英语听力精选进阶版 6404（在线收听）

Obesity is back in the headlines in the UK, with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges calling for fizzy drinks to be heavily taxed and junk food adverts banned until after the watershed.

The body, which represents doctors in the country, has called for unhealthy foods to be treated more like cigarettes, which were the target of a successful campaign.

Prof Terence Stephenson, the chair of the Academy, said: "That required things like a ban on advertising and a reduction in marketing and the association of smoking with sporting activities – that helped people move away from smoking."

A quarter of adults in the UK are considered obese, which makes it one of the nations where the problem is most prevalent.

Stephenson believes there is no "silver bullet" for tackling the problem of expanding waistlines; instead, the entire culture around eating needs to change to make it easier to make healthy decisions.

The Academy's recommendations include: a ￡100m budget for treatments like weight-loss surgery; the banning of junk food and vending machines in hospitals, where all food must meet the same nutritional standards as in schools; and information about calories for children on food labels.

The British Soft Drinks Association rejected the idea that a tax on fizzy drinks, which it said contributed to "just 2%" of the total calories in an average diet, would address a problem "which is about overall diet and levels of activity".

Health minister Lord Howe welcomed the report and said he wanted to see "businesses intensifying their efforts as well".

Some teenagers seem to be getting the healthy food message. George from Peterborough, interviewed by the BBC, believes that the key is moderation. He said: "Just don't have fizzy drinks every day. It's the same with things like crisps."

Quiz 测验

1. Doctors are comparing foods which make people fat to what kind of harmful product?

Cigarettes.

2. According to the article, how many people in the UK are considered too fat?

A quarter of the population.

3. Which measures does the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges want hospitals to adopt with regard to food?

A ban on junk food and vending machines.

4. Is this statement true or false? The British Soft Drink Association rejected the idea that people are fat because they consume fizzy drinks.

True. The British Soft Drink Association says soft drinks contribute to just 2% of the total calories in an average diet.

5. Which expression in the article means "a simple and very effective solution for a difficult problem"?

A silver bullet.

Glossary 词汇表

obesity 肥胖症

a fizzy drink 汽水

to tax 征税

junk food 垃圾食品

the watershed 分水岭时间 （在晚9点后才能播出）

unhealthy 不健康的

to move away from 停止（做某事）

obese 肥胖的

the silver bullet （喻）捷径，高招儿

to tackle 应对，解决

the waistline 腰围

healthy 健康的

the weight-loss surgery 瘦身手术

a vending machine 自动售货机

the nutritional standards 营养标准

the calories 卡路里

the food label 食品标签

a soft drink 软饮

the health minister （英国）卫生大臣

crisps 薯片