听播客学英语 215 健康

 　　week our government published a report on how healthy we English are. There was some good news. The number of people who smoke has continued to fall. We live longer than any previous generation. Deaths of young children (infant mortality) are the lowest ever. The number of teenage girls who get pregnant¹ has fallen, though it is still high compared to many other European countries.

　　But there was bad news too. We English are fat and are getting fatter. About two-thirds of men are overweight, and about 60% of women. We are fatter than any other nation in Europe.

　　Why? Many English people eat food with lots of fat and sugar. We love chips, burgers and doughnuts, potato crisps² and chocolate. We drink too much alcohol³. We don’t eat enough fresh fruit and vegetables. We watch football on TV, but we don’t take any exercise ourselves. But in the last year we have become more aware that our national diet is not good and that things need to change. Jamie Oliver is a well-known chef with his own TV programme. Last year he showed us how bad the food is that we serve to our children in schools. Many people were shocked and angry. So the government has banned vending⁴ machines selling crisps and sweets from schools. Many schools have tried to make their school dinners healthier. Of course, some people don’t like the government telling them what to eat. There have been stories in the papers about parents handing their children bags of chips through the school gates at lunch time

　　And how does France come into this? Well, a survey was also published this week which suggested that about a third of British people would like live in France, while only about a quarter think that Britain is the best place to live. You have to take this survey with a pinch⁵ of salt, because it was published by an organisation⁶ which promotes French wines. But France is undoubtedly⁷ very popular with many English people.

　　Why do we like France so much? Perhaps it is the food, or the wine, or springtime in Paris. And perhaps we like French footballers like Thierry Henry, and French film stars. And this is strange, because the French themselves often have a pessimistic⁸ view of their country and its problems. But we English don’t care about that. We are fat, perhaps the fattest people in Europe. And we want to move to France to eat more food, drink more wine, sit in the sunshine and get even fatter.

1 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

2 crisps   

n.炸马铃薯片( crisp的名词复数 )v.（使）变脆( crisp的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It'says on the packet that these crisps contain no additives. 包装上说这些炸薯片不含添加剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

4 vending   

v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的现在分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明

参考例句：

• Why Are You Banging on the Vending Machine? 你为什么敲打这台自动售货机？ 来自朗文快捷英语教程 2
• Coca-Cola had to adapt almost 300,000 vending machines to accept the new coins. 可口可乐公司必须使将近三十万台自动贩卖机接受新货币。 来自超越目标英语 第5册

5 pinch   

n.捏，撮，困苦，偷窃；vt.掐，使...困苦，偷窃

参考例句：

• She would pinch on food in order to spend on clothing.她过去常把伙食费省下来买衣服。
• He put a pinch of salt on his food.他在自己的食物上撒了一撮盐。

6 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

7 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

8 pessimistic   

adj.悲观的，悲观主义的

参考例句：

• There is no reason to be pessimistic about the future.没有理由对未来悲观。
• The voters are pessimistic about the economy.投票者对经济很悲观。