ASK any group of teenagers in the UK what they most like to eat, and foods like pizzas, curries, pasta, burgers and chips are bound to get a mention – and many young people would probably also list hanging out at the local fast-food restaurant as one of their favorite pastimes.
But what teenagers like to eat is not necessarily what they should be eating. According to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, far too many young people in the UK between the ages of four and 18 consume too much fat, sugar and salt in their diet and take in too many calories. Meanwhile their intake of starchy carbohydrates (淀粉類碳水化合物), fibre, iron, vitamins and calcium is too low.
For a growing body, eating foods containing plenty of calcium, such as milk, yoghurt and cheese, is particularly important as calcium is essential for the development of healthy, strong bones. Similarly, foods that are rich in iron are good for young, rapidly developing bodies, so red meat, bread, green vegetables, dried fruit and fortified (強(qiáng)化的) breakfast cereals (谷類食物) are also recommended.
It is during our teenage years that lifestyle habits can become entrenched (根深蒂固的), so it is important that young people are educated about what foods are good for them. In 2005, in an attempt to change eating habits and open teenagers’ minds to new flavors and new tastes, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launched a ‘Feed Me Better’ campaign. As part of a television series, ‘Jamie’s School Dinners’, he worked with teachers and cooks in a number of schools across the UK to provide more healthy, nutritious school meal options. Although the campaign was rather resisted at the beginning, it was generally regarded as a huge success and helped to influence governmental policy on nutritional standards for school meals.
No one expects to end the teenage love affair with fast and junk food but, hopefully, if projects like ‘Feed Me Better’ and the Government's own ‘Change4Life’ campaign continue to give out the right messages, more young people will understand the importance of balancing occasional treats with healthier food options.
小題1:What can we conclude from the first two paragraphs?
| A．British teenagers eat too much junk food. |
| B．British teenagers need to take in more calcium. |
| C．What British teenagers like to eat is probably what their bodies need |
| D．British teenagers should reduce their intake of starchy carbohydrates. |
小題2:Young people need calcium and iron ______.
| A．to improve their brainpower |
| B．to build healthy strong bodies |
| C．to provide energy for their body |
| D．to help change their eating habits |
小題3:According to the article, Jamie Oliver launched a campaign at schools to ______.
| A．show off his excellent cooking skills |
| B．teach students how to cook nutritious meals |
| C．make the public keep an eye on school food |
| D．improve the children’s diet at school |
小題4:Which is a point that the article supports?
| A．Teenagers should never eat any junk food at all. |
| B．It’s easy for children to give up unhealthy eating. |
| C．It’s okay for a healthy eater to have a little junk food. |
| D．Once developed, our eating habit will never change. |
