不管你是不是甜品愛好者，都無法避免攝入日常飲食中所含的糖分。這是因為很多食物和飲料是含糖的。盡管人們都知道過度攝入糖類有害健康，但這並沒有阻止一些人大量且無節制地吃甜食，從而患上肥胖、糖尿病和齲齒等疾病。本集《隨身英語》討論對食品征收 “糖稅 sugar tax” 能否扼制人們購買甜食或甜飲料的欲望。
課文內容
Vocabulary: health 詞匯: 健康
There’s no doubt that I have a sweet tooth – I crave cakes and biscuits and could happily finish off a bar of chocolate in minutes. I’m sure I’m not alone, the sweet sugary taste is addictive but the big question is, is it bad for me? I think I know the answer!
Sugar is everywhere. Even if sweet stuff isn’t your thing it’s hard to avoid. In the UK, we consume over two million tonnes of sugar every year but often we don’t know we’re eating it. There have been many health campaigns, telling us about the dangers of consuming too much sugar and we have probably learnt that it should be eaten in moderation but we may be unaware of the added sugar we consume that’s found in the food and drink we think of as healthy or savoury, such as low-fat yoghurt and sauces.
The obvious negative effect of eating sugar is on our dental health – tooth decay is a big problem in children, partly caused by drinking too many sugary drinks. Public Health England claims a child in England has a tooth removed in hospital every 10 minutes due to preventable decay. But even if you can escape the dentist’s drill, there are more worrying negative effects – repeatedly eating too much sugar can lead to weight gain and even obesity, leading to an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and liver disease.
So what can we do to cut down on our sugar intake? Well, there are low-sugar recipes you can try and apparently there are alternative foods to help us beat the sweet cravings. But potentially the most effective method is to tax the sugar we consume. It’s what several countries have been doing for a while and the UK has recently jumped on the bandwagon, by forcing manufacturers to pay a levy on the high-sugar drinks they sell. It’s up to the manufacturers if they pass the cost on to consumers.
But will it work? University of Bedfordshire nutrition expert Dr Daniel Bailey told AYYBLOG Online that: “The increase in tax placed on soft drinks will make products more expensive, but will this actually discourage people from buying them?” Maybe if you’re addicted to the stuff, you’d accept paying more to buy it. But in the UK at least, several soft drinks companies have already reduced the sugar content of their products to avoid the tax.
Obviously it’s better to do something rather than nothing to help improve the well-being of everyone. But with so many temptations out there, I’m not sure how easy it will be to cure my sweet tooth.
詞匯表
sweet tooth 對甜食的渴望、喜愛
crave 渴求
consume（正式）消耗，大量地吃
health campaign 健康宣傳活動
in moderation 適度
savoury 咸的
dental health 牙齒健康
tooth decay 蛀牙，齲齒
preventable 可預防的
obesity 肥胖
diabetes 糖尿病
heart disease 心臟疾病
liver disease 肝病
low-sugar recipe 低糖食譜
jumped on the bandwagon 緊跟潮流
levy 稅款
discourage 打消…的念頭
soft drink 汽水，軟飲料
well-being 安康
temptation 誘惑
測驗與練習
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. True or false? Savoury food is sugar-free.
2. What is removed from children every 10 minutes in England?
3. Why have some drinks manufacturers reduced the sugar content in their drinks?
4. Why are high-sugar drinks in the UK becoming more expensive?
5. What temptations is the author referring to in the last sentence?
2. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。
1. When I was pregnant I used to ______ oranges but now my baby is born, I can’t eat them!
levy crave discourage temptations
2. Some doctors say that drinking red wine ______ could actually be good for your health.
on moderation in moderning in moderation at moderation
3. A large ______ on alcohol seems to be encouraging people to drink less.
levy discourage preventable health campaign
4. Once our class started recycling our water bottles, the rest of the school ______ and did the same!
went on the wagon jumped over the bandwagon joined the bandwagon jumped on the bandwagon
5. Despite being an award-winning actor, he resisted the ______ to move to Hollywood.
crave temptation preventable well being
答案
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. True or false? Savoury food is sugar-free.
False. We may be unaware of the added sugar we consume that’s found in the food and drink we think of as healthy or savoury, such as low-fat yoghurt and sauces.
2. What is removed from children every 10 minutes in England?
Public Health England claims a child in England has a tooth removed in hospital every 10 minutes due to preventable decay.
3. Why have some drinks manufacturers reduced the sugar content in their drinks?
Several soft drinks companies have reduced the sugar content of their products to avoid paying the sugar tax.
4. Why are high-sugar drinks in the UK becoming more expensive?
Because of a sugar tax that soft drinks manufacturers in the UK have to pay and they may pass on the cost to the consumer.
5. What temptations is the author referring to in the last sentence?
Sugary food and drinks such as cakes, biscuits and chocolate.
2. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。
1. When I was pregnant I used to crave oranges but now my baby is born, I can’t eat them!
2. Some doctors say that drinking red wine in moderation could actually be good for your health.
3. A large levy on alcohol seems to be encouraging people to drink less.
4. Once our class started recycling our water bottles, the rest of the school jumped on the bandwagon and did the same!
5. Despite being an award-winning actor, he resisted the temptation to move to Hollywood.
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