Take Away English-School Dinners 校餐

Is this a healthy lunch for a child?

In the UK, most children have their midday meal at school, but in many schools, parents can choose what they 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. Cath, a mother of three children told us, “My children have packed lunches, because they say they hate school dinners. So I make 3 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 nutritious¹ value of the food. She said, “My daughter’s always had 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 were offered and I think there were a lot of chips.”

The question of how healthy school food is, was brought to the forefront by celebrity² 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 horrified³ at the junk food which he saw being served which included burgers, pizzas and chips. So he decided⁴ to ban the junk, and started cooking some good stews⁵ and curries⁶ 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.”

GLOSSARY7 词汇表
school dinner 校餐 packed lunch 自备午餐 on the basis of 基于... nutritious 有营养的 fizzy drinks 汽水 celebrity chef 名厨 junk food 垃圾食品 dinner ladies 餐厅女服务员 fast food 快餐	cooked meal (热)餐 sandwiches 三明治 a sandwich bar 三明治吧 healthier 更为健康的 brought to the forefront 引起重视 launched a campaign 发起一项运动 stews 炖肉（菜） put pressure on 施加压力 salad bar 重大打击

 

1 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

2 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

3 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 stews   

n.炖煮的菜肴( stew的名词复数 )；烦恼，焦虑v.炖( stew的第三人称单数 )；煨；思考；担忧

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews. 玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most stews contain meat and vegetables. 炖的食物大多是肉类和蔬菜。 来自辞典例句

6 curries   

n.咖喱食品( curry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Coconut is a basic ingredient for many curries. 椰子是多种咖喱菜的基本成分。
• Coriander is used in Indian curries, gin, American cigarettes, and sausage. 胡荽多被用在：印度咖哩粉，杜松子酒，美国香烟，香肠。 来自互联网

7 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。