VOA标准英语2015--AmeriCorps Grantee Serves Up New Approach to Childhood Obesity

AmeriCorps Grantee Serves Up New Approach to Childhood Obesity¹

WHITE HOUSE—

The kindergarten students at John Burroughs Elementary School are staying an hour later on this day – not to brush up on their reading or math skills, but to taste kale – many for the first time.

“Yum, it tastes good,” said Robert Smith as he puts the green leaves seasoned with olive oil in his mouth.

Since the start of the school year, FoodCorps member Karen Davison has spent each day in this Washington, D.C., classroom introducing new vegetables to these five year olds, while teaching them where their food comes from and how they can make healthier choices on a daily basis.

“They see a lot of packaged food. If they eat vegetables, it’s not necessarily fresh. It’s not necessarily whole, so being able to bring in fresh vegetables, leafy greens, interesting fruit, is really a great experience for these students,” Davison said.

FoodCorps 

In its fifth year, FoodCorps puts more than 180 young Americans into 500 schools across the United States. There, they focus on teaching students about nutrition, engaging them with hands-on activities, and improving their access to healthy foods whether in the cafeteria or the greater community.

A grantee of the AmeriCorps service program, FoodCorps also partners with existing organizations to plant gardens in schools and bring healthier options to stores, particularly in lower-income urban areas where choices may be limited.

FoodCorps Fellow Maddie Morales says the mission is particularly critical at a time when U.S. obesity rates in children have doubled in the last 30 years.

“The repercussion² of having an unhealthy population is absolutely unacceptable and really scary in some ways that it affects our national security," Morales said. "It affects our ability to be a productive country and it is imperative³ that we change the system."

First lady's mission

It’s a message echoed by First Lady Michelle Obama, who chose FoodCorps cofounder Debra Eschmeyer in January to serve as senior nutrition policy advisor⁴ and head of the "Let’s Move" initiative, aimed at reducing childhood obesity within a generation through healthy eating and exercise.

“For more than a decade, Deb has been leading the way in teaching kids about the importance of healthy eating,” the first lady said in a statement. “From classrooms and gardens to kitchens and farms, Deb has made learning about nutrition fun and accessible for kids across the country.”

Eschmeyer joined Obama at the annual White House Kitchen Garden planting in April, where the first lady also marked the fifth anniversary of "Let’s Move."

On a sunny day in the South Lawn, the Obama kneeled alongside students from around the country, planting spinach⁵, radishes, bok choy, broccoli⁶ and lettuce⁷, while urging people to plant their own gardens and share five things they are doing to lead healthier lives through her #GimmeFive challenge.

“Let’s share our progress because we are going to come back and harvest in a few months," she said. "And I would love to see what other community gardens, schools, school gardens are doing out there to move forward on getting our kids to eat healthy.”

Let's move!

Obama began Let’s Move in February of 2010, citing rising obesity levels among American children and the associated risk of chronic⁸ illnesses including diabetes⁹, heart disease and asthma¹⁰. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than one third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese¹¹. The number is even higher among African-American and Hispanic youth.

The first lady has worked to put healthier foods in schools and encourage physical activity among young people while partnering with major U.S. companies like Nike, Inc. to ensure the effort is lasting¹².

Peter Slevin, author of "Michelle Obama, A Life,” says Let’s Move! is in line with the first lady’s mission to help the disadvantaged in the United States.

“In terms of her policy legacy¹³, I think there is an element to addressing inequality in everything she does, including as a mentor¹⁴ in her nutrition program,” Slevin said. “Keep in mind that there are roughly 30 million meals sold in public schools each day and about 70 percent of them are bought by kids who can’t afford to pay full freight. So nutrition is particularly important to these students.”

Back at John Burroughs Elementary School, just kilometers from the White House, young minds are already being changed by initiatives like FoodCorps. And it’s not just the students who are learning to eat healthier.

Kindergarten teacher Dionne Hammiel says FoodCorps member Davison has encouraged her to eat vegetables she never thought she would like.

“The kale especially, it was like, 'no thank you.' So she said, 'try it this way.' I was like, ‘oh, I like it.’ I went home and started making kale for myself,” Hammiel said.

Hammiel says the program has exposed her students to healthy eating habits they will hopefully keep with them for years to come.

1 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

2 repercussion   

n.[常pl.](不良的)影响，反响，后果

参考例句：

• After being put out,service has received very good market repercussion.服务推出后收到了非常好的市场反响。
• The president's death had unexpected repercussion.总统的逝世引起出乎意料的反响。

3 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

4 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

5 spinach   

n.菠菜

参考例句：

• Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
• You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。

6 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

7 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

8 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

9 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

10 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

11 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

12 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

13 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

14 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。