随身英语
Convenience vs health: the takeaway dilemma 图省事还是保健康？点外卖的纠结
点外卖是一种很好的享受，既省时，又省事。现在，用智能手机点外卖比以往任何时候都要容易。这也许就是为什么有越来越多的人选择美味的外卖快餐。但对于经常吃外卖的人来说，不光是金钱，身体健康可能也要付出代价。
词汇：eating 饮食
Feeling hungry? If you’re feeling peckish or famished, what’s the easiest way to satisfy your hunger? Many of us will reach for a takeaway menu and order some delicious – but possibly unhealthy – food. And our increasingly busy and hectic lives add to our need to buy ready-made food on the go or delivered to home.
Eating options are endless, and new technology means we can feed our cravings at the push of a button. Takeaway delivery apps make ordering food quick and convenient, and during the recent coronavirus crisis, it provided a lifeline to those stuck at home with nothing to cook or who lacked the skills to prepare a meal for themselves. It’s estimated that in the UK alone, people eat three million takeaway meals a day, and the three biggest delivery apps together offer a choice of 100 cuisines from 60,000 restaurants. Amelia Brophy, Head of UK Data Products at YouGov, told the BBC that its research “suggests that the frequency of takeaways ordered is expected to increase in the future.”
It’s no wonder we are tempted to skip the grocery shopping, bypass the kitchen, and tuck into something that someone else has prepared. But ordering a deep crust pizza, a spicy curry or a box of noodles, can come at a price both financially and to our health. Eating too much processed and unhealthy fast food has some effect on obesity and the risk of developing certain metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. A few years ago, The BBC Good Food Nation Survey found that most people ate fast food on average two days per week. But, in the 16 to 20-year-old category, one in six ate fast food at least twice a day.
Of course, reducing salt, sugar and fat is one way to make takeaway food healthier, as well as offering smaller portion sizes. But the best advice you might want to take away from this Takeaway English is to find a recipe book and try making your own nutritious meal. And if you haven’t got time, try ordering a healthier alternative from the menu.
词汇表
peckish 有点饿的，微饿的
famished 非常饥饿的
hunger 饥饿感
menu 菜单
ready-made 现成的，预先做好的
craving 难以抑制的渴求
cook 做饭
meal 餐食，一顿饭
cuisine 美食
grocery 食品杂货
tuck into 尽情地吃，痛快地吃
deep crust pizza 深盘比萨
spicy 辣的
curry 咖喱
noodles 面条
processed 经过加工的
obesity 肥胖
fast food 快餐
portion （食物）一份
recipe book 食谱
nutritious 有营养的
测验与练习
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. What has helped make ordering and delivering takeaway food easy?
2. True or false: It’s estimated around 60,000 takeaway meals are eaten in the UK every day.
3. Why might someone choose to order a takeaway meal?
4. What increases the risk of developing certain metabolic and cardiovascular diseases?
5. According to the article, how can you make the food you eat healthier?
2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。
1. I have a _______ for chocolate so I’ve bought a whole box to last me the weekend!
tempted peckish craving portion
2. How long is it until dinner? I’ve been working in the garden all day and I am _______.
famish famished famishing famishes
3. I’m trying to be healthy so I have a _______ of green beans with my meal.
ready-made nutritious portion menu
4. I’m going to be late home tonight so I’ll heat up a _______ meal from the freezer.
ready-make ready-making made-ready ready-made
5. I’m feeling a bit _______ so I’ll have a banana to keep me going until dinner time.
peckish craving nutritious processed
答案
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. What has helped make ordering and delivering takeaway food easy?
New technology such as takeaway delivery apps makes ordering food quick and convenient.
2. True or false: It’s estimated around 60,000 takeaway meals are eaten in the UK every day.
False. It’s estimated that in the UK alone, people eat three million takeaway meals a day.
3. Why might someone choose to order a takeaway meal?
They might not have time to cook or they might lack the skills to cook their own food.
4. What increases the risk of developing certain metabolic and cardiovascular diseases?
Eating too much processed and unhealthy fast food has some effect on obesity and the risk of developing certain metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.
5. According to the article, how can you make the food you eat healthier?
Making your own nutritious meal or ordering a healthier alternative from a takeaway menu will make what you eat healthier.
2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。
1. I have a craving for chocolate so I’ve bought a whole box to last me the weekend!
2. How long is it until dinner? I’ve been working in the garden all day and I am famished.
3. I’m trying to be healthy so I have a portion of green beans with my meal.
4. I’m going to be late home tonight so I’ll heat up a ready-made meal from the freezer.
5. I’m feeling a bit peckish so I’ll have a banana to keep me going until dinner time.
