让英国闹心的小胖子

所属教程:金融时报原文阅读

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2020年08月06日

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让英国闹心的小胖子

英国有十分之一的小学生患有儿童期肥胖症问题，数据显示儿童肥胖率有显著上升趋势。如何解决成了政府和儿童食品生产商家的棘手问题。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

curb 抑制[kɜːb]

coincide with 符合；与…相一致[,kəʊɪn'saɪd]

levy 征收；征税['levɪ]

pupil 学生；未成年人['pjuːpɪl; -p(ə)l]

vigorous 有力的；精力充沛的['vɪg(ə)rəs]

tackle 处理['tæk(ə)l]

keen 敏锐的，敏捷的；强烈的[kiːn]

bow to 向……鞠躬[baʊ]

duck 躲避[dʌk]

vested interests 既得利益；特权阶级

coalition 联合；结合，合并[,kəʊə'lɪʃ(ə)n]

scrap 废弃[skræp]

阅读马上开始，建议您计算一下阅读整篇文章所用的时间，对照下方的参考值就可以评估出您的英文阅读水平。

如果您读完全文用时为：那么，您的阅读速度相当于每分钟阅读的英文单词数

3分20秒母语为英语者的朗读速度 140

1分59秒母语为英语的中学生的阅读速度 250

1分8秒母语为英语的大学生的阅读速度 350

0分44秒母语为英语的速读高手 1000

Watered-down childhood obesity strategy under fire（643words）

By Helen Warrell and Kate Allen

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Ministers have watered down the UK’s long-awaited childhood obesity strategy, dropping proposed curbs on junk food television advertisements and focusing instead on the importance of school sport in moves seen as a victory for the food industry over health campaigner. The publication of the strategy, first expected in December 2015, has been continually delayed and its eventual release — coinciding with Team GB’s Olympic successes — shows a shift towards daily exercise rather than restrictions on industry. Under the plan, to be published on Thursday, food producers will be asked to make a 20 per cent reduction in the sugar content of children’s foods such as cereals and yoghurts by 2020, but this will be a request rather than a mandatory target. Public Health England will publish updates on industry progress every six months.

The government had announced in the Budget in March that it would be introducing a sugar tax on the soft drinks industry. Officials have now confirmed that the money raised from this levy will be invested in programmes to reduce obesity and encourage physical activity and balanced diets for schoolchildren. The investment will include £10m annually to help school breakfast clubs provide healthier food.

In addition, primary schools will be asked to help every pupil get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day.

A review of the nutrient levels in various foods could result in existing restrictions on food and drink advertising to young people being extended to products not currently covered by the rules. Public Health England is working with academics and the industry to update its nutrient data. Tackling the growing problem of childhood obesity was a priority for David Cameron, former prime minister, while Jeremy Hunt, his health secretary, had been keen to restrict advertising of unhealthy foods during popular TV shows such as The X Factor. However, the government’s new plan does not include any enforceable measures to curb advertising content.

Campaign group Action On Sugar said the government had bowed to industry pressure by ducking the tough decisions. Jenny Rosborough, Action on Sugar campaign manager, called the strategy “an embarrassing and inexcusable waste of a fantastic opportunity to put the nation’s health first”.

Graham McGregor, chairman of both Action On Sugar and Consensus Action On Salt And Health, said the strategy was “an insulting response to the UK crisis in type 2 diabetes”, which was set to greatly burden the NHS’s finances in years to come.

A spokesperson for NHS England warned that if the industry did not voluntarily make progress then “the need for further, broader action would be inarguable”.

Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat leader, said the new obesity strategy “looks like a sellout by the government to vested interests” after “months of this report being delayed and pushed back”. The government should act to ban advertising for unhealthy foods being targeted at children, for example during children's’ TV shows, he added.

Ian Wright, head of the Food and Drink Federation, said of the obesity strategy that the government had “acknowledged that working in partnership with industry on a voluntary basis is the best way to make progress on this crucial issue”.

However, he criticised the forthcoming sugar tax, calling it “a disappointing diversion from effective measures to tackle obesity” and saying it was “unlikely to be technically practical across all the selected food categories”.

A coalition of food and drink manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and pubs launched a campaign this week called Face The Facts, Cut The Tax in a bid to persuade the government to scrap the levy, saying it would be “ineffective and harmful” and have a negative impact on businesses.

The campaign is funded by the British Soft Drinks Association, whose chief executive Gavin Partington said he agreed that obesity levels were too high but “burdening businesses and consumers with an inefficient tax is not the answer”.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1. How many percentage the food producers will be asked to reduce in the sugar content?

A. 5 per cent

B. 20 per cent

C. 21 per cent

D. 25 per cent

2. What kind of target to ask producer to reduce the sugar in 2020?

A. request

B. mandatory

C. demand

D. claim

3. Which one is not right about the money raised from sugar tax to be used?