Language functions: describing food; discussing issues; reading comprehension

Topic/Vocabulary area: food; diet, food quantifiers

LONG HOURS = BAD DIET

STUDENT WORKSHEET

focus on vocabulary
ACTIVITY 1
Match the following types of
food with the adjectives that
can describe them.

cake dessert

dish meal

salad sauce

snack soup

1. a healthy, light, savoury, sugary _______________

2. creamy, rich, spicy, sweet and sour, thick _______________

3. moist, rich, sticky _______________

4. crisp, crunchy, fresh, green _______________

5. a classic, delicious, savoury _______________

6. a/an appetizing, nourishing, substantial _______________

7. a delicious, rich _______________

8. chunky, clear, creamy, hearty, thick, thin _______________

www.english-4U.com: JULY 2006 1

focus on discussion

ACTIVITY 2
Discuss the following questions in pairs.

• Would you consider your diet healthy? Why do you think so? What do
you usually eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? What does your diet
lack?
• Do you think your work affects your diet? If yes, how do your
professional activities influence your eating habits?

focus on reading

ACTIVITY 3
Decide whether these statements are TRUE or FALSE. Then read the text to check
if you were right.
1. Career women have a balanced diet and exercise more than other women.
2. Men can cope with long hours better than women.
3. In stressful situations both women and men eat less vegetables and more snacks.
4. Long hours at work make women drink more alcohol.

Long hours hit women’s diet

source:www.skyonline.co.uk, 13 July 2006
Career women are resorting to
sugary snacks, cigarettes and
copious cups of coffee to help
them cope with long working
hours.
According to a study by Leeds
University, while their male
colleagues are able to deal with
12-hour days without succumbing
to unhealthy habits, women
routinely stop exercising, snack
on chocolate bars and crisps and
smoke heavily.
The findings run contrary to the
popular image of career women
eating a balanced diet and
exercising regularly.
Psychologists who carried out the
study found that both women and
men cut back on vegetables and
eat smaller meals during stressful
spells at work and are prone to
unhealthy snacking when a
stressful situation presents itself.
But when it comes to working
long hours, it is women whose
health suffers.
However, while diets may suffer
during long hours, at least there
is a reduction in drinking.

www.english-4U.com: JULY 2006 2

focus on vocabulary
ACTIVITY 4
Find these words and phrases in the text.

• to make use of something, usually

something bad, because there is no other …………………………………
possible solution
• in large amounts …………………………………

• to fail to resist something …………………………………

• to eat something between or instead of …………………………………

main meals

• to be different to …………………………………

• to reduce something …………………………………

• a short period of time …………………………………

• likely to suffer from or to do something bad …………………………………

IDEAL focus on discussion

FOR LONG HOURS? ACTIVITY 5
Discuss the following issues.

• Do you agree with the findings of the

study presented in the article? Do people
in your country suffer from bad habits as
a result of long working hours and
stressful situations at work?

• What is the most popular image of a

career woman in your country?

www.english-4U.com: JULY 2006 3

focus on vocabulary
ACTIVITY 6
Match the following words expressing quantities with appropriate types of food.

a clove of a fillet of a knob of a loaf of

a pinch of a rasher of a ring of a slice of

a spoonful of a sprig of a stick of a wedge of

1. lemon _______________

2. parsley _______________

3. salt _______________

4. fish _______________

5. garlic _______________

6. butter _______________

7. bacon _______________

8. celery _______________

9. onion _______________

10. ham _______________

11. sugar _______________

12. bread _______________

www.english-4U.com: JULY 2006 4