Contents

How to use this book

BBC World

Nik Gowing

Tourists Return to Afghanistan

Kylie Morris

New Delhis Metro System

15

Adam Mynott

Health Risks of Long-Haul Flights

21

Tom Symonds

Peace March in London

27

Daniel Boettcher

Assisted Euthanasia

33

Emma Jane Kirby

Australia Mourns Bali Victims

39

Michael Peschardt

Collision on London Underground

45

Clarence Mitchell

Aeroflots Anti-Terror Dogs

51

Steve Rosenberg

British Detainees in Guantanamo Bay

57

Daniel Boettcher

Washington Sniper
Nick Bryant

2 Contents

63

Contents
Focus on Vocabulary

69

Focus on Grammar

79

Human Face Transplants

89

Gill Higgins

Email Virus

95

John Moylan

Bulgarias Mental Institutions

101

Karen Allen

Sesame Streets New Character

107

Robert Nisbet

Elections in Kenya Bring Optimism

113

Andrew Harding

Fizzy Drinks Banned in US Schools

119

David Willis

Referendum in Gibraltar

125

Stephen Sackur

Gun Crime in UK

131

Duncan Kennedy

WorldCom Boss in Fraud

137

Patrick O'Connell

Congestion Charges in London

143

Tom Symonds

Focus on Pronunciation

149

Answers

154
Contents

level

Focus on North America

Fizzy Drinks
Banned in US
Schools
Fizzy drinks are big business in the United States and
the companies that produce them make huge profits
every year. However, it is now becoming clear that these
drinks can have a negative impact on the health of
young people.

Key Words
1 Study the key words. Then underline them as you listen
to T14.

2 Listen to T14 again and decide if the following are

true (T) or false (F).
1 Obesity has now become a problem for a small
number of American children. T / F
2 Fizzy drink vending machines are found in a lot of
American schools. T / F
3 Fizzy drink vending machines will be taken out of all
schools. T / F
4 At the moment the money from vending machines
pays for after-school activities. T / F

kid (colloq) = child (n)

child
overweight (adj)
overweight
obese (adj) obese
obesity (n) obesity
soft drink (n) soft drink
banish (v) banish
couch (n) couch
can (n) can
vending machine (n)
vending machine
eliminate (v) eliminate
after-school activity (n)
after-school activity
official (n) official
soda (n) soda
benefit (n) benefit
diet (n) diet
canteen (n) canteen
fizzy (adj) fizzy

Did you know?

> It is estimated that 15% of young people in the US are overweight. In the UK the
figure is 10% and increasing.

> Some schools have banned the sale of sweets because they believe that the artificial
flavouring and colouring cause bad behaviour.

> Each year, 1.6 billion gallons of Coca-Cola are sold in more than 150 countries.

Fizzy Drinks Banned in US Schools

119

Fizzy Drinks Banned in US Schools

Glossary
the battle of the bulge
(colloq) = the battle
against being overweight
(exp) the battle against
being overweight
complication (n)
complication
diabetes (n) diabetes
disease (n) disease
epidemic proportion (n)
epidemic proportion
apparent (adj) apparent
policy maker (n) policy
maker
consign (v) consign
generation (n) generation
culprit (n) culprit
epidemic (n) epidemic
pull the plug on (colloq) =
put an end to (v) put an
end to
campus (n) campus
physically (adv) physically
handsomely (adv)
handsomely
privilege (n) privilege
income (n) income

T1 DAVID WILLIS:

American (a) pupils / kids are losing the battle of

the bulge. Here in Los Angeles, nearly half of them are either
overweight or obese.
MAN 1: Obesity and complications resulting from obesity, in
terms of diabetes and (b) further / other diseases, are of
epidemic proportions in Los Angeles and across the country,
and its only now becoming (c) rapidly / readily apparent to
policy makers that if they dont do something about it quickly,
er, that we are consigning a whole generation of kids in their
(d) older / later years, er, to a horrible quality of life.
DAVID WILLIS: With soft drinks singled out as one of the main
culprits in the obesity epidemic, one of Americas (e) largest /
biggest school districts is literally pulling the plug on an
American icon. School officials have decided to (f) ban /
banish Coke, Pepsi and Seven-Up from their campuses, setting
students an example for the future.

T2 WOMAN

1: I think our whole (a) ..................................... is a, a couch

population where we sit and we watch and we dont do as
much physically as we should do, and the (b) .....................................
model what we do.
DAVID WILLIS: And now youre taking the can away from the
couch.
WOMAN 1: Were taking the can away from the couch, yes.
DAVID WILLIS: The only problem is, the can provides
(c) ..................................... for schools here. Soft drink
(d) ..................................... will pay handsomely for the privilege of
placing their vending machines on school campuses. And that
income, which can run to 200,000 a year, is often used to fund
vital extra-curricular activities such as (e) ..................................... .

3 Listen to T1 and underline the correct words in italics.

4 Listen to T1 again and answer the questions.
1 What proportion of children in Los
Angeles are overweight or obese?
..............................................................................

2 What will happen if the policy makers

dont do anything about the problem?
..............................................................................

120 Fizzy Drinks Banned in US Schools

3 What is one of the main causes of

the obesity epidemic?
..............................................................................

4 What are some schools doing to

help students?
..............................................................................

Focus on North America

T1 DAVID WILLIS:

American kids are losing the battle of the bulge.

Here in Los Angeles, nearly half of them are either overweight or
obese.
MAN 1: Obesity and complications resulting from obesity, in terms
of diabetes and other diseases, are of epidemic proportions in Los
Angeles and across the country, and its only now becoming readily
apparent to policy makers that if they dont do something about it
quickly, er, that we are consigning a whole generation of kids in
their later years, er, to a horrible quality of life.
DAVID WILLIS: With soft drinks singled out as one of the main
culprits in the obesity epidemic, one of Americas largest school
districts is literally pulling the plug on an American icon. School
officials have decided to banish Coke, Pepsi and Seven-Up from
their campuses, setting students an example for the future.

Word Check
overweight
obese
obesity
soft drink
banish
vending machine

T2 WOMAN

1: I think our whole society is a, a couch population where

we sit and we watch and we dont do as much physically as we
should do, and the kids model what we do.
DAVID WILLIS: And now youre taking the can away from the couch.
WOMAN 1: Were taking the can away from the couch, yes.
DAVID WILLIS: The only problem is, the can provides cash for
schools here. Soft drink companies will pay handsomely for the
privilege of placing their vending machines on school campuses.
And that income, which can run to 200,000 a year, is often used
to fund vital extra-curricular activities such as sports.

5 Read T2 and complete the spaces with the words in the box. Then listen to check
your answers.
cash

companies

kids

society

sports

6 Listen to T2 again. Choose the correct word in italics.

1 In America young people do / dont
have enough exercise.
2 The problem is that soft drinks
companies provide money /
equipment for schools.

3 The vending machines are vital /

helpful for funding after-school
activities.
4 After-school activities often include
painting / exercise.
Fizzy Drinks Banned in US Schools

121

Fizzy Drinks Banned in US Schools

Glossary
ironic (adj) ironic
twist (n) twist
reduce (v) reduce
ironically (adv) ironically
unintended (adj)
unintended
hurt (v) hurt
research (n) research
profit (n) profit
nutrition (n) nutrition
high school (n) high school
incentive (n) incentive
intend (v) intend
temptation (n) temptation
admit (v) admit

T3 MAN

2: There is an ironic twist that if you eliminate soft

drinks as is proposed, youre going to ultimately eliminate
after-school activities and, and sporting activities, which
would help reduce the obesity problem, so ironically the
unintended consequences are going to hurt the students even
more.
WOMAN 2: How are you going to feel when you go to the
machine and you cant buy Coke but you can buy water?
DAVID WILLIS: Nonetheless, school officials have decided to put
fat kids ahead of fat profits. With research suggesting that bad
grades can be linked to poor nutrition, they believe that
sending Coke to its corner will benefit these pupils in a variety
of ways. Not all the students are convinced.

T4 BOY

1: I think that us high school students arent babies any

more, and I think that we should have the right to choose
whether or not we wanna drink soda or not, so
GIRL: I think that it would give students more incentive,
because if theres no Coke, then they can drink healthier
things like water and juices.
BOY 2: Um, some people like sodas with their food and, er, I
mean, I cant eat meat without soda, and some people cant do
it either.
DAVID WILLIS: As well as the three Rs, schools here intend to
teach their pupils the benefits of a healthy diet whilst
removing the temptation of vending machines. Officials
admit, though, that when it comes to the school canteen,
theres still some way to go. David Willis, BBC News, Los
Angeles.
David Willis, 12 September 2002.

7 Listen to T3 and choose the correct answers.

1 According to the man, if you ban
vending machines, you may
a) help students.
b) hurt students.
c) upset students.
d) save students.

3 Research has linked bad grades at

school with
a) fizzy drinks.
b) smoking.
c) a poor diet.
d) watching too much TV.

2 The woman imagines the vending

machines might sell
a) coffee.
b) sweets.
c) water.
d) fruit.

4 Some of the students arent

a) convinced.
b) happy.
c) at all worried.
d) interested.

122 Fizzy Drinks Banned in US Schools

Focus on North America

T3 MAN

2: There is an ironic twist that if you eliminate soft drinks as

is proposed, youre going to ultimately eliminate after-school
activities and, and sporting activities, which would help reduce the
obesity problem, so ironically the unintended consequences are
going to hurt the students even more.
WOMAN 2: How are you going to feel when you go to the machine
and you cant buy Coke but you can buy water?
DAVID WILLIS: Nonetheless, school officials have decided to put fat
kids ahead of fat profits. With research suggesting that bad grades
can be linked to poor nutrition, they believe that sending Coke to
its corner will benefit these pupils in a variety of ways. Not all the
students are convinced.

Word Check
eliminate
official
benefit
diet
canteen

T4 BOY

1: I think that us high school students arent babies any more,

and I think that we should have the right to choose whether or not
we wanna drink soda or not, so
GIRL: I think that it would give students more incentive, because if
theres no Coke, then they can drink healthier things like water and
juices.
BOY 2: Um, some people like sodas with their food and, er, I mean,
I cant eat meat without soda, and some people cant do it either.
DAVID WILLIS: As well as the three Rs, schools here intend to teach
their pupils the benefits of a healthy diet whilst removing the
temptation of vending machines. Officials admit, though, that
when it comes to the school canteen, theres still some way to go.
David Willis, BBC News, Los Angeles.
David Willis, 12 September 2002.

8 Listen to T4 again and decide if the following are true (T) or false (F).
1 The first boy thinks the ban on
vending machines is good. T / F
2 The girl thinks the new idea might
encourage children to have more
healthy drinks. T / F
3 The second boy cant eat meat
without a fizzy drink. T / F

4 The schools want to teach the

children about healthy food and
drink. T / F
5 Officials think most children have
changed their diets. T / F

Fizzy Drinks Banned in US Schools

123

Fizzy Drinks Banned in US Schools

9 Read this summary of the news story and complete the
spaces with the words in the box.
after-school

banish

fizzy

income

obesity

In the United States there is now an epidemic of

(a) .............................. among young people. Schools have
decided to (b) .............................. vending machines which
sell (c) .............................. drinks from school campuses.
However, some people are worried that the lack of
(d) .............................. from these machines will result in
fewer (e) .............................. sports activities for the children.

10 Using the vocabulary builder, complete the sentences

below making any necessary changes.
1 The government wants to ............... the number of car
accidents.
2 Drug companies spend millions on ............... every year.
3 He needed to buy some bigger clothes because he
had become ............... .
4 What do you ............... to do next week?
5 If you want to lose weight, you need to go on a ............... .

Vocabulary
Builder
diet (n)
intend
overweight
reduce
research (n)

Grammar
In English there are certain verbs which are almost never used in the continuous form.
They describe a state and have the idea of permanency. This group of verbs includes
like, love, want, believe, understand and know.
Look at these examples from the news item.
Some people like sodas with their food. (T4)
You can never say Some people are liking because like is an example of a verb which
describes a state.
The same is true of believe in the following sentence.
they believe that sending Coke to its corner will benefit these pupils (T3)
See page 86 for practice activities.

124 Fizzy Drinks Banned in US Schools