Unit-8-Food-and-Health.doc

Objectives
p Skills Development: reasoning, recognizing, contrasting, note-taking, recalling
p Functions and Situations: talking about preferences, giving information and facts
p Language Focus: words and expressions in chemistry and nutrition, names of different foods

Focus of Learning
The focus of learning in this unit is to understand the roles that different kinds of food play in people’s health through monologues, science reports and news reports.

u Getting Ready
Word Games about Food — Riddles

1. milk

2. onion

3. mushroom

4. pear /pair

Riddles

There was a green house.
Inside the green house,
There was a white house;
Inside the white house,
There was a red house;
Inside the red house,
There were a lot of little black babies.

→A watermelon.

What isn’t used until it’s broken?

→An egg.

Take off my skin. I won’t cry, but you will!
What am I?

→An onion.

What goes on four legs in the morning,
On two at noon,
And on three in the evening?
(Sphinx 斯芬克斯之谜)

→A person.

Vocabulary Building
1. f. chronic
2. e. compound
3. a. disclaimer
4. j. greasy
5. i. gourmets
6. d. bacterial
7. h. adventurous
8. c. watchdog
9. g. manuscripts
10. b. Minced

Listening & Speaking

Part A

Topic: Red Tape for Red Meat —a Monologue
Goal: to understand a new practice in some British restaurants and people’s reactions to it.

Key Words and Expressions:

rare: How would you like your filet mignon, sir? Rare, medium rare, or well-done?
Steak

disclaimer

steak

sausage

minced beef

bacteria

E-coli: n. a kind of rod-shaped bacteria, which carry disease and affect people’s digestive system 大肠杆菌

Salmonella: n. a type of bacteria that causes food poisoning, stomach pains, etc. 沙门氏菌

Listening Task 1

Red Tape for Red Meat
—a Monologue
Some restaurants in Britain are forcing customs who like to eat their meat rare to sign a disclaimer from before eating in their restaurants, due to the risk of E-coli and salmonella poisoning. Restaurants, including food chains Planet Hollywood, All Bar One and Shoeless Joe’s, are prepared to serve rare hamburgers, sausages or minced beef only if diners sign forms giving up rights to take legal action if they become poisoned. Scientists say that if people eat minced beef that is pink in the middle, they are more likely to be poisoned by E-coli or salmonella. The new disclaimer practice is blamed on health advice from the government’s food safety watchdog, saying that minced meat should only be served when it is well-done. The warning does not apply to ordinary steaks, because they only carry bacteria on the outside and this is killed by cooking. Egon Ronay, the restaurant critic, attacked the disclaimers: “I don’t know where it will all stop – soon you will have to fill in a huge disclaimer from before setting foot in a restaurant!”

Listening Task 1

1. B

2. A

3. C

4. B

1-4. B A C B

Listening Task 2

1. Because they feared being prosecuted for E-coli and salmonella poisoning by customers who ate rare meat at their restaurant.

2. Only if the customers sign the disclaimer form to give up their rights to take legal action if they are poisoned will they serve customers rare meat.

3. Advice from government’s food safety watchdog.

4. He was against it because it spoiled people’s enjoyment if their food.

Language Follow-Up

1. because of/ owing to

2. sue/ prosecute (the restaurant)

3. to be attributed to

4. is not related to/ has nothing to do with

5. getting into/ entering

Part B

Topic: Eating Chocolate Does You Good – a Science Report
Goal: to recognize the positive effect chocolate can have on people’s health

Key Words and Expressions:

cocoa

antioxidant [ˌæntiˈɔksidənt]: a substance which helps resist the force which causes things to combine with oxygen 抗氧化剂

compound

arteriosclerosis [ɑ:ˌtɪəri:əʊskləˈrəʊsɪs] 动脉硬化
artery 动脉

cardiovascular [ˌkɑ:diəuˈvæskjulə] adj. connected with (disease of) the heart and arteries 心血管（疾病）的

clot: v. cause (blood) to form into half-solid masses or lumps (血液)凝结成块

scavenge: v. search for or find sth. at no cost, especially among unwanted things （在废弃物中）搜寻，找到（有用之物）

Listening Task 1

Eating Chocolate Does You Good
— a Science Report
Don’t feel guilty about eating after-dinner chocolate bars. Cocoa, the source of chocolate, contains compounds that can help protect you against arteriosclerosis. Prof. Davis, a researcher from the University of California, told people that human trials showed that eating chocolate could lessen clotting of blood cells, which is linked to cardiovascular diseases. “With balance and moderation, chocolate can contribute to a healthy diet,” said Davis.
Volunteers were fed chocolates while the antioxidant capacity of their blood was measured. Antioxidants, also found in fresh vegetables, fruit and red wine, scavenge blood to get rid of free-radical substances linked to cancer and some chronic diseases.
Scientists have already suggested that the fat in chocolate, from cocoa butter, could be beneficial. Louis Grivetti, from the same university, said that cocoa beans were used as medicine by the Mexican Indians as early as in the 16th century. Over the following 400 years, manuscripts revealed 100 medical uses of chocolate which included curing exhaustion and over-excitement.

1. T

2. F

3. F

4. T

5. F

1-5. T F F T F

Listening Task 2

1. Topic: – Chocolate and Health
2. Main argument: Eating chocolate is good for people’s health.
3. Scientific basis of the argument: The antioxidants found in chocolate scavenge the blood to get rid of disease-causing substances and thus reduce clotting of the blood cells.
4. Factual evidence for the argument:
① Results from the experiment on volunteers
② The medical use of chocolate by Mexican Indians in the 16th century
③ Manuscripts written during the past 400 years

Language Follow-Up

1. 巧克力的原料－可可粉含有防止动脉硬化的成分。

2. 人体实验显示，吃巧克力能减少引发心血管病的血细胞凝结。

3. 抗氧化剂能清除血液中的游离物质，从而减少癌症和一些慢性病的发生。

4. 在随后的400年中，一些手稿显示巧克力有100多种医疗用途，包括治疗疲倦和过度兴奋。