L2 Traffic Lights for Food By Jessica Li 2013

Paragraph 1 ■ Topic Sentence Recent studies have shown that being obese can pose a serious threat to our health. ■ Supporting detail: (main reason) Obesity may lead to heart disease, diabetes, various types of cancer, and other disturbing health problems.

Paragraph 1 ■ (method 1) To prevent any of these illness from occurring, it is vital that we control our weight. ■ (example for method 1 ) Exercise, without a doubt, is a good way to keep in shape. ■ (method 2) Calculating our BMI is another way to roughly determine whether we are maintaining our ideal weight or not.

Paragraph 1 ■ Conclusion: However, no matter what method we apply, we should first and foremost watch our diet.

Paragraph 2 ■ Topic Sentence: Our diet matters because what we eat has a lot to do with our weight and can directly affect our health. ■ Supporting details: (method ) Thus, it is critical that we keep off any foods that are potentially damaging to our health.

Paragraph 2 ■ (further explanation for method ) Many of us sometimes absorb excessive numbers of certain nutrients, such as fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt, which can risk our health unknowingly. ■ (example for method ) Therefore, the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom has come up with an idea called traffic light labeling.

Paragraph 2 ■ (further explanation for the example) This system labels potentially risky nutrients with something we are familiar with: the light at the intersection that tell both drivers and pedestrians when to go, to be cautious, or to stop.

Paragraph 3 ■ Topic Sentence: Traffic light labeling is easy to understand. ■ Supporting details: (explanation) Green, amber, and red respectively represent low, medium, and high amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt in one serving.

Paragraph 3 ■ (respective explanation for each light 1 ) Basically, the more green lights we see on a package of food, the healthier that food is. ■ (respective explanation for each light 2 ) Red lights warn consumers that the food product should only be eaten from time to time or in small amounts.

Paragraph 3 ■ (respective explanation for each light 3 ) The middle of the two extremes is amber. Amber lights mean that the amount of fat, saturated fat, sugar, or salt that the food contains is not too high. However, the color also implies that the food is not “low” in those nutrients. This is something that the consumer should be aware of. ■ Question: Which light deserves our most attention? (A) Red (B) Amber (C) Green

Paragraph 4 ■ Topic Sentence: This system has several advantages. ■ Supporting details: (explanation 1) One is that consumers can know at a glance if the food they are buying might possibly cause obesity-related diseases.

Paragraph 4 ■ Questions: Think of 5 obesity-related diseases. (A) heart disease (B) diabetes (C) high blood pressure (D) fatty liver (E) high cholesterol ■ (explanation 2) The symbols that this system uses are instantly recognizable, even to children.

Paragraph 4 ■ (explanation 3) In addition, it can be universally applied without worries about the language barrier. ■ (examples for explanation 3) Currently, Germany and Sweden have introduced this system.

Paragraph 5 ■ Topic Sentence: Nevertheless, there is opposition to this idea. ■ Supporting details: (example of opposition ) People in the food industry complain that this approach to food labeling is too simplistic. ■ (explanation for example of opposition) To them, giving exact figures to indicate nutrition facts for one serving is preferable.

Paragraph 5 ■ (example of support) Advocates of traffic light labels for food counter this argument by saying that simplicity is the virtue of this system. ■ (explanation for example of support) It makes finding information about food easy and obvious, lest consumers ignore the information just because reading nutrition facts takes time.

Paragraph 5 ■ Question: According to the paragraph, what is the tone of the author? (A) cynical (B) sarcastic (C) skeptical (D) objective

Paragraph 6 ■ Topic Sentence: In spite of the fact that not everyone supports traffic light labeling, this system does convey some important messages. ■ Supporting details: (reason 1) People should make better food choices, and healthy products should be encouraged.

Paragraph 6 ■ (reason 2) There are times when we are not sure if the food we buy might do harm to our health. ■ (method) With traffic light labels on the package of a food product, we can pause for thought, consider what we should choose, and then decide which items we should put in our shopping baskets.

Paragraph 6 ■ Conclusion: After all, we are what we eat. ■ Question: According to the paragraph, what is the tone of the author? (A)supportive (B) sarcastic (C) skeptical (D) indifferent (A) supportive