13. 1 11. What we eat greatly determines the state of our health. There is an old 2 English saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." There is a little bit of 3 truth in this, because although apples are not medicine, they do contain many 4 vitamins that the body needs. Of course, it's just as true for oranges and many 5 other fruits, but historically apples were probably the most common fruit that 6 people could eat in England, as they are today. Today, scientists are studying 7 the effects of different foods on the body. They are discovering more about 8 plants that are so good for the body that they can act as a medicine. 9 12. One fruit that people have always known to have medicinal 10 properties is the pomegranate. Now scientists know that one of 11 the reasons is that their seeds contain lots of antioxidants which 12 help prevent heart disease. In addition, researchers at Kingston 13 University have recently found that the skin of the pomegranate 14 contains chemicals which reduce the growth of bacteria in 15 hospitals. Some bacteria have been a serious problem there Pomegranate 16 because they evolved forms that are not affected by normal 17 antibiotics. These bacteria cause serious skin and blood 18 infections to people who are already weak from other illnesses. 19 One food that some people think has medicinal properties may surprise 20 you - it's chocolate! It's not milk chocolate with lots of sugar in it to make it 21 sweet. That isn't a healthy food. It's dark, unsweetened chocolate which 22 contains many chemicals that are good for you. As well as antioxidants, it also 23 contains serotonin that affects the brain, making you feel happier and 24 improving memory. Chocolate also contains endorphins which act as natural 25 painkillers, and caffeine which makes you more active. Ancient South American 26 people valued chocolate's medicinal properties and called it "the food of the 27 Gods." Of course, like any other medicine you mustn't take too much of it, and 28 certainly not sweetened milk chocolate that will make you fat and isn't good for 29 your teeth. 30 14. We all hope to stay healthy by eating food that is good for us, but what 31 do we do if we fall ill? Well, today of course, most people go to see a doctor 32 who will give them antibiotics or other medicine to make their sickness go 33 away. Not everyone goes to a doctor though. Some people prefer to go to a 34 herbalist, someone who uses medicines made from plants. Some plants have 35 evolved the natural ability to make chemicals that protect them from animals 36 that would otherwise eat them. Either they make the animal ill, or it makes the 37 plant taste unpleasant. By chance, some of these chemicals which would make 38 an animal ill turn out to work as medicines for people. Maybe this is not too 39 surprising, as researchers have discovered over 12,000 different chemicals in 40 plants, and this is thought to be only 10% of the total number. There may be 41 many more medicines yet to be discovered. 4215. Before modern medicine, people on all continents used plants as herbal 43 medicine. A man who had frozen to death in the mountains 5,300 years ago 44 was recently found. He had medicinal herbs with him, so we know that people 45 have been using them for a long time. Nobody is quite sure how people 46 discovered that some plants acted as a medicine. Some people think that it 47 started when someone saw sick animals eating food that they would not 48 normally eat. When they got well, early men would eat some too. Alternatively 49 perhaps someone discovered it by accident, and later told other people. 50 16. One popular method of taking the medicine is taking it as tea. Everyone 51 is familiar with black tea which was first drunk in China but not everyone 52 knows that tea contains over 700 different chemicals. Not only do some of 53 these lower the blood pressure but tea also contains a weak antibiotic. Some 54 researchers believe that it promoted early Chinese civilization, as drinking tea 55 reduced the chance of people falling sick, and also boiling the water killed 56 many other bacteria that caused diseases. Sage, an evergreen bush that grows 57 in the Mediterranean, also contains antibiotic chemicals and is prepared and 58 drunk in the same way as tea. It is said to be good for liver problems. 59 Peppermint is also said to have chemicals that promote good health, although 60 experts do not all agree on this. Perhaps it is because there are many different 61 varieties of peppermint, so the chemicals in each type may not be the same. 62 Peppermint has a pleasant taste though. Many people enjoy drinking it just for 63 its taste. 64 | 07. With so many plants seeming to have medicinal properties, and so many 65 chemicals undiscovered, some scientists are worried about the destruction of 66 the environment around the world. Not only are many chemicals in plants not 67 known, but there are many undiscovered plants too, especially in the tropical 68 region. Native people still continue to use these plants as medicine. Scientists 69 are now trying to contact them in order to study the plants that they are using 70 today. No-one knows what the next discovery will be, but if the past is a guide, 71 some plant will prove helpful to people. Question 1. What is the best title for this article? A. Healthy Eating. B. Medicinal Plants. C. Eating Fruit. D. Doctors. Questions 2-7 Are these statements true or false? Study the example, and then find the answers in the text. If the statement is true, put T and the line number(s). If the statement is false, put F and the line number(s). Example Our food and our health are strongly connected. Answer T/F Line T 1 2. Apples are common in England. 3. Researchers recently discovered that pomegranates have medicinal properties. 4. Some chocolate is good for you. 5. Everyone goes to see a doctor when they are ill. 6. People in America used plants as medicine. 7. People first drank tea in China. Questions 8 - 15 Answer the following questions using only 4 words or fewer. 8. What do antioxidants do? Answer: 9. What does the skin of the pomegranate reduce? Answer: 10. What do endorphins do? Answer: 11. How many different chemicals have been found in plants? Answer: 12. Why did boiling water affect people's health? Answer: 13. What is sage? Answer: 14. What problem is sage tea good for? Answer: 15. Why do many people enjoy drinking peppermint tea? Answer: Questions 16-18 What do the following words refer to? 16. They in line 7 refers to ................... 17. it in line 28 refers to 18. them in line 45 refers to Questions 19-20 Choose the best heading for each paragraph and write the letter in the box. 19. Paragraph 3 A. Medicinal Properties. B. Chocolate Surprise. C. Natural Medicine. 20. Paragraph 4 D. Plants. E. Sick Animals