Episode 222

EPISODE 222
LEVEL A1.2/A2.1

READING COMPREHENSION

 

EATING HABITS    

Many people say that in the past we used to be healthier because we had more time to eat a proper breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It is very difficult to have a balanced diet (= to eat a combination of the right food) nowadays. We live in such a hurry that we don’t have much time to think about good food and as a result we eat too much junk food (= fast food); we like having a quick snack (= something sweet to eat) every now and then and our meals (= breakfast, lunch and dinner) are too heavy (= they have too many calories).
Specialists say that to stay healthy we should eat a low-calorie diet with three quarters of plant food (= fruit and vegetables) and one quarter of animal food (= for example meat). They sometimes recommend organic (= naturally grown) food, but it is still rather expensive, so not everybody can afford it.

 

More contexts for the new words:

• Frozen fruit and vegetables are very popular in winter.
  (= fruit and vegetables kept in the temperature below zero)
• We often buy tinned corn or peas to make tuna salad.
  (= Corn or peas kept in a metal box)

 

 

EXERCISE 1

Complete the sentences.

1. Can you buy some ……………………….. corn? I want to make a salad.
2. I eat different kinds of healthy food. I have a ……………………….. diet.
3. ……………………….. carrots are more expensive than normal carrots, but you can be sure they are 100% natural.
4. I have my ……………………….. at regular times: breakfast at 7, lunch at 1, dinner at 6.
5. I’m a vegetarian. I don’t eat animal food, I only eat ……………………….. food.
6. In winter it’s hard to buy fresh vegetables, but you can always buy them ……………………….. and keep them in the freezer.
7. I often go to MacDonald’s, so I eat a lot of ……………………….. food.

 

EXERCISE 2

Match phrases from the two columns to make questions and then answer them.

1. Do you buy organic                            a) diet? What makes you think so?
2. Do you have a balanced                    b) eat junk food?
3. How often do you                               c) food? Why/ why not?
4. When did you last have a low-        d) calorie diet? Why?

 

ENGLISH IN USE 

 

Let’s look again at the first sentence from the text:

… we used to be healthier because we had more time to eat proper …

When we use „USED TO,” we talk about an action which was our habit, but it is not anymore. We say that we did these things regularly in the past, but we don’t do them now.

I used to eat a lot of ice-cream as a child.
I used to ride a bike when I was younger.
I used to drink milk every evening when I stayed with my grandparents.

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

 

A/ Have the Joneses bought a new car?

B/ Are you kidding? After Mr Jones lost his job, they are LIVING ON THE BREADLINE.

 

If you live on the breadline, you are extremely poor.

 

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

 

1. When you CHOP something UP, you cut it into pieces, usually with several sharp blows.

She chopped the onion up into small cubes.

Chop up the carrots, will you?

 

2. When you EAT something UP, you eat until everything is finished.

Come on, kinds, eat up your vegetables!

She ate everything up.

 

 

EXERCISE 3

Complete the text with words from the idiom/phrasal verbs you’re learned.

When I was a child, I used to hate meat. Mom always repeated: ‘Eat (1)……………………… your meat, children!’ but we just didn’t listen. Instead, when Mom wasn’t looking, we chopped the meat (2) ……………………………. into small pieces, and gave it to the dog. When Mom discovered it, she was very angry and said, ‘We can’t afford to do this. We live on the (3) ……………………….’  That was the last time we threw away our meat.

 

NEWS

 

EATING DISORDERS

Anorexia and bulimia are two of the most frequent eating disorders that are popular in today’s world. In anorexia, you refuse to eat large quantities of food, or you refuse to eat at all. In bulimia, in turn, you do eat a lot, but you try to compensate for the food intake by vomiting or exercising excessively. Popular culture is often blamed for leading teenagers into these disorders. When young girls see supermodels on the catwalk, all of them extremely skinny, they feel the need to go on a strict diet and look like them. Sadly, many of these diets result in anorexia and bulimia.

 

 

GLOSSARY

– eating disorder – a mental illness in which people eat far too little or far too much food and are unhappy with their bodies

– refuse – to say that you will not do something

– intake – consumption

– catwalk – the long, narrow stage that models walk along in a fashion show

– skinny – extremely thin

 

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