Exercises. I. Comprehension. Decide whether these statements are true or false, according to the story:

I. Comprehension. Decide whether these statements are true or false, according to the story:

1. British children prefer junk food.

2. According to the Word Health Organisation report most children eat fruit and vegetables every day.

3. In Great Britain schoolchildren avoid drinking alcohol.

4. Snacking and poor nutrition among schoolchildren have become part of Britain’s culture.

5. Five portions of vegetables daily are recommended by doctors.

6. The rate of vegetable consumption in Belgium is higher than in England.

7. The levels of obesity have risen fourfold over 25 years in Britain.

8. Consumption of soft drinks in Scotland is rather high.

9. The surveys of dietary habits were conducted in two countries.

10. Lots of sweets and fizzy drinks contribute to good health.

II. Vocabulary. Choose the most appropriate explanation for the following words:

Scathing

a. showing great interest

b. severely critical

c. frightening

Veg

a. veggieburgers

b. vegetation

c. vegetables

Sedentary

a. requiring a lot of energy

b. having everything one needs

c. involving little physical activity

Embedded

a. being an important part of

b. having a lot of problems

c. being limited socially

Conducive

a. reducing risks

b. producing a desirable effect

c. causing great difficulties

Fizzy

a. containing bubbles of gas

b. containing a lot of sugar

c. containing alcohol

 

III. Vocabulary. Here are three extracts from the article British teenagers just want a good snacking published in The Times on the same day. Some of the words and word combinations are missing. Fill in the blanks with the words from the box:

snacking, unhealthiest, vegetables, avoided, blamed, carbonated, portion, consumption, rate, aged, childhood obesity, choking, proper, damning, foods, regular meals, to rise, would die, fat, daily breakfast

 

1. A culture of __________ on chocolates and sweets, missing __________ and taking little exercise has made British children among the __________.

2. The average British teenager eats less than one __________ of fruit a day, while __________ are __________ with similar regularity, according to the report. __________ drinks and sweets emerged as popular substitutes, often instead of __________. In England, fewer than 40 per cent of 15-year-old girls were found to eat a __________ before going to school – the lowest __________ in Europe – while a third of boys did likewise. Children __________ 11 and 13 also fell well below the report’s global average.

3. The high __________ of sugary __________ was highlighted last week as a major reason for the growth of __________ in a __________ report by the Health Select Committee. The Committee said that if childhood obesity continued __________ at current rates, many children __________ before their parents, citing the recent case of a three-year-old child whose death was __________ partly on extreme obesity. Doctors described the incident as one of several cases of children “__________ on their own __________”.

 

 

Text 3

The problem of obesity among British schoolchildren was widely discussed on the pages of British newspapers. One of the commentaries appeared in the Comment column of The Daily Telegraph newspaper. First look at the headline of the article and say whether the attitude of the author to the problem is clear. Look up the meanings of the word ‘fat’ and explain the play on words in the headline. Now read the article and do the exercises below.

Face it: it’s all your own fat fault