HSC English First Paper - Unit Three - Food Adulteration
Unit Three: Food
Adulteration
7.
Match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B in the box below:
Well, it was early in the year for salmon and it
was not on the bill of fare, but I asked the waiter if there was any. Yes, a
beautiful salmon had just come in, it was the first they had had. I ordered it
for my guest. The waiter asked her if she would have something while it was
being cooked.
Lesson-1: Food Adulteration Reaches
New Height
1. Warm up activity:
Share the following questions with your friend.
a. What is food adulteration?
b. Have you heard the name of a pesticide called
formalin which is used as a preservative?
c. Who, do you think, uses chemical pesticides on
food/fruits?
2. Read the following feature item published in a
Dhaka daily.
Unsafe levels of pesticides are present in around
half of the vegetables and more than a quarter of fruits sold in the capital's
markets, a recent survey has found. A 15-member team of the National Food
Safety Laboratory, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO), came up with the findings after collecting and testing food samples from
the capital's Gulshan, Karwanbazar and Mohakhali markets.
The
survey report, a copy of which was acquired by the Dhaka Tribune, read that
nearly 40% of 82 samples of milk, milk products, fish, fruits and vegetables
contained banned pesticides such as DDT, Aldrin, Chlordane and Heptachlor. The
amounts of pesticide in these samples were found to be 3 to 20 times greater
than the limits set by the European Union. Around 50% vegetables and 35% fruits
were found to be contaminated with unsafe level of pesticides.
Analysing
more than 30 samples of turmeric powder (branded, packaged and open), the team
also found that nearly 30% of the samples contained traces of lead chromate,
which can be fatal if swallowed or inhaled. These samples also contained lead
at 20 to 50 times above the safety limit of 2.5 parts per million set by the Bangladesh
Standard Testing Institute (BSTI). Arsenic and chromium above safety limits
were detected in a total of 5 out of 13 rice samples.
Using
a sensitive High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method developed by
the Food Safety Lab, 66 samples were analysed for the presence of formaldehyde.
Adulteration was thereby detected in samples of coriander, mango and fresh
shrimps.
The
tests indicated that poultry feed in the country had also been contaminated, as
samples of chicken and fish contained traces of antibiotics. High microbial
populations were found in several samples of pasteurised milk, indicating poor
processing procedures by the manufacturers. Samples of cucumber and street
foods also showed high microbial populations, suggesting widespread
contamination in the water supply. The Director of Institute of Public Health
(IPH), told the Dhaka Tribune that the survey report has been submitted to the
Health Ministry. Further tests of different products were being carried out at
the Food Safety Lab.
A
former Director General of the Health Services and senior national adviser of
the FAO, said the findings were shocking for the whole nation. He added that
instead of focusing only on the end products, the issue should be addressed at
the root level. Pointing out that there were four steps in the production
process-farmer, transport, wholesale, and retail trader, -he said better
monitoring and supervision were mandatory for stopping food adulteration.
Adulterated
food products are reportedly the cause behind thousands of people suffering
from fatal diseases like cancer, kidney failure and heart problems. Health
specialists told the Dhaka Tribune that the Ministry of Food had enacted a Food
Safety Act, but was yet to prepare the necessary rules. As the issue of food
safety was also linked to 14 other ministries, a coordinated agency should take
responsibility of ensuring safety in food products, they added.
[Adapted
from a news published in Dhaka Tribune]
3.
Choose the right answer:
a.
What percentages of the milk samples contained pesticide?
i.
60
ii.
45
iii.
40
iv.
50
b.
How did the scientists realize that the water supply was contaminated?
i.
because of microbial presence
ii.
from the color of the water
iii.
from an analysis of the mineral content
iv.
through chemical test
c.
Why were microbial populations present in pasteurised milk?
i.
because of widespread contamination in the water cows drink
c.
Why were microbial populations present in pasteurised milk?
i.
because of widespread contamination in the water cows drink
ii.
because of the formaldehyde content in the milk
iii.
because of poor processing of the milk
iv.
all of the above
d.
The amounts of pesticide in local food samples are times greater than the
limits set by the European Union.
i.
3
ii.
20
iii.
3-32
iv.
60
e.
How many ministries are concerned with the food safety issue?
i.
10
ii.
15
iii.
1
iv.
14
4.
Answer the following questions:
a.
What does 'new height' refer to in the title of the news report?
b.
What confirms that even our poultry products are contaminated?
c.
What are the health risks related to adulterated food?
d.
What is the current state of the Food Safety Act?
5.
With a friend, discuss the observation made by the former Director General of
Health Services. Is it enough to keep an eye on end products? Make a list of
things that you can do to monitor and supervise the production process.
6.
Write a letter to the editor of a national daily pointing out the problems of
food adulteration in your locality. Or, write a response to this news item
published in Dhaka Tribune.
Column
A
|
Column
B
|
i.
pasteurised
|
a.
pertaining to, or characteristic of a microbe
|
ii.
banned
|
b. made impure by contact or mixture with
something unclean.
|
iii.
contaminated
|
c. the process of heating (milk) to a
high temperature and then quickly cooling it before
bottling or packaging to make it free from bacteria
|
iv.
populations
|
d.
compulsory
|
v.
end product
|
e. which is produced as the final result of an
activity or process
|
vi.
mandatory
|
f.
prohibited
|
vii.
microbial
|
g. organisms of the same group or species
|
Lesson 2: Eating Habit and Hazards
1. Warm up activity:
□ Discuss in a group:
What is a short story? What are some of the
essential elements of a short story?
□ Before reading the story below, discuss the
following questions and check if the story helps you to answer them.
a. What is a balanced diet? Why do we need to take
a balanced diet?
b. Why do some people become overweight?
2. Now read the story (slightly abridged) and
answer the questions that follow.
The story, "The Luncheon," is by William
Somerset Maugham (1874-1965). Maugham was a British novelist, playwright and
short story writer whose work is characterized by a clear, lucid style, and a
profound understanding of human nature. "The Luncheon" is about a
lady admirer of the writer who managed to get a luncheon invitation from him to
an expensive Paris restaurant twenty years ago. With humour and irony, the
writer describes the lady's lavish eating at his expense and what happened to
her twenty years later.
The Luncheon
William Somerset Maugham
I caught sight of her at the play, and in answer to
her beckoning, I went over during the interval and sat down beside her. It was
long since I had last seen her, and if someone had not mentioned her name I
hardly think I would have recognized her.
She addressed me brightly.
"Well, it's many years since we first met. How
time does fly! We're none of us getting any younger. Do you remember the first
time I saw you? You asked me to luncheon."
Did I remember?
It was twenty years ago and I was living in Paris.
I had a tiny apartment in the Latin quarter overlooking a cemetery, and I was
earning barely enough money to keep body and soul together. She had read a book
of mine and had written to me about it. I answered, thanking her, and presently
I received from her another letter saying that she was passing through Paris
and would like to have a chat with me; but her time was limited, and the only
free moment she had was on the following Thursday; she was spending the morning
at the Luxembourg and would I give her a little luncheon at Foyot's afterwards?
Foyot's is a restaurant at which the French senators eat, and it was so far
beyond my means that I had never even thought of going there. But I was
flattered, and I was too young to have learned to say no to a woman.... I had
eighty francs (gold francs) to last me the rest of the month, and a modest
luncheon should not cost more than fifteen. If I cut out coffee for the next
two weeks I could manage well enough.
I answered that I would meet my friend-by
correspondence-at Foyot's on Thursday at half-past twelve. She was not so young
as I expected and in appearance imposing rather than attractive. She was, in
fact, a woman of forty ... and she gave me the impression of having more teeth,
white and large and even, than were necessary for any practical purpose. She
was talkative, but since she seemed inclined to talk about me I was prepared to
be an attentive listener.
I was startled when the bill of fare was brought,
for the prices were a great deal higher than I had anticipated. But she
reassured me.
"I never eat anything for luncheon," she
said.
"Oh, don't say that!" I answered
generously.
"I never eat more than one thing. I think
people eat far too much nowadays. A little fish, perhaps. I wonder if they have
any salmon."
"No," she answered, "I never eat
more than one thing unless you have a little caviare, I never mind
caviare."
My heart sank a little. I knew I could not afford
caviare, but I could not very well tell her that. I told the waiter by all
means to bring caviare. For myself I chose the cheapest dish on the menu and
that was a mutton chop.
"I think you are unwise to eat meat," she
said. "I don't know how you can expect to work after eating heavy things
like chops. I don't believe in overloading my stomach." Then came the
question of drink.
"I never drink anything for luncheon,"
she said.
"Neither do I," I answered promptly.
"Except white wine," she proceeded as
though I had not spoken.
"These French white wines are so light.
They're wonderful for the digestion."
"What would you like?" I asked,
hospitable still, but not exactly effusive.
She gave me a bright and amicable flash of her
white teeth.
"My doctor won't let me drink anything but
champagne."
I fancy I turned a trifle pale. I ordered half a
bottle. I mentioned casually that my doctor had absolutely forbidden me to
drink champagne.
"What are you going to drink, then?"
"Water."
She ate the caviare and she ate the salmon. She
talked gaily of art and literature and music. But I wondered what the bill
would come to. When my mutton chop arrived she took me quite seriously to task.
"I see that you're in the habit of eating a
heavy luncheon. Tm sure it's a mistake. Why don't you follow my example and
just eat one thing? I'm sure you'd feel ever so much better for it."
"I am only going to eat one thing." I
said, as the waiter came again with the bill of fare. She waved him aside with
an airy gesture.
"No. no. I never eat anything for luncheon.
Just a bite, I never want more than that, and I eat that more as an excuse for
conversation than anything else. 1 couldn't possibly eat anything more unless
they had some of those giant asparagus. I should be sorry to leave Paris
without having some of them."
My heart sank. I had seen them in the shops, and I
knew that they were horribly expensive. My mouth had often watered at the sight
of them.
"Madame wants to know if you have any of those
giant asparagus." I asked the waiter.
I tried with all my might to will him to say no. A
happy smile spread over his broad, priest-like face, and he assured me that
they had some so large, so splendid, so tender, that it was a marvel.
"I'm not in the least hungry," my guest
sighed, 'but if you insist I don't mind having some asparagus.'
I ordered them.
"Aren't you going to have any?" "No,
I never eat asparagus."
"I know there are people who don't like them.
The fact is, you ruin your palate by all the meat you eat."
We waited for the asparagus to be cooked. Panic
seized me. It was not a question now of how much money I should have left over
for the rest of the month, but whether I had enough to pay the bill.
The asparagus appeared. They were enormous,
succulent, and appetizing. The smell of the melted butter tickled my nostrils
....
"Coffee?" I said.
"Yes, just an ice cream and coffee," she
answered.
I was past caring now. So I ordered coffee for
myself and an ice cream and coffee for her.
"You know, there's one thing I thoroughly
believe in," she said, as she ate the ice cream. "One should always
get up from a meal feeling one could eat a little more."
"Are you still hungry?' I asked faintly.
"Oh, no, I'm not hungry; you see, I don't eat
luncheon. I have a cup of coffee in the morning and then dinner, but I never
eat more than one thing for luncheon. I was speaking for you."
"Oh, I see!"
Then a terrible thing happened. While we were
waiting for the coffee, the head waiter, with an ingratiating smile on his
false face, came up to us bearing a large
basket full of huge peaches. They had the blush of
an innocent girl; they had the rich tone of an Italian landscape. But surely
peaches were not in season then? Lord knew what they cost.
"You see, you've filled your stomach with a
lot of meat"-my one miserable little chop-"and you can't eat any
more. But I've just had a snack and I shall enjoy a peach".
The bill came and when I paid it I found that I had
only enough for a quite inadequate tip. Her eyes rested for an instant on the
three francs I left for the waiter, and I knew that she thought me mean. But
when I walked out of the restaurant I had the whole month before me and not a
penny in my pocket.
"Follow my example," she said as we shook
hand, and never eat more than one thing for luncheon."
"I'll do better than that", I retorted.
"I'll eat nothing for dinner to-night."
"Humorist!" she cried gaily, jumping into
a cab, "you're quite a humorist!"
But I have had my revenge at last. I do not believe
that I am a vindictive man, but when the immortal gods take a hand in the
matter it is pardonable to observe the result with complacency. Today she
weighs twenty-one stone.
The meanings of some words and terms from the story
are given below. Read the story a second time, and if you still have words you
don't know the meanings of find them in a dictionary.
Luncheon : a formal lunch
play : a theatre performance
Latin quarter : a section of Paris popular with
students and writes like the story's narrator
cemetery : a large burial ground senator: a member
of a senate, a lawmaker imposing : impressive in appearance startle : give
sudden shock bill of fare : a menu
generous : liberal, showing readiness to give
something
caviare : the mass of eggs of a large fish,
especially sturgeon, eaten as a delicacy
hospitable: friendly, genial
effusive : showing pleasure or emotion in an
unrestrained manner amicable : friendly airy: causal
ingratiating : intended to gain someone's approval
or favour
humorist: a humourous writer
vindictive: revengeful
complacency : uncritical self-satisfaction
stone : 14 pounds
3. Find out the meanings of the following idioms:
a. beyond one's means
b. cut out
c. take someone to task
4. How did the lady manage to get the luncheon
invitation from the writer?
5. Humour is the quality that makes something
laughable and amusing. Find some instances of humour in the story.
6. The writer also uses irony in the story (find
out the definition of irony elsewhere in your text book). What examples of
irony can you find in the story?
7. How many items of food does the lady order? Why
does the writer only order a mutton chop?
8. At one stage of the luncheon, the writer feels
panicked. Why?
9. What is an asparagus? Find out the food value of
asparagus.
10. The story is told in flashback. How does the
lady look in the restaurant, and at the end of the story?
11. The lady obviously has a tendency to eat much.
Write an essay on the bad effects of overeating. Keep the example of the lady
in mind.
12. Fill in the blanks with appropriate
prepositions:
While we were waiting......coffee, the head waiter,
with a smile......his face came......to us, bearing a large basket
full......huge peaches.
13. Find out 5 adjectives from the story and write
sentences with them.
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