It’s good for you! Reading Section 2 @ Read through the article briefly. What does it mainly contain? Circle A, B or C. A advice on healthy eating B facts about food and drink © criticism of the food industry @ Now read the text carefully and answer Questions 1-13. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE FOOD YOU EAT? ‘A. Most of us tend not to think about what we eat, Sure, Other questions allow us to explore isbues that we might have our favourite recipes, or verry ebout are relevant to everyone. For example, what's the \whether our f00¢ hzs been sprayed with pesticides, ifference between sell-by dates and use-by dates? You but the processes and discoveries that have gone into might expect the answer to involve overcantious health its production remain a closed book. Some, however, and safety regulation, But i's more complex than think differently, Why, they wonder, is frozen milk that. The shelf life of food fs actually determined by yellow? Why does your mouth burn forlonger when its manufacturers, although lab tests and government ‘you eat chillies then when you eat mustard? And what guidelines also come into play. Food is testedd ‘would happen if you threw yourself into a swimming periodically at various temperatures, to check the level pool full of jelly? ‘of bacterial spoilage over a few hours or days — the ‘warmer iti, the more likely your prawn sandwich is to Bas Sor sash people thar New Suess doveloped ‘make you ill After the lab tests, producers set a use-by_ jis ‘Laat Wote! column in which readers pose™-and date ora best-before date, Fresh shellfish need to be ‘answer— questions on all manner of abstruse sciontifie Consume by their use-by date (the date by which you feeuenion dey leit to eversdigite Many ohthe ‘mus eat them). But tinned beans will probably last ong {issues raised have simple answers. For the questions ‘beyond their best-before date (the date by which it’s above, they would be: the ribofiavin in milk begins best to cat them), although they might not teste as good {to crystallise it depends on your taste ~ the relevant ‘as they once did. ‘chemical in mustard is more easily washed away by ‘your saliva; and, you'd float, but don't divein headfirst! D_ The same research explains why even bottled mineral ‘water, which had previcusly lain underground for decades, needs a best-before date, The problem isn't tthe water, but the bottling process: either bacteria can. bbe introduced that multiply and, over time, contaminate the water, or unpleasant chemicals, such as antimony, leach into the water from the plastic bottles.Sometimes, this kind of scientific study takes us to some strange places. For example, we now know that the amount of oxygen in the ei inside green eppersis higher than in red (by a whopping 1.23 percent), probably due to the different rate at which green peppers photosynthesise. The relevance of this ‘esearch is that green peppers will decay faster than red if kept in sunlight: higher oxygen levels provide ‘more resources to feed any bacteria that are present. Generally, cooler environments preserve food best ~ ‘part from tropical fruit, Banana skins, for example, have evelved to survive in warm conditions, because that is where they grow best. Anything below 13:3°C damages the membranes, releasing enzymes which lead to skin blackening, To avoid a mushy banana, keep it aivay from the chiller. It isnot just fears for ourhealth that keep food scientists busy. They are also involved in cther areas, ‘Thetr precision has. for example, also been applied {to boitles ~ in particular, to the discovery that the ‘optimum number of sharp pointy bits ona bottle cap {is 21. Goon, count ther. Years of trial and error led to the internationally accepted German standard DIN 6099, which ensures that almost every bottle cep is, the same. This is because 21 is the ideal number when ‘you take into account the circumference of the cap, the like'thood of its metal splitting, and the chances of it sticking in the capping machine. So. next time you open a bottle with a cap on it, pay homage to those ‘who bothered to find out, starting with William Painter, in 1992. Of course, some researchers do care about the more serious stuff, driven by fear of the furure and an ever- inereesing population on a warming, lanc-impoverished planet. Sadly, New Scientis’s correspondents concluded that there was no one foodstuff that could feed the world on its own. However, they did come up with a ‘ment that could feed a family of four for 365 days a ‘year, using only eight square metres of land. Rotating ‘rops (so that the soil didn lose one nutrient more than eny other) would be vital, as would ploughing, ‘back dead plant matter and maintaining a vegetarian diet, After that, you would need to grow crops that take ‘up very litle space and grow vertically rather than horizontally, if possible Questions 1-7 ‘The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-C, Choose the correct heading jor paragraphs A~G fii Reasons thet remain a mystery iv A source of information for some people v_ Development work leading to a conclusion vi Contrasting levels of interest in food | vii The need to change a system viii Information connected with keeping certain kinds of food | ix How certain advice is decided on X _Neas not put into practice | from the list of headings below. i Why a particular piece of information is igre | u Aruasotved problemand a sotmion toa ff problem | | Paragraph Av Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Peragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G neler ieee Questions 8-13 Choose TWO letters, A~E. Questions 8-9 | Which TWO of the following are explained by the ‘writer in the text? A why the ‘Last Word’ column was created B why use-by dates are more important than sell-hy dates © how to prevent bacteria getting into bottled water D a way in which peppers are similar to bananas E why most bottle caps have a common feature | ws ofr yout @)Questions 10-11 Which TWO probleras connected with food does the writer mention? {A confusing information about the use of pesticides |B feoling pain when eating something © sellby dates sometimes being inaccurete | D feeling il because of eating food after its best- | before date E the effect of sunlight on green peppers Questions 12-13 Which TWO of the following would a family of | four need to do to jeed itself every day of the year, ‘according to New Scientist? ‘A use more than one piece of land B grow the same crop all the time © put dead plants into the soil D plant only crops that grow very quickly E concentrate on crops that grow verticallyVocabulary Word formation @ Complete each sentence with the correct form of the word in brackets. 1 Healthy eating is a matter of «duction... so that people know what to eat. (educate) 2 Yesterday she him for being too lazy to keep fit. (critic) 3. Even if exercise is no exercise. (regular) + it's beter than 4 Going for arun ona day is anice way to spend your time. (sun) 5 exercise is essential for everyone, (dey) 6 Sometimes children don't want to eat healthy food because of its + (appear) 7 There is a connection between being healthy and having a high level of (happy). 8 People who are can have health problems that fitter people doa’t have. (active) © Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first. Use the correct form of the underlined word in the first sentence. 1 a The manufacturers claim that the additives don’t do children any harm. b The manufacturers claim that the additives are .harmfess...to children. 2 a Therehas been a dramatic rise in the number of abese people in this country. b_ The number of obese people in this country has risen 3. a Food producers should make the information on their products simpler. b Food producers should the information on their products. 4 a There were a lot of people sunning in the park. b There were a lot of in the park. 5 a | was surprised that I got fit so quickly. b Itwas to me that 1 got fit so quickly. 6 a. There were some figures that people didn't expect in the report on the nation's health. b There were some figures in the report on the nation’s health, Key vocabulary © Complete the sentences below, then use the words to complete this crossword. Across 3. Farmers who grow organic vegetables have to using pesticides, 4 Farming are the ways farming is done. 5 A food is a small structure where you can buy food, for example in a market or in a street. 8 If food is grown or produced git comes from the area nearby. Down 1 if something is to happen, it will probably happen. 2 If something is + itis not natural. 6 goods are high-quality, expensive goods. ? Crop are the amount of crops produced in a particular place. good fr yout (@)