高中英语教学资源库
Out-of-Date Food
Fine wines and cheese may improve with age, but Japanese consumers were probably surprised to find that one company manager thought Chinese spring rolls did, too. That, at least, is what Reiko Yoshida, head of a small food firm in western Japan, told a news conference when asked to explain why her company sold frozen spring rolls and other products that were well past their sell-by date. “I was told that the products were past their expiry（期满） date, but I gave the order to sell them after I tried them and found them tasty,” a spokesman for the company, Shinsho, quoted Yoshida as telling a news conference. The company sold about 2,600 frozen spring rolls to stores even though some were nearly six months past their expiry date, the spokesman said. Yoshida accepted now that the company should have thrown the food away after the sell-by date passed and that it would take care from now on. The firm has voluntarily halted business in 21 of its 23 shops around the country for an indefinite period of time. Japanese consumer confidence in food products has been shaken by several recent scandals（丑闻）, including cases of mislabeling （贴错标签）.高中英语教学资源库
The food we eat seems to have great effects in on our health. Although science has made big steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps 80 percent of all human illnesses are related to diet and 40 percent of cancer is related to the diet as well. That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, some researchers realised that things commonly used to keep colour in meats and other food additives (添加剂) caused cancer.
Yet, these additives remain in our food, and it is difficult to know which things on the wrappings (包装) of foods are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to their animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of cows. Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for their health, but just to make a profit.
The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to get a higher price on the market. Although some countries have tried to control such things, the practices continue.高中英语教学资源库
Cereal…Young Americans Say It’s Not Just For Breakfast Anymore
谷类食品对于美国年轻人不再只是早餐
Guess what food young Americans are eating like steers at a feedlot
Cereal. You know, one of the basic food groups.
But not for breakfast. Teenagers and college kids don't even eat breakfast.
Despite the low current craze, young folks are gobbling up cereal -- in their rooms, on the bus, and, believe it or not, even in what are called “cereal cafes” in college towns and some big cities. At the Cereality restaurant in Philadelphia, for instance, the wait staff wears pajamas emblazoned with the logo, The United Flakes of America. Cereal, after all, is supposed to be a morning thing.
Cereal is a hip concept, explained Cereality's founder.
Frosted Flakes are hip
This fad is great news for American dentists, because the most popular cereals among young people are sugar-laden brands such as Cocoa Puffs, Cap'n Crunch, and Fruity Pebbles.
They're predictable. As one student told the New York Times, you know what Cap'n Crunch is going to taste like. Pork roast could be iffy.
Never mind the tooth decay and the pimples.
And wait till you see the toppings! This cereal craze also appears to be an excuse to wolf down coconut, melted chocolate, and ice cream on top of your shredded wheat.
Important to students on a budget, cereal is cheap! You even get a straw and a long spoon to slurp up the last granola crumbs and the final drops of milk.
When these kids get sudden cravings for food -- and they often do -- few things cure a case of the munchies better than a box of Kellogg's Sugar Pops.
This has been bowl season in the United States -- American college football championship games called “bowls” are being played everywhere. Not that some students are paying attention. They're too deep into their own bowls…cereal bowls.Our life food—water
Water is the "life food" of our earth. It is in every living thing. It is in the air. It runs through mountains and valleys. It forms lakes and seas. Nature has a great water system. Rainwater finds its way to rivers and lakes. River water runs into the sea. At the mouths of the rivers, fresh water joins the salt water of the sea. Here at the mouth of a river there is much important plant and animal life. But pollution destroys this life. We have to clean our rivers. Man has to work with nature, not against it.高中英语教学资源库
Healthy Food for Kids
In the UK, most children have their midday meal at school, but in many schools, parents can choose what their children eat. The children can have a school dinner─a hot, cooked meal; or they can take a packed lunch with them, which usually includes cold food like sandwiches.
Often parents decide on the basis of what their children want. Cathy, a mother of three children told us, “My children have packed lunches, because they say they hate school dinners. So I make three packed lunches every morning, so we’re like a sandwich bar in our kitchen in the morning.”
However, another mother, Susan made her choice based on the nutritious （有营养的） value of the food. She said, “My daughter always has school dinners. I think she probably gets better healthier food by having a cooked lunch at school than she would if I made a few sandwiches.”
But how healthy are school dinners Kaz, a father, wasn’t impressed with them, “Fizzy drinks（汽水） were offered and I think there were a lot of chips.”
The question of how healthy school food is, was brought to the forefront （引起重视） by famous chef Jamie Oliver, who launched a campaign to improve children’s nutrition, after spending a year working in a school kitchen. The TV series about the campaign won a BAFTA award this week.
He was horrified at the junk food which he saw being served which included burgers, pizzas and chips. So he decided to ban the junk, and started cooking some good stews and curries for the children instead.
So Jamie improved the school dinners in that particular school, and trained the dinner ladies to cook healthy food. Then he put pressure on the government to improve the standards of school food across the country. And it looks like the changes have begun.
Anna, a pupil at a secondary school told us, “We used to have a fast food counter where you got chips and stuff but they stopped that this year. There’s a salad bar, which is good, so it’s healthier than it was.”高中英语教学资源库
American Eating Custom
American eating is funny. They eat almost everything with a fork, and it appears that holding a knife in one’s right hand longer than a few seconds is considered to be against good table manners.
The system is that if it is absolutely necessary to use a knife, people take the fork in their left hand, and cut off a piece of meat or whatever it is in the normal manner. Then they put the knife down, transfer the fork to their right hand, and only then do they transport the food to their mouth. This is clearly funny, but it is considered good manners.
There are several results of this system. First, if it is not absolutely necessary to use a knife, Americans don’t use one, because obviously this greatly complicates （使复杂化） things, and you will therefore see them trying to cut things like potatoes, fish and even bacon （熏猪肉） with a fork. Second, towards the end of a course, since only one tool is being used, food has to be chased around the plate with the fork─and for the last mouthful the thumb has to be used to keep the food in place, although one is not supposed to do this. Third, tables are generally laid with one knife and two forks, the outside fork being for the salad. There is no need for foreign visitors to follow the American system and try to eat the salad with only a fork, but if you do use your knife, remember to save it for the meat course. Even desserts (except ice cream) are eaten with a fork if at all possible, and the spoon you see by your dessert is meant to be for coffee (but if you use it for your dessert no one will say anything).高中英语教学资源库
Fruits
Although most fruits are sweet, they tend to be relatively low in calories. Better still, they are a good source of fiber and are packed with nutrients - especially Vitamin C.
On reason that the much-talked about "Mediterranean diet" is considered to be so good for the heart is because it includes plenty of fresh fruit. The World Health Organization recommends that everyone should try to eat at least five portions of different fruit or vegetables each day.
A portion of fruit counts as a single fruit, such as an apple or orange, a cup of small fruit such as grapes or raspberries, or a glass of pure fruit juice. You can include dried, tinned and frozen fruit as part of your quota, but tinned fruit is often sweetened in syrup, and contains less vitamin C.swherespossible buy fruit that has been canned in its own juice without added sugar. Fresh fruit and juice provide most of our daily intake of vitamin C with citrus fruit (oranges, lemons, grape fruit and tangerines) being the most important source. Other top vitamin C providers include Kiwi Fruit, strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants mangoes and papayas. Fruits with orange or deep yellow flesh, such as apricots, mangoes and cantaloupe melons, get their color from a yellow orange pigment called beta carotene, the plant from of vitamin A. Other carotene pigments such as lycopene are found in red fruits, and these along with beta carotene are thought to protect against free radicals and possibly cancer. Fruit is rich in potassium, especially bananas and dried fruits. Potassium helps to regulate blood pressure. It works in tandem with sodium to regulate the body's fluid balance.
Another reason why fruit is so important to the diet is because it contains both soluble and insoluble fiber. The insoluble fiber help reduce the risk of colon Cancer while soluble fiber can help to lower blood cholesterol levels. Citrus fruit and dried fruits (such as figs, dates, apricots and raisins) are particularly good sources of fiber. Pesticides are applied to crops to ensure that the produce is of a high quality and free from pests and diseases, and in most fruit the levels are so low that they pose no hazard to health even for children, however it is sensible to thoroughly wash fruit in clean running water before consumption. The benefits of eating fruit are many. Fruit tastes good, it contains antioxidants that may help to protect against cancer. It is a rich source of potassium that helps to regulate blood pressure and it provides most of our daily intake of vitamin C.高中英语教学资源库
In her book, Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat, Naomi Moriyama reveals the key to health and longevity（寿命）: A Japanese-style, home-cooked diet rich in fish, veggies, rice, fruit, noodles, and green tea─the kind of meals she ate growing up in Tokyo. So who most urgently needs to read Moriyama’s book these days Actually, the people of Japan.
Fitness in the Land of the Rising Sun appears to be- come worse. Obesity (肥胖) in Japanese men in their 40s increased from 23 percent in 1980 to 34 percent in 2003, and among children, from about 6 percent to 8 percent, according to the country’s National Health and Nutrition Survey. Meanwhile, the number of people being treated for diabetes (糖尿病) shot up 53 percent over the past 15 years, while the number of patients with high blood pressure has grown 9 percent in 10 years, the Health Ministry says. This is the country that has had the world’s longest life expectancy: 86 years for women, 79 for men.
It’s not that the Japanese are all suddenly trying to become Sumo (相扑) wrestlers. The problem is too many are eating like one. “Unfortunately, an increasing number of Japanese are adopting unhealthy eating patterns,”Moriyama says. “Japanese people are easily harmed—maybe even more so─to the dangers of fast food, sedentary (久坐的) lifestyles, and obesity as Westerners. In other words, it’s not all in our genes.”
