1 . Why Cooking Meals at Home Benefits More Than Just Your Wallet
When hunger strikes, the convenience of entering a fast-food restaurant or ordering takeout can be terribly attractive.
· It’s cheaper.
You could spend $100 at a fancy restaurant for one dinner, while the same amount of money could buy you groceries for a week. When you shop smart and get creative, you needn’t spend more than $1 on breakfast, $2 on lunch and $4 on dinner to purchase wholesome, healthy foods. Here’s how:
· It may reduce your exposure to certain chemicals.
The most surprising benefit of cooking at home can decrease the amount of harmful chemicals you’re exposed to.
·You can better estimate calories.
·
Many chefs use a lot of salt while cooking. While salt can make food tastier, too much of it is linked to serious health issues like heart disease and high blood pressure. At home, you can control the quantity of salt on your plate by seasoning food in other ways, like using lemon juice. The same goes for sugar. You can use smaller quantities of natural sweeteners like honey to add sweetness to your food. Too much added sugar is linked to some diseases as well.
| A．You can reduce added salt and sugar. |
| B．Eating out can make calorie counting tricky. |
| C．Buy in large quantities and stick to store-brand items. |
| D．Salt and sugar are both essentials in cooking delicious foods. |
| E．Relying on food away from home occasionally is totally acceptable. |
| F．People are always too engaged in their work to cook at home personally. |
| G．People cooking at home have lower levels of dangerous chemicals in their bodies. |
2 . Alarming levels of dangerous chemicals known as Perfluorinated Alkylated Substances (PFAS) were discovered in food packaging at a number of well-known fast-food restaurants and grocery store chains, a new report found. The report comes more than two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, when the public has relied heavily on takeout and grocery deliveries.
Often called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment, PFAS are used in food packaging to prevent grease (油脂) and water from soaking through food wrappers and cups. PFAS can also be found in the ink used to print logos and instructions on food containers.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls exposure to PFAS a “public health concern”, citing that the human-made chemicals can harm the immune system and reduce a person’s resistance to infectious diseases.
Regulatory limits for how much PFAS food packaging should contain can vary greatly. For instance, a new law in California set the limit at less than 100 ppm. “Compared to America, Denmark sets a much lower regulatory limit of 20 ppm with great success,” said Xenia Trier, an expert at the European Environment Agency. “It does work to set limits and enforce them. PFAS do migrate from the paper into the food. Even though it was not 100%, we still saw considerable transmission. In general, transmission from packaging to food is increased as the temperature of the food rises. It is the same with the time spent in wrapping materials.” Trier told NBS, one of the major American mass-media companies.
In response to the issue, Whole Foods became the first grocery chain to publicly commit to remove PFAS from takeout containers and bakery paper. Many other companies followed suit. Experts say people who want to avoid PFAS in their takeout and food delivery packaging should favor companies that have promised to remove the chemicals. “As soon as you receive your takeout, you’d better take food out of the container immediately, and never reheat food in its original container. Instead, remove your food and heat it in ceramic (陶瓷的) or glass containers.” Trier said.
1. What can we learn about PFAS in food packaging?| A．They have been used for two years. |
| B．They do little harm to consumers’ health. |
| C．They are used to break down the chemicals. |
| D．They can make wrappers resistant to grease and water. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Neutral. |
| C．Ambiguous. | D．Opposed. |
| A．Considerable migration of grease and water. |
| B．PFAS transmission from packaging to food. |
| C．Wrapper exposure to high food temperature. |
| D．Regulatory limits concerning food packaging. |
| A．Food packaging contains dangerous chemicals. |
| B．Consumers are recommended to have PFAS-free products. |
| C．PFAS found in food packaging has become a great concern. |
| D．The government has taken measures to reduce PFAS exposure. |
3 . For many Chinese consumers, a satisfying breakfast is one that includes either hot porridge or steamed buns (馒头). Cold sandwiches, which are popular with Westerners, are probably one of the last options on their minds. But that is not to say that consumers, especially those in an international city like Shanghai, would avoid everything considered Western for breakfast. For instance, coffee, which has steadily grown in popularity in the country, is one drink that many cannot do without today.
To satisfy this growing demand for breakfast sets that combine elements from the East and the West, food companies have been rolling out (推出) a host of new offerings to attract the customer. One example is Shanghai Qiao Coffee, launched by local time-honored food company Qiaojiashan at the end of 2019. Apart from its traditional dim sum (点心), the store also sells various types of coffee.
According to Shen Yan, deputy manager of Qiaojiashan, the most popular breakfast set now is the steamed vegetable bun paired with black coffee. “The calories that one gets from a meal consisting of Chinese dim sum and coffee are less than those of a Western breakfast. Since a steamed bun has nearly 200 calories and a cup of black coffee barely has any calories, this combination can be considered healthy and delicious,” said Shen.
Even the smaller shoppers in the food scene are jumping on the East-West breakfast trend. Western food companies, too, have been rolling out Chinese breakfast options. “Consumers and even cultural heritage will also benefit from the increased competition. If not for the current trend which has revived interest in certain traditional dim sum, these foods could soon be lost to history,” Shen said.
1. What can we learn about breakfast in Shanghai in Paragraph 1?| A．Coffee is a must for many people. |
| B．Cold sandwiches are a popular choice. |
| C．People avoid western food for breakfast. |
| D．People prefer porridge and steamed buns. |
| A．Because it’s traditional. |
| B．Because it’s tasty and healthy. |
| C．Because it’s newly created. |
| D．Because it contains more vegetables. |
| A．Western food companies dislike East-West breakfast. |
| B．Big companies have the ability to seize the market share. |
| C．The competition for breakfast sets is of no benefit to consumers. |
| D．Some traditional foods may disappear without the combination trend. |
| A．Chinese consumers show more interest in western food. |
| B．Western breakfast is warmly welcomed by Shanghai people. |
| C．The Chinese-Western breakfast set is becoming a hit in Shanghai. |
| D．Shanghai Qiao Coffee has won great success for its breakfast sets. |
4 . We all know that eating later in the day isn’t good for our waistlines, but why? A new study weighed in on that question by comparing people who ate the same foods—but at different times in the day.
“We found that eating four hours later makes a significant difference for our hunger levels, the way we burn calories after we eat, and the way we store fat,” Vujović said, a researcher at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Together, these changes may explain why late eating is associated with increased obesity risk reported by other studies and provide new biological insight into the underlying mechanisms.” The study provides support for the concept that circadian(生理节奏) rhythm, which influences key physiologic functions such as body temperature and heart rate, affects how our bodies absorb fuel, researchers said.
The study does show eating later results in “an increase in hunger, impacts hormones(荷尔蒙) and also changes gene expression, especially in terms of fat metabolism with a tendency towards less fat breakdown and more fat deposition,” said Dr. Bhanu Prakash Kolla, a professor of psychiatry and psychology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and a consultant to Mayo’s Center for Sleep Medicine and Division of Addiction Medicine.
The study was small—only 16 overweight or obese people—but carefully planned to eliminate other potential causes of weight gain, the authors said. “While there have been other studies investigating why late eating associates with an increased risk for obesity, this may be the most well controlled, including strictly controlling the amount, composition and timing of meals, physical activity, sleep, room temperature and light exposure,” said senior author Frank Scheer, director of the Medical Chronobiology Program in the Brigham’s Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders. All participants were in good health, with no history of diabetes or shift work, which can affect circadian rhythm, and had regular physical activity. Each person in the study kept to a strict healthy sleep/wake schedule for about three weeks and were provided with prepared meals at fixed times for three days before the lab experiment began.
Results showed that hunger pangs doubled for those on a night-eating regime. People who ate later in the day also reported a desire for starchy and salty foods, meat and, to a lesser extent, a desire for dairy foods and vegetables. By looking at the results of blood tests, researchers were able to see why: Levels of leptin, a hormone which tells us when we feel full, were decreased for late eaters versus early eaters. In comparison, levels of the hormone ghrelin, which spikes our appetite, rose.
1. According to the passage, the following may contribute to the obesity except _________.| A．the breakdown of less fat |
| B．the changes in gene expression |
| C．the increase in the levels of leptin |
| D．the disturbance of the circadian rhythm |
| A．highlight the results of the study |
| B．illustrate the process of the study |
| C．present the purpose of the study |
| D．demonstrate the reliability of the study |
| A．Stimulate. | B．Reduce. | C．Maintain. | D．Control. |
| A．Eating late accounts for obesity. |
| B．Obesity can be well controlled by eating late. |
| C．When you eat is irrelevant to how fat you are. |
| D．Eating late may impact the expression function. |
A vegetarian diet is often praised for its health benefits. Studies have shown that vegetarians usually have lower levels of heart disease and a risk of diabetes（糖尿病）than people who eat meat. What most people are less aware of, however, are the effects that a vegetarian diet can have on the environment.
Researchers from the Union of Concerned Scientists in the US recently studied how consumer behavior affects the environment. The study showed that meat consumption is one of the main ways that humans can damage the environment, second only to the use of motor vehicle.
Then, how can eating meat have a negative effect on the environment? For a start, all farm animals such as cows, pigs, and sheep give off methane gas（沼气）by expelling（排出）wind from their bodies. One cow can produce up to 60 liters of methane each day. Methane gas is the second most common greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Many environmental experts now believe that it is more responsible for global warming than carbon dioxide. It is estimated that 25% of all methane released into the atmosphere comes from farm animals.
Another way that meat production affects the environment is through the use of water and land. 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of beef, whereas 20 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of wheat. One acre of farmland used for crop production can produce 40,000 pounds of potatoes, 30,000 pounds of carrots, or 50,000 pounds of tomatoes.
Many people now see the benefits of switching to a vegetarian diet, not just for health reasons, but also because it plays a vital role in protecting the environment. However, some nutritionists advise against switching to a totally strict vegetarian, or vegan diet. They believe a vegan diet, which excludes（拒绝）all products from animal sources, such as cheese, eggs, and milk. can be short of many necessary vitamins and minerals our bodies need.
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6 . When Americans think of the lunch menu at their childhood school cafeterias, they probably imagine a shapeless, tasteless pile of mystery meat – plus some brown much（糊状物）,to match. But for children in Japan, school lunches are a rich experience where the students learn about culture and nutrition of foods.
“Japan’s standpoint is that school lunches are a part of education, not a break from it,” Masahiro Oji, a government director of school health education in Japan, told The Washington Post.The food offered at schools in Japan is affordable, fresh, and made by the students themselves. And Japanese children don’t just eat the food they prepare; they learn about the nutritional and cultural elements of their meals, too. The food is grown locally and includes a balanced menu of rice, vegetable, fish and soups. As a bonus, each meal costs just $2.50.
“Parents hear their kids talking about what they had for lunch,” Tatsuji Shino, the principal at Umejima Elementary School in Tokyo, told The Washington Post, “and kids ask them to re-create the meals at home.” Japanese students also learn cooperation and etiquette（礼仪）as they serve and clean up after each other.
Considering the fact that Japan has one of the world’s lowest childhood obesity rates（肥胖率）, the U.S. probably has a lot to learn from this country’s school lunches. A recent study found that American students who regularly ate the school lunch – where foods to be chosen include pizza, chicken and French fries – were 29 percent more likely to be obese than those who brought lunch from home.
From American parents who want to be a little more like the Japanese, try sending your children to school with these unique school lunches for kids who hate sandwiches.
1. Why did the author mention American school lunches at the beginning of the text?| A．To show different food cultures. |
| B．To express sympathy for the American. |
| C．To criticize American school lunches. |
| D．To introduce Japanese school lunches. |
| A．Kids should have school lunches for free. |
| B．School lunches must be prepared by students. |
| C．Kids can’t bring lunches to school from home. |
| D．School lunches shouldn’t be separated from school education. |
| A．American school lunches are likely to make people fat. |
| B．American school lunches are more popular. |
| C．More people prefer studying at American schools. |
| D．American kids are the fattest in the world. |
| A．Negative. | B．Supportive. | C．Neutral. | D．Unconcerned. |
The Caffeine Catch
Caffeine, a chemical typically
Small amounts of caffeine-a cup or two of coffee a day---seem safe for most people.
It is possible
8 . There is one food that takes center stage during autumn - the pumpkin!
Pumpkins are packed with important nutrients and vitamins.
Pumpkin is good for your eyesight.
The nutrient beta-carotene (β胡萝卜素) and Vitamin A are necessary for maintaining good eyesight.
Pumpkin helps your skin
Beta-carotene also helps to keep your skin healthy and young-looking. Yet another good reason to eat pumpkin!
Pumpkin may be good for weight loss.
| A．Pumpkin may help your heart. |
| B．Pumpkin also has a lot of fiber. |
| C．Pumpkins are a great source of both. |
| D．Pumpkins are the king of vegetables. |
| E．Pumpkin may help reduce your risk of getting cancer. |
| F．Many people use pumpkins as a decoration at Halloween. |
| G．If cooked in a healthy way, pumpkin is a powerhouse of health benefits. |
9 . Organic food is very popular. It is also expensive. Some organic food costs twice as much as non-organic food, but new parents and pet owners are willing to pay up to 200% more for organic food. However, there are people who think it is a waste of money.
There is one main difference between organic and non-organic food. Organic farms do not use agricultural chemicals, such as pesticides. In many countries organic foods have special labels. These guarantee that the products are natural.
Some people think organic means locally grown. Originally this was true. Over time organic farming became more difficult. The demand for organic food grew larger than the supply. Small companies had to sell out to large companies. There weren't enough organic ingredients, such as grain and cattle. This made it difficult for many organic companies to stay in business. Today, many large companies have an organic line of products.
Is organic food more nutritious? This is part of the debate. Many farmers and consumers believe it is. They think agricultural chemicals cause health problems such as cancer. Many health professionals disagree. Few studies prove that organic foods prevent health problems. Health specialists worry more about bacteria, such as E.coli and salmonella. These can get into contact with organic and non- organic food. Doctors recommend washing produce very carefully. Handling meat carefully is important too.
Most people agree that naturally grown food tastes better. Is tastier food worth the extra money? This is a matter of opinion. Whether it is healthier or not may require more research. However, organic consumers argue it is better to be safe than sorry.
1. What is probably the major concern of organic food consumers?| A．Price. | B．Safety. |
| C．Freshness. | D．Variety. |
| A．Grow your own food. | B．Reduce the use of pesticides. |
| C．Make sure the food is clean. | D．Buy large companies’ products. |
| A．It tastes better. | B．It is easier to grow. |
| C．It contains more fat. | D．It is more nutritious. |
| A．A recipe book. | B．A chemistry paper. |
| C．A medical report. | D．A health magazine. |
1. What is the talk mainly about?
| A．Forecasts of cold weather. |
| B．Suggestions on keeping healthy. |
| C．Reports on body injuries. |
| A．We can’t control our shaking. |
| B．Our nose and ears get badly hurt. |
| C．Our body can’t produce enough heat. |
| A．Loose. | B．Layers. | C．Light weight. |
| A．Wear a hat and scarf. | B．Drink some alcohol. | C．Do more sports. |
