UNIT 9_READING PRACTICE

Activity 1: Match each word from Column A with the correct definition from Column B.

New words/ phrases Meanings

1. Pesticides a. Taste or smell of food

2. Conventional farming b. A lot of effort needing many workers

3. Crop rotation c. A harmful substance produced naturally by plants or animals

4. Inefficient d. Usual farming that uses chemicals etc.

5. Emissions e. Releasing gases etc. into the air

6. Nutritional value f. Substances added to improve food quality or preserve it

7. Additives g. The amount of food produced from farming

8. Yield / crop yields h. How healthy or nourishing food is

9. Labour-intensive i. Not effective; wastes effort or resources

10. Natural toxins j. Changing crops in fields over time to keep soil fertile

Activity 2: Choose the correct word from the list above to fill each sentence.
a) When food is shipped long distances, there are more _____ from trucks and airplanes.
b) Organic farms often avoid using _____ that could harm insects or soil.
c) Some argue that organic food is a _____ that only wealthy people can afford.
d) Fast-food products sometimes use _____ to preserve color or taste.
e) If a farm is small and must use lots of hand tools, it may be more _____.
f) Frequent crop rotation can help maintain soil health and improve _____.
g) Many people believe organic produce has higher _____.
h) The _____ of certain traditional foods is lost when mass-produced.
i) Conventional farming sometimes leads to high production, but it can also be very _____.
j) Growing multiple crops in the same field over time is part of _____.
Activity 3: Match each vocabulary word with a synonym from the list.

Word Synonym

1. artificial A. man-made

2. flavour B. taste

3. luxury C. splurge / extravagance

4. efficient D. productive

5. toxins E. poisons

6. conventional F. traditional / standard

7. labour-intensive G. demanding (in terms of labour)

8. emissions H. pollutants

9. additives I. extras (in food)

10. yield J. output

READING PASSAGE
Organic food: why?
Today, many governments are promoting organic or natural farming methods that avoid use of pesticides
and other artificial products. The aim is to show that they care about the environment and about people's
health. But is this the right approach?
A
Europe is now the biggest market for organic food in the world, expanding by 25 percent a year over the
past 10 years. So what is the attraction of organic food for some people? The really important thing is that
organic sounds more ‘natural’. Eating organic is a way of defining oneself as natural, good, caring, different
from the junk-food-scoffing masses. As one journalist puts it: It feels closer to the source, the beginning, the
start of things.' The real desire is to be somehow close to the soil, to Mother Nature.
B
Unlike conventional farming, the organic approach means farming with natural, rather than man-made,
fertilisers and pesticides. Techniques such as crop rotation improve soil quality and help organic farmers
compensate for the absence of man-made chemicals. As a method of food production, organic is, however,
inefficient in its use of labour and land; there are severe limits to how much food can be produced. Also,
the environmental benefits of not using artificial fertiliser are tiny compared with the amount of carbon
dioxide emitted by transporting food (a great deal of Britain’s organic produce is shipped in from other
countries and transported from shop to home by car).
C
Organic farming is often claimed to be safer than conventional farming - for the environment and for
consumers. Yet studies into organic farming worldwide continue to reject this claim. An extensive review by
the UK Food Standards Agency found that there was no statistically significant difference between organic
and conventional crops. Even where results indicated there was evidence of a difference, the reviewers
found no sign that these differences would have any noticeable effect on health.
D
The simplistic claim that organic food is more nutritious than conventional food was always likely to be
misleading. Food is a natural product, and the health value of different foods will vary for a number of
reasons, including freshness, the way the food is cooked, the type of soil it is grown in, the amount of
sunlight and rain crops have received, and so on. Likewise, the flavour of a carrot has less to do with whether
it was fertilised with manure or something out of a plastic sack than with the variety of carrot and how long
ago it was dug up. The differences created by these things are likely to be greater than any differences
brought about by using an organic or nonorganic system of production. Indeed, even some ‘organic’ farms
are quite different from one another.
E
The notion that organic food is safer than ‘normal’ food is also contradicted by the fact that many of our
most common foods are full of natural toxins. Parsnips cause blisters on the skin of agricultural workers.
Toasting bread creates carcinogens. As one research expert says: ‘People think that the more natural
something is, the better it is for them. That is simply not the case. In fact, it is the opposite that is true: the
closer a plant is to its natural state, the more likely it is that it wiil poison you. Naturally, many plants do not
want to be eaten, so we have spent 10,000 years developing agriculture and breeding out harmful traits
from crops.'
F
Yet educated Europeans are more scared of eating traces of a few, strictly regulated, man-made chemicals
than they are of eating the ones that nature created directly. Surrounded by plentiful food, it’s not nature
they worry about, but technology. Our obsessions with the ethics and safety of what we eat - concerns
about antibiotics in animals, additives in food, GM crops and so on - are symptomatic of a highly
technological society that has little faith in its ability to use this technology wisely. In this context, the less
something is touched by the human hand, the healthier people assume it must be.
G
Ultimately, the organic farming movement is an expensive luxury for shoppers in well-manicured Europe.
For developing parts of the world, it is irrelevant. To European environmentalists, the fact that organic
methods require more labour and land than conventional ones to get the same yields is a good thing; to a
farmer in rural Africa, it is a disaster. Here, land tends to be so starved and crop yields so low that there
simply is not enough organic matter to put back into the soil. Perhaps the focus should be on helping these
countries to gain access to the most advanced farming techniques, rather than going back to basics.
Questions 1-6
The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-G from the list of headings below.
Example: Paragraph A: viii
1 Paragraph B List of Headings
2 Paragraph C i Research into whether organic food is better for us
3 Paragraph D ii Adding up the cost of organic food
4 Paragraph E iii The factors that can affect food quality
5 Paragraph F iv The rich and poor see things differently
6 Paragraph G v A description of organic farming
vi Testing the taste of organic food
vii Fear of science has created the organic trend
viii The main reason for the popularity of organic food
ix The need to remove hidden dangers from food

Questions 7-8 Questions 9-10

Choose TWO letters, A-E Questions 7-8 According to the writer, which TWO factors
Which TWO of the following points does the affect the nutritional content of food?
writer mention in connection with organic A who prepares the food
farming? B the weather conditions during growth
A the occasional use of pesticides C where the food has been stored
B using the same field for different crops D when the plants were removed from the
C testing soil quality earth
D reducing the number of farm workers E the type of farm the food was grown on
E the production of greenhouse gases

Questions 11-12
Which TWO negative aspects of organic farming does the writer mention?
A Consumers complain about the extra cost.
B Organic food may make people ill.
C Farm workers have to be specially trained.
D It requires too much technological expertise.
E It is not possible in some countries.
 SPEAKING_FOOD TOPIC
Part 1
1. Do you usually eat home-cooked meals or eat out? Why?
2. How often do you eat convenience food?
3. Do you ever skip meals when you are busy?
4. Do you think you have a balanced diet?
5. Do you have a sweet tooth?
6. Are there any foods you avoid because of food allergies?
7. What is your favourite traditional dish in your country?
8. Do you prefer eating at restaurants or cooking from fresh ingredients at home?

Part 2
Suggested phrases: organic produce, cook from scratch, food portions, nutritious food,
traditional delicacies, plant-based diet, exotic food, ethical reasons.

Card 1 Card 2
Describe a type of food that is popular in Describe a time when you ate an unusual or
your country. exotic food.
• what it is • what it was
• how it is prepared • where you ate it
• who usually eats it • how it tasted
• and explain why it is popular. • and explain how you felt about the
experience.

Part 3
1. How have people’s eating habits changed compared to the past?
• Point: In the past, people ate more home-cooked and simple meals.
• Change: Now, people eat more fast food and processed food.
• Reason: Life is busier, people don’t have much time to cook.
• Example: For example, students often eat instant noodles instead of rice or soup cooked
at home.

2. Do you think young people eat healthier than older people? Why?
• Point: Young people often eat less healthy than older people.
• Reason: They like fast food, snacks, and sweet drinks.
• Contrast: Older people usually prefer vegetables, rice, and traditional food.
• Result: So, young people may face more health problems like obesity.
3. Is it important for families to eat together? Why or why not?
• Point: Yes, it is important.
• Reason: Eating together helps family members talk and share their day.
• Benefit: It makes the family closer and children feel cared for.
• Example: For example, in my family we eat dinner together and discuss school or work.

4. Should the government make unhealthy food more expensive?

• Point: Yes, I think so.
• Reason: If junk food costs more, people will buy less of it.
• Benefit: Then, people may choose healthier food like fruit and vegetables.
• Example: Some countries put tax on sugary drinks, and people drink them less.

5. Do you think organic food is better than normal food? Why?

• Point: Organic food can be better, but not always.
• Reason: It does not have pesticides, so many people think it is safer.
• Limitation: But it is more expensive, and sometimes the taste is not very different.
• Result: So, it is good if people can afford it, but normal food is also fine.

6. Do you think people will eat more fast food or more healthy food in the future?
• Prediction 1: Some people will eat more fast food because life is busy.
• Prediction 2: But many people are learning about health, so they may choose healthy
food.
• Result: In the future, I think both will continue, but healthy food will become more
popular.
• Example: For example, many fast-food restaurants now offer salads and vegetarian
meals.