Almost everyone has dropped some food on the floor and still wanted to eat it. If someone saw you drop it, he or she might have shouted, “5-second rule!” This so-called rule says food is OK to eat if you pick it up in five seconds or less. But is that true?

Professor Anthony Hilton from Ashton University, UK, tested the rule with his students. They wanted to prove that food dropped for five seconds is less likely to contain bacteria(细菌) than if it sits there for longer.

For the study, Hilton and his students tested a lot of foods, such as bread, pasta, cookies and candy, to see how much bacteria they had when they made contact with the floor. They allowed the food to lie on the different types of flooring, like carpet(地毯), laminate (复合地板) and tile (瓷砖), for three seconds to 30 seconds.

Not surprisingly, the longer the food was on the floor, the more bacteria it had. And the type of floor where the dropped food landed had an effect. Bacteria are least likely to transfer (转移) from carpet, while they are most likely to transfer laminate or tiled surface after more than five seconds.

The study also found that the wetter the food, the more likely it was to pick up bacteria. Although most people are happy to follow the 5-second rule, eating food dropped on the floor still carries an infection (感染) risk. “It also depends on which bacteria are on the floor at the time.” Hilton told Forbes.

【小题1】What is the “5-second rule” mean?

A．People often shout at someone when they drop food on the floor.

B．Food will go bad when dropped food on the floor in five seconds or less.

C．Food is safe when you pick it up from the floor in less than five seconds.

D．Eating food dropped on the floor for less than five seconds still carries an infection risk.

【小题2】Hilton’s test wanted to find out ________.

A．where bacteria come from	B．the students’ favorite food
C．if the “5-second rule” is true	D．if different types of floor have different bacteria

【小题3】According to the test, we learn the following EXCEPT ________.

A．the wetter food was likely to pick up bacteria.

B．bacteria didn’t transfer from laminate or tiled surfaces.

C．the dropped food on the carpet had the least bacteria

D．the dropped food had more bacteria if it sat on the floor for longer.

【小题4】What can be the best title of this passage?

A．How long does the food sit on the floor?	B．How to deal with the dropped food?
C．What the bacteria are?	D．5-second rule: what’s the truth?