English For Today chapter 2: Food and Nutrition

Unit Two

Food and Nutrition

After we have studied this unit, we will be able to

• read and understand texts through silent reading
• listen for information
• ask and answer questions
• write answers to questions
• practise sounds

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Lesson 1: Good Food

Keywords: nutritious, substances, physical, structure

A. Talk about the picture and read the text:

Figure

Description: A teacher stands at the front of a classroom, pointing with her right hand toward a whiteboard. The whiteboard shows pictures of a bowl of food, a heap of powder, a bowl with a spoon, a bunch of peas beside a pod, and a fish. Students sit at desks facing the board, and a girl with a long plait sits in the foreground with her back to the viewer.

Ms Rehana, the English teacher, is talking to the class about food.

“Food is very important for our body,” she says. “We can’t live without it. So, you must always have good food.”

“What is good food, teacher?” asks a student.

“Good food means the right kind of food for good health," says Ms Rehana. “It is nutritious. It must contain natural substances that our body needs to grow properly and stay healthy. But remember, you must not eat too much though the food is good. Eating too much is bad for health. You have to eat only a certain amount of food that your body needs. So, we do not need the same kind of food in the same quantity. It depends on your growth and physical structure”.

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B. Answer the following questions:

1. What is Ms Rehana talking about?
2. Why do we eat food?
3. What is meant by ‘nutritious food’?
4. How much food does a person need to eat a day?
5. Does everyone need the same amount of food? Why?

C. Complete these sentences:

1. We should eat good food to ________________________________.
2. We should not eat more than ________________________________.
3. Eating too much food is not ________________________________.
4. Good food means ___________________________________________________.

Lesson 2: Kinds of Food

Keywords: carbohydrate, protein, vitamins, minerals

A. Listen to the text and answer the following questions:

U2, L2 A

Listening text: 1

Questions:

1. How many kinds of food do we need?
2. What are they?

Now, choose the best answer.

1. Foods are divided into classes according to their

a. colours and tastes.

b. shapes and sizes.

c. substances they contain.

d. water they contain.

2. Potatoes contain a lot of

a. carbohydrate.

b. protein.

c. vitamins.

d. minerals.

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3. Butter and ghee are a good source of

a. protein.

b. fat.

c. vitamins.

d. carbohydrate.

4. Minerals are present in

a. nuts.

b. peas.

c. milk.

d. water.

5. Which food has the most carbohydrate?

a. Sugar

b. Rice

c. Fruits

d. Vegetables

Lesson 3: Our Daily Diet

Keywords: essential, disease, calcium, interval

A. Read the dialogue:

Ms Rehana: Let's talk about some essential foods that we need to eat regularly. For our good health we must choose the right food in our daily diet.

Student 1: We eat rice, ‘ruti’, fish and meat every day. What else should we have, teacher?

Ms Rehana: Well, we must also eat vegetables and fruits. They contain a lot of vitamins and minerals. They keep our body free from diseases. They are also good for our skin and overall health.

Student 2: Should we have anything else?

Ms Rehana: Sure. We need to drink milk everyday. Milk is highly rich in calcium. It’s good for our healthy growth. It makes our bones and teeth strong as well. We must drink pure water at regular intervals too. It’s essential for our body. We can’t live without drinking water.

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B. Make five questions from the following table:

C. Now, write the answers to the questions that you have made in section B.

D. Read the text in section A again and tick the best answer:

1. Milk is highly rich in fat/calcium/sugar.
2. Fruits and vegetables are good for eyes/ general health/ teeth.
3. Water/energy drink/milk is the most important for life.

Lesson 4: A Delicious Dish

Keywords: custard, peel

A. Look at the pictures. What do you see there?

Figure

Description: Four pictures in a row: a line drawing of a cake or pudding on a plate; a bowl of cooked rice; a stack of round flatbreads; and pieces of cooked meat.

B. Ask and answer the questions:

1. What type of food do you like?
2. Why do you like these?
3. Where do you get these from?
4. Do you eat home-made food?

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C. Look at the picture. What do you see in the bowl?

Figure

Description: A bowl of custard with small pieces of fruit scattered in it.

Now, read the ingredients and following recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Ripe banana: 1
2. Apple: 1
3. Ripe papaya: 1 (small)
4. Custard powder: 2 tablespoons
5. Milk: half litre
6. Sugar: 4 tablespoons

How to prepare:

First, wash the fruits and peel them. Then cut the fruits into small pieces and keep them in a bowl. Now, boil the milk in a pot. Next, mix sugar with it and stir well. Take the custard powder in a small cup, put 4 tablespoons of cold milk and mix well. Now, pour the mixture into the boiling milk and stir well. Boil for five minutes, stirring it all the time. After that, take the pot off the stove. Let the custard get cool. Finally, pour it into the fruit bowl. Now, the delicious custard is ready to eat.

D. Describe how to make a cup of tea using the following sentence connectors:

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Lesson 5: The Little Plant

Keywords: bury, sprout

A. Talk about the picture. Then read and listen to the poem:

Figure

Description: A seed with a shoot growing out of it, bearing two leaves.

The Little Plant

In the heart of a seed,
Buried deep, so deep,
A dear little plant
Lay fast asleep.

Wake! said the sunshine,
“And creep to the light!”
“Wake!” said the voice
Of the raindrop bright.

The little plant heard.
And it rose to see
What the wonderful
Outside world might be.

-Kate L. Brown

B. As you listen to the poem, notice how these groups of words are pronounced. Practise saying these words:

1. seed, deep, asleep, see
2. heard, world
3. lay, wake, rain

C. Ask and answer the questions:

1. Where is the little plant sleeping ?
2. Who spoke to the little plant ?
3. What did they want the little plant to do?
4. What two things do plants need in order to grow ?
5. Which word in the poem means “grow” ?