ACTIVITY
A. Read the text about some English villages. Then look at the sentences at the bottom of the page and decide if each sentence is True or False.
Explore the Villages around Hartbridge
Many visitors come to Hartbridge to see the wonderful art galleries and museums, the beautiful buildings and the fantastic parks. Few people go outside the city, and so they miss out on experiencing the scenery and the fascinating history of this beautiful area. This brochure will tell you what you can see if you take a short bus ride out of the city.
Camberwell
The historic village of Camberwell was once the home of the wealthy Hugo family. They lived in a huge country house, Camberwell Court, and owned all the land in the area. The family sold their house in the 1940s, and it is now open to the public. You can spend a whole day walking around the house and gardens. There is a small exhibition about the family, a children’s play area, a gift shop and a restaurant. But the village of Camberwell is also worth a visit. There are some beautiful cottages with well kept gardens, and there is a small church which dates back to the eleventh century. To get to Camberwell, take Bus 46 from the Bus station. Buses leave every two hours.
Hidcot
Hidcot is an attractive village situated on the River Owell. Wildlife lovers should visit the Nature Park to the south of the village, where there are large numbers of rare birds and flowers. However, you will probably see plenty of wildlife from the bridge in the village centre! In Hidcot, you can take a two-hour river cruise - a great way to see the countryside and learn about the local wildlife from a guide. If you prefer to explore the river by yourself, it’s well worth walking one and a half miles along the river to the pub ‘The Boat’ which cannot be reached by road. Here, you can hire small boats and explore the river at your leisure. To get to Hidcot, take Bus 7A to Reeford. Hidcot is half way between Hartbridge and Reeford.
Tatterbridge
The beautiful village of Tatterbridge was home to the children’s writer Jane Potter, whose stories of Benjamin Bear are loved by adults and children around the world. Jane Potter’s home is now a museum and tea shop, and is well worth a visit just for its wonderful gardens. It also has a gift shop where you can buy souvenirs and books. Tatterbridge has a number of interesting shops including an excellent cake shop, and ‘Wendy’s Giftshop’ where you can find lots of unusual gifts made by hand by local artists. Lovers of Jane Potter’s books should also walk to the Green Valley woods, which have not changed since Jane Potter wrote her stories there one hundred years ago.
To get to Tatterbridge, take Bus 4 from outside the cinema. It takes about 40 minutes to get there.
Moordale
This old industrial village is the highest village in the area. Here in the hills, coal was found in the late eighteenth century, and people came here in great numbers to take it out of the ground and transport it to the nearby towns. Many industries grew up in the area, including a paper factory and a cotton factory. The industries all closed down in the nineteenth century, and since then Moordale has gone back to being a quiet farming village. However, if you walk from the village centre up the steep hill to the north, you can still see the paths where horses used to carry the coal. There is a four mile walk around the village which has some amazing views, but walkers are must be careful as the path is steep in places and they could slip. To get to Moordale, take Bus 7A to Reeford, and then take the number 38 bus to Moordale.
1. It is unusual for visitors to visit the villages near Hartbridge.
True
False
2. The Hugo family allows people to visit their current home.
True
False
3. The leaflet advises visitors not to spend all day at Camberwell Court.
True
False
4. You can hire small boats from the bridge in Hidcot.
True
False
5. You can take the bus directly to ‘The Boat’ pub near Hidcot.
True
False
6. The leaflet says that the gardens are the best part of Jane Potter’s home.
True
False
7. Jane Potter wrote her books in the Green Valley woods.
True
False
8. You can visit the paper factory and the cotton factory in Moordale.
True
False
9. You will see horses on farms as you walk around Moordale.
True
False
10. You can get to all four villages directly from Hartbridge.
True
False
False
B. Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Body mass index (BMI), a measurement which compares weight and height, defines people as overweight (pre-obese) when their BMI is between 25 kg/m2 and 30 kg/m2, and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2.
Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties during sleep, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive dietary calories, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility, although a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications or psychiatric illness. Evidence to support the view that some obese people eat little yet gain weight due to a slow metabolism is limited; on average obese people have a greater energy expenditure than their thin counterparts due to the energy required to maintain an increased body mass.
The primary treatment for obesity is dieting and physical exercise. To supplement this, or in case of failure, anti-obesity drugs may be taken to reduce appetite or inhibit fat absorption. In severe cases, surgery is performed or an intragastric balloon is placed to reduce stomach volume and/or bowel length, leading to earlier satiation and reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food.
Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities view it as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. Obesity is stigmatized in much of the modern world (particularly in the Western world), though it was widely perceived as a symbol of wealth and fertility at other times in history, and still is in some parts of the world.
Questions
1. The statistics state that.
a. although obesity is prevalent, it is not considered as a serious illness.
b. obesity is considered as a serious illness.
2. Obese people
a. may suffer from severe illnesses.
b. may suffer from mild ailments.
3. Modern medicine
a. can cure obesity.
b. cannot cure it at all.
4. The best treatment for obesity is
a. related to individuals lifestyle.
b. medical.
