Chocolate is good for your heart

A study carried out in Germany over eight years has found that chocolate may be good for your heart. They compared how much chocolate was in the diet of almost 20,000 people to the number of heart attacks and strokes people had. Lead researcher Brian Buijsse said: "Chocolate is not as bad as we used to think, and may even lower the risk of heart disease and stroke." Mr Buijsse's team found that dark chocolate was the healthiest kind to eat; milk chocolate has fewer effects and white chocolate no effects.
The German study showed that people who ate the most chocolate reduced their risk of having a heart attack by 27 per cent. The risk of suffering a stroke was cut by 48 per cent. Nutrition experts believe that natural compounds in chocolate called flavonols are good for our heart. Flavonols also help reduce blood pressure. They are found in cocoa beans, and this is why dark chocolate, which has more cocoa, contains more of them than milk chocolate, which has more fat. Buijsse warns people not to suddenly eat lots of chocolate: "Eating higher amounts will most likely result in weight gain. If people start eating small amounts of chocolate, it should replace other high-calorie sweets or snacks."

(Adapted from http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com )

READING COMPREHENSION

Add TRUE or FALSE and copy the evidence from the text to support your answer. NO marks are given for only true or false.

1. Researchers found white chocolate helped reduce heart attacks.

• FALSE: "Mr Buijsse's team found that dark chocolate was the healthiest kind to eat; milk chocolate has fewer effects and white chocolate no effects."

2. Chocolate cut the chances of strokes more than heart attacks.

• TRUE: The German study showed that people who ate the most chocolate reduced their risk of having a heart attack by 27 per cent. The risk of suffering a stroke was cut by 48 per cent.

3. Flavonols are not found in nature.

• FALSE: They are found in cocoa beans.

4. Mr Buijsse warned people not to eat too much chocolate.

• TRUE: Buijsse warns people not to suddenly eat lots of chocolate: "Eating higher amounts will most likely result in weight gain."

LEXICON

Find words or phrases in the text that mean the same as these given.

• Discovered: found
• Reduced: lowered
• Specialists: experts
• Use instead: replace

PHONETICS

1. Write two words from the text that include the same sound as “mouth" /aʊ/.

• out, found, how, compounds, ...

2. Is the “-ed” pronounced /t/, /d/ or /ɪd/ in “called”.

• /d/ (kɔːld)

3. Write one word from the text that includes the same sound as “sharp" /ɑ:/.

• heart, start, dark, ...

 

USE OF ENGLISH

Rewrite the following sentences starting with the words given.

1. If you don't explain the situation to her, she won't understand.

• Unless you explain the situation to her, she won't understand.

2. "I'm late because I missed the bus" she said.

• She said she was late because she had missed the bus.

3. People say that nuclear power stations are dangerous.

• It's said that nuclear power stations are dangerous.

4. Since BP is responsible for the oil spill, they must pay for the clean-up.

•  BP, which is responsible for the oil spill, must pay for the clean-up.

5. She started to teach English 15 years ago.

• She has been teaching English for 15 years.

6. Write the correct question for the underlined words:
It takes three hours to get to London from here.

• How long does it take to get to London from here?

+EXÁMENES RESUELTOS