I’ve been a vegetarian. After reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating animals, I couldn’t touch meat for six months. His description of how meat is produced in industrial farming completely put me off steaks and sausages. I constantly told friends and family about how their meat was produced, or how environmentally damaging meat farming is.
Of course my love for meat returned. When I started to forget what was on the pages of the book, I started to remember how much I appreciate a juicy burger or crispy bacon on a Sunday morning. Now I try to convince myself that I’ll quit meat one day.
I believe that there are two motivations behind dietary decisions. One is based on a desire to respect nature. The other is based on a desire to obtain a certain body shape or be healthy. Most of all, I think we diet to feel good about ourselves. I’ve heard that if you want to look like Beyonce (and who wouldn’t?) you should try “The Def Jam Diet”. For a couple of weeks your diet consists of a drink of honey and lemon, spiced with cayenne pepper or ginger.
Reflecting on food trends has made me realize that almost all my women friends have struggled with some kind of eating disorder at some point in their life. For example, my sister has been anorexic, my friend from high school is bulimic, and a couple of months ago I interviewed an 18-year-old man who almost died from not eating. The best idea is probably to eat a healthy and balanced diet and try not to worry about the fact that you will never have Beyonce’s body. (314 words)
Adapted from: http://culture.pandeia.eu/author/anjachristoffersen
READING COMPREHENSION
1.- Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. Copy the evidence from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. (1.5 points)
- a) –The Def Jam Diet is based on salt and pepper for a couple of weeks.
- b) –The author is a vegetarian.
- c) – According to the author, many women he knows have had an eating problem.
2.- Choose ONLY THREE of the following words and write a synonym (=), an opposite (≠), a definition or a sentence (only one of these four) to show that you understand their meaning in the text. Use your own words. (1.5 points)
- a) –local (line 2): associated with a district, neighbourhood, town
- b) –to touch (line 3): eat, consume
- c) – to quit (line 9): stop, give up; cease an action; (≠) continue
- d) –dietary (line 10): of or relating to a diet
- e) –desire(line 11): wish, want, long for
- f) –trends (line 15): a general tendency, a way of behaving, proceeding, etc., that is developing and becoming more common
3.- Read this conversation between two people and complete it. Write the numbers (1-8) and complete each sentence on your exam paper. (2 points)
A 25 year-old woman is asked to answer some questions for a survey
- Interviewer: Excuse me. Would you mind answering a few questions for a survey?
- Woman: OK. Why not?
- Interviewer: Do you think you’ll go abroad for your next holiday?
- Woman: (1) Yes, I love travelling, so I always go to a different country.
- Interviewer: What do you do at weekends?
- Woman: (2) It depends on the weather. If it is sunny, I usually go to the beach; if it is cloudy, I usually stay at home and study.
- Interviewer: I see. Do you think you’ll go skiing next year?
- Woman: No, I hate skiing, I went once and (3) I broke my leg. Never again.
- Interviewer: Do you think you’ll have children in the future?
- Woman: Er, I’m not sure, (4) I don’t like children very much/children are complicated, but perhaps if I have a partner who likes children, I will.
- Interviewer: If you won the lottery, (5) where would you go?/what would you do?
- Woman: Well, that’s difficult, because I never buy lottery tickets.
- Interviewer: Ok, but where would you go? Just tell me a country!
- Woman: (6) I would go to USA/the UK/an English speaking country because I love the English language.
- Interviewer: Do you think you’ll retire before you are 60?
- Woman: I’d like to, but (7) I don’t think so.You need to have money to retire so early.
- Interviewer: And my last question, are you going to do any exercise tomorrow?
- Woman: (8) I would like to go climbing, but we need a car to get there because the place I like going to is far and there’s no bus service in that area.
4.- Choose only 4 of the following situations. Write what you would say in or about each one to show that you understand the context of the situation. Write between 6 and 20 words. (2 points)
1.- Your father comments, "When I was young we had just two TV channels and we were happy”.
2.- You’re listening to music while doing homework. Your granny asks you, “How can you concentrate?” Give her a convincing explanation.
3.- Your friend comments, “I hate advertising in the middle of a film”. Express your agreement.
4.- Your best friend is not coming to the school trip. Try to convince her to come.
1.- Your father comments, "When I was young we had just two TV channels and we were happy”.
2.- You’re listening to music while doing homework. Your granny asks you, “How can you concentrate?” Give her a convincing explanation.
3.- Your friend comments, “I hate advertising in the middle of a film”. Express your agreement.
4.- Your best friend is not coming to the school trip. Try to convince her to come.
5.- A tourist stops you on the street and asks you about a cheap place to have lunch in the area. Advise him/her and give details.
6.- You phone your friend and interrupt his after-lunch siesta. Apologise.
6.- You phone your friend and interrupt his after-lunch siesta. Apologise.
5.- Write a composition of about 100 words on ONE of the following topics. (3 points)
a) –What is “a healthy life”?
b) – Vegetarianism: for or against and why?
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