Unit5 You are What You Eat

Focus vocabulary

additives genetically modified foods (GMF) GM products genetically engineered (GH) foods/ biotech foods organic foods cuisine: Italian /Chinese cuisine cut down on diet digestion fat fattening low fat/ fat-free fibre high-fibre food/ diet

hunger hungry thirst thirsty prefer smell slim taste treat weight gain/ put on/ lose weight gourmet vegan vegetarian

Word Ex. 1 A. Write a diary of what you have eaten and drunk in the last 24 Use hours. Be honest!

Example: Yesterday:

2p.m. Mushroom Omelette, bread, water

4p.m. apple, chocolate, coke etc.

B. Show your diary to other people. What are the main differences and similarities between your diary and theirs?

Skill Ex. 2 Discuss these questions with a partner.

Developing

a) What time(s) of day (and night) do you feel hungriest?

b) How do you feel physically and emotionally when you are really hungry?

c) What activities make you feel particularly hungry or thirsty?

d) How many times per day (and night) do you eat and drink?

e) What kind of food do you prefer to eat when you are hungry?

f) How do you feel after eating and drinking?

Ex. 3 Your partner and you are short of money. Discuss with him/her what you would eat if:

a) If it was hot weather, I'd choose something like____________________

b) In the normal way, I would probably start off with__________________

c) However, if someone else was paying, I'd prefer__________________

d) I quite like________________but I'd rather have__________________

Ex. 4 These four people were asked to talk about what they eat.

Maria: I eat a great deal of foreign food: Italian, French, Lebanese ... that sort of thing. Strangely enough, I think I'd rather have ordinary, well-cooked English food. My favourite is still steak! I prefer it rare. I'm also very fond of red wine, particularly Burgundy.

Alexander: I'm just not very interested in food. I usually have only a cup of tea and a bowl of cornflakes for breakfast, and often skip lunch. For dinner, I often buy a tin of soup or perhaps a frozen hamburger, and heat it up. Occasionally I get something from a Chinese takeaway, or one of those fried chicken places. I never touch alcohol. It doesn't agree with me.

Carol: Food is still one of life's mysteries for me. It's all my parents' fault. They're awfully conventional in their tastes. My mother insists on cooking things like roast beef or lamb and boiled potatoes with some carrots or brussels sprouts. In fact, the kind of food I have to eat is so disgusting that I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind.

Dominic: I absolutely adore fish, particularly white fish, such as sole or haddock, cooked in a little white wine, with some garlic and lemon. Recently, I've been experimenting with Japanese recipes, particularly raw fish. Oh, and I love fresh vegetables such as courgettes, broccoli and asparagus, and fresh green beans. But I hate them overcooked. Oh, and I'm terribly fond of pasta ... but it must be freshly made!

A. Imagine a meal that each one of these people had yesterday. Describe it. B. Which person would you prefer to eat with? Why? Describe the meal you

would have with this person.

Ex. 5 Agree or disagree with the following statements about eating. Give your reasons and compare them with your partner's.

• Eating is such a waste of time, effort and money. It would be better if we could

simply take pills.

• You are what you eat.

• Eating is one of the greatest pleasures available. In the modern world we tend to eat too quickly and not well enough.

• The problem is half the world eats too much, and the other half doesn't have

enough to eat.

Ex. 6 Study the extract from a brochure published by the British Health Education Council which is called "Staying Alive". Speak about the problems touched upon in the text. What are your ideas of healthy food? Discuss them in groups of three or four.

Most of us eat without realising what our food consists of. And. like any other machine, the body functions better or worse according to the fuel we feed it. No one single food will kill us, but a combination of the wrong sorts of food can cause ill health. Perhaps we ought to stop and think for a moment

Chemical additives* in food certainly make it tastier and more attractive to look at when it often consists mainly of sugar. This is dangerous not only for our body but also for our teeth. We should cut down on sweets, ice creams and soft drinks.

Sugar is not the only danger. The next time we eat lamb chops or cheese, or drink a glass of milk, we should remember the high level of fat they contain. Too much fat may lead to heart disease.

In order to be really healthy, our bodies need fibre**. Without a sufficient amount, the digestion cannot function properly. We ought to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, bread and cereals such as rice. Fibre also fills us up, makes us feel less hungry and so we eat less of the wrong kinds of food.

Those of you who are a little overweight need not think of a diet as punishment, if you follow a sensible eating plan. It means you can eat well, enjoy your food, but without the same number of calories. To lose weight regularly, we should not eat more than 1500 calories a day. There is one condition, however. You must want to lose weight and not just think you ought to do it. When you have decided, you will have to buy a special booklet which tells you the number of calories in every type of food. You will also have to buy two reliable scales, one for weighing your food, the other for weighing yourself. You must keep an accurate record of everything you eat and weigh yourself at the same time even, week. If you follow the plan carefully, you should lose an average of two and a half pounds (1 kilo) a week.

* Chemical additives: Chemicals which are added to food and drink.

** Fibre: Substance found only in certain types of food.

Ex. 7 A. Find a word or words that mean:

1. material for creating energy

2. meat dish

3. enough

4. in a correct way

5. cause of suffering

6. reasonable

7. measurement of energy that food will produce

8. which can be trusted

9. device for weighing

10. exact

В. Answer these questions:

1 Do many people know what is in their food?

2. Can what we eat affect how we feel?

3 Why should we eat fewer sweet things?

4. How could too much milk be dangerous?

5. Where can we find fibre?

6. Why is fibre good for slimming?

7. Does losing weight have to be painful?

8. Is it sufficient to know you should lose weight?

9. What do you think the record will show?

10. Will you lose the same amount of weight every week?

Ex. 8 Do you know anything about genetically modified food? Here is what some people in the USA think about this issue.

STOP GENETICALLY UNSAFE FOOD

FROM THE SUPERMARKET WITHOUT

SAFE LABELING.

do you know that 60-70 percent of food in the usa supermarket today is a product of genetic engineering? is this technology safe?

Why doesn't the government want people to know about its unnatural

ORIGINS?

IS THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION DOING ALL IT SHOULD TO PROTECT PEOPLE?