rarely feeling hungover."

Eventually Carson and his wife found the intoxication and other symptoms seemed to be

triggered after eating meals that were high in carbohydrates, such as potatoes. After multiple visits

to doctors and nutritionists, Carson was diagnosed with a rare condition called Auto-Brewery

Syndrome.

Auto-Brewery Syndrome (ABS), is a largely mysterious condition that raises the levels of

alcohol in the blood and produces the symptoms of alcohol intoxication in patients, even when they

have had minimal or no alcohol intake. It can lead them to fail breathalyser tests, and brings social

and legal consequences for sufferers.

But this unusual phenomenon is also highly controversial, not least because its exact cause is

still poorly understood.

One suggested mechanism underlying the condition revolves around imbalances in gut

microbes, which lead to overgrowth of certain microbes that later, under particular conditions,

ferment a high-carbohydrate meal into alcohol. But what might be triggering this sudden and

dramatic change in the microorganisms living inside our bodies that in the right circumstances

leads to ABS?

A medical report of two cases from 1984 highlighted another culprit – yeasts living in the

patients' digestive tracts. More recently, other studies have revealed it often takes a combination of

factors to increase the risk of ABS. A number of alcohol-producing fungi and bacteria can lead to

overproduction of alcohol.

【链接高考】 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形

式。

It would happen two to three times 1. week. Nick Carson would start slurring his

words and then become progressively less steady on his feet. His conversations would go around in

circles and eventually he would collapse into a deep sleep. The father-of-two was showing all the

signs of being drunk. Except Carson

2 (consume) any ally Carson and his wife found the intoxication and other

symptoms seemed to 3. (trigger) after eating meals 4. were high in

carbohydrates, such as potatoes. After multiple 5. (visit) to doctors and nutritionists,

Carson was diagnosed 6. a rare condition 7. (call) Auto-Brewery

-Brewery Syndrome (ABS), is a 8. (large) mysterious condition that

raises the levels of alcohol in the blood and produces the symptoms of alcohol intoxication in

patients, even 9. they have had minimal or no alcohol intake. It can lead them

10. (fail) breathalyser tests, and brings social and legal consequences for sufferers.

KEYS:

1. a

2. hadn't consumed

3. be triggered

4. that

5. visits

6. with

7. called

8. largely

9. when

10. to fail

【课标词汇精讲】

1. steady

2. collapse

3. consume

4. recall

5. trigger