Increasingly, over the past ten years, people—especially young people—have become aware of the need to change their eating habits, because much of the food they eat, particularly foods, is not good for the health. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in natural foods: foods which do not contain chemical additives and which have not been affected by chemical fertilizers, widely used in farming to- day.
Natural foods, for example, vegetables, fruits and grains which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic matter. In simple terms, this means that the soil has been nourished by unused vegetable matter, which provides it with essential vitamins and minerals. This in itself is a natural process compared with the use of chemicals and fertilizers, the main purpose of which is to increase the amount—but not the quality—of foods grown in commercial farming areas.
Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy pastures. Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry: there are battery farms, for ex- ample, where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish. Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; they also produce eggs which lack important vitamins.
There are other aspects of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet. Take, for example, the question of sugar, this is actually a non-essential food! Although a natural alternative, such as honey, can be used to sweeten food if this is necessary, we can in fact do without it. It is not that sugar is harmful in itself. But it does seem to be an additive: the quantity we use has grown steadily over the last two centuries and in Britain today each person consumes an average of 200 pounds a year! Yet all it does is provide us with energy, in the form. of calories. There are no vitamins in it, no minerals and no fibre.
It is significant that nowadays fibre is considered to be an important part of a healthy diet. In white bread, for example, the fibre has been removed. But it is present in unrefined flour and of course in vegetable. It is interesting to note that in countries where the national diet contains large quantities of unrefined flour and vegetable, certain diseases are comparatively rare. Hence the emphasis placed on the eating of wholemeal bread and more vegetables by modern experts on healthy eating.
Recently, some people are interested in natural foods because ______.
A．these foods are fresh and sweet
B．they want to change their eating habits
C．these foods do not contain chemical additives and have not been affected by chemical fertilizers
D．they don't like the processed foods
Crime is a very serious problem in Britain. One sort of crime which particularly worries people is juvenile delinquency—that is, crimes committed by young people. For some years juvenile delinquency had been increasing. There are two main sorts of juvenile crimes: stealing and violence. Most people do not understand why young people commit these crimes. There are, I think, a large number of different reasons.
These crimes are not usually committed by people who are poor or in need. Young people often dislike and hate the adult world. They will do things to show that they are rebels. Also in Britain today it is easier for young people to commit crimes because they have more freedom to go where they like and more money to do what they like.
There are two other possible causes which are worth mentioning. More and more people in Britain live in large towns. In a large town no one knows who anyone else is or where they live. But in the village I come from crimes are rare because everyone knows everyone else.
Although it is difficult to explain, I think the last cause is very important. Perhaps there is something with our society which encourages violence and crime. It is a fact that all the time children are exposed to films and reports about crime and violence. Many people do not agree that this influences the young people, but I think that young people are very much influenced by the society they grow in. I feel that the fault may be as much with our whole society as with these young people.
6. From the passage we know that many British people are confused about ().
A. the cause of juvenile crimes
B. the rise of the crime rate
C. the problem of crimes in their country
D. the various kinds of juvenile delinquency
7. One reason why young people in large cities are more likely to commit crimes is that ().
A. nobody knows anything about others
B. they are free to move
C. they live a better life
D. they need more money
8. According to the passage, which groups of the following young people are LEAST likely to commit crimes？
A. Those living in big cities
B. Those who are in need of help
C. Those who are very poor
D. Those living in the countryside
9. Unlike many others, the author holds that one important cause for juvenile delinquency is that().
A. young people nowadays do not like adult world
B. young people in Britain today are freer than before
C. too many young people have come to live in big cities
D. young people are influenced by crime and violence in films and newspapers
10.According to the passage, which is to blame for juvenile crimes, apart from the young people themselves？
A. The adult world
B. Their parents
C. The development of the cities
D. The society
