Are Happy Meals Really Happy?
Don’t we all know a “Happy Meal” when we see one--the famous boxed meal that includes a hamburger, kid-sized French fries, fruits and milk, served with a toy that’s extremely popular with children who love to collect them?
A Happy Meal is a form of kids’ meal sold at a certain fast-food chain since 1979. A toy is included in the meal, both of which are usually contained in a box or paper bag. However, collectors of these little toys will not get them any longer, since the company will replace toys with books and each of these books will mainly pass on nutritional messages.
Happy Meals are extremely popular with kids, especially for their collectable toys, when you consider that over 1.3 billion of these packages are sold each year. These packages have been very controversial. Health supporters believe that drawing kids to these meals with toys is a clever way of promoting unhealthy food choices. They see it as an advertising a strategy of “catching its customers young”--a move that has paid off very well for the fast-food company.
Child development experts say that food habits get formed in children by age six and continue through to their adult life. Fatty and sugary foods such as those served in Happy Meals are believed to play a big role in growing health problems such as obesity and diabetes. Public health care costs have gone up and untold amounts of money have been spent on coping with these health problems. On November 2, 2010, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a law requiring that children’s meals sold in restaurants must meet certain nutritional standards before they could be sold with toys, to overcome the problem of childhood obesity--in other words, the State of California tried to ban the toys in Happy Meals. However, it was strongly opposed by some as being heavy-handed, and the ban was thrown out by the government.
While some people believe that the fast-food company, with its large following of children, can create a powerful message through the books, others believe its actions are contradictory. Anyway, the company is trying to spread the message of nutrition while it is serving food that is anything but healthy.
1.The aim of the question raised in Paragraph 1 is______.
A. give a surprise to the toy lovers B. get readers’ attention to the article
C. call on readers to buy boxed meals D. make readers think about the answer
2.Books will be added into Happy Meals to ______.
A. introduce the use of the toys B. increase the cost of the meals
C. help kids learn about nutrition D. spread the message of fast food
3.According to Paragraph 3, Happy Meals_______.
A. have achieved the desired result
B. help the customers stay young
C. cost more money than ordinary meals
D. receive approval from health supporters
4.What is the author’s opinion about Happy Meals?
A. They bring much fun to children.
B. They teach children a lot about nutrition
C. They do no actual good to children’s health.
D. They are popular with the young and the old.
Two graduates from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom found themselves about to graduate, yet with loans to pay off. The pair decided to begin a strange, year-long project to battle their debt.
The men, Ross Harper and Edward Moyse, set up the website BuyMyFace.com last October as a way to get rid of the £50,000 they shared as student loans. The idea behind the project was to earn money by selling their faces as advertising space every day for a year. Each day, they advertise a different business by painting the brand’s name or logo onto their faces and upload the pictures to the homepage of BuyMyFace.com, adding a link to the advertiser’s website and including a short piece of text about it. After they paint their faces and publish them on the website, Harper and Moyse go out to highly populated areas such as music festivals and theme parks to maximize their faces’ exposure. They hope more people will pay attention to the advertisements on their faces.
At this time, Harper and Moyse have advertised their faces for over four months without skipping a day and they’re more than halfway to their goal. Though they first started charging a minimum of about £1.60 per company, the prices have risen as their popularity increases. For advertising space during the rest of April, they range between £250 and £750. Terri L. Rittenburg, associate professor of marketing at the University of Wyoming, said that she had heard of people tattooing (纹身) logos on themselves before, but this idea is much better. According to her, at first the idea would be new and unusual and attract attention. People are interested in this particular style of advertisement and would like to try what they advertise. But she is unsure how long it would last.
At least for now, companies that have bought Harper and Moyse’s faces have written positive comments on the pair’s website. “We had a three percent increase in website traffic on the very day and for two days more afterwards,” said one of the companies.
1.At BuyMyFace.com,you can ______.
A. enjoy a good chat with your friends B. buy everything you want to have
C. share experiences in doing business D. get information on certain goods
2.Harper and Moyse go to highly populated areas to ______.
A. offer their help B. make more friends C. show their faces D. raise more money
3.We can infer from the passage that the two young men ______.
A. get on well with their project B. work hard except on holidays
C. plan to open their own company D. may close their website in future
4.Why does the men’s idea of advertising prove to work?
A. Because an expert has highly praised them.
B. Because people find it unique and appealing.
C. Because the products they advertise are reliable.
D. Because they receive great help from businesses.
Here are our suggestions for keeping busy this week. Dive in!
Take to the waves in Southampton
Always fancied trying your hand at sailing? Now’s your chance. The Southampton Boat Show has plenty of opportunities for visitors to get out on the water to experience boat sailing, power boating or taking a ride on a RIB ― all for free.
Discover an island on the Thames
To celebrate Totally Thames, a month-long festival is held at various locations across London. We’ve discovered 21 of the river’s most fascinating islands ― all of them with interesting stories to tell. Make the most of it with our map here.
Catch great films in Bristol
Over six days, Encounters Film Festival screens up to 400 films from over 60 different countries. The Bristol festival provides a platform for international filmmakers, and offers a gateway to the likes of the BAFTAs, Oscars and European Film Awards. See here for full details.
Get scientific in London
Experience the latest, best and most challenging science covering all areas of our lives and universe at New Scientist Live at ExCel London. New Scientist Live is a four-day festival full of ideas and discoveries from the team behind the world’s most popular science weekly magazine, featuring four zones ― Brain & Body, Technology, Earth and Universe ― as well as talks from experts and over 200 exhibitors.
1.Which is the most suitable for sailing lovers?
A. Take to the waves in Southampton.
B. Discover an island on the Thames.
C. Catch great films in Bristol.
D. Get scientific in London.
2.What is New Scientist Live?
A. A science weekly magazine.
B. A festival to celebrate great scientists.
C. An exhibition to show scientific discoveries.
D. A festival where ideas and discoveries are shared.
3.Where can you find the text?
A. On a noticeboard. B. On a website.
C. In a newspaper. D. In a book review.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.How many hours a week can employees choose to work?
A. Eighteen. B. Thirty-two. C. Forty-eight.
2.What will the new schedule help solve for the country?
A. Unemployment. B. Low salary. C. Workload.
3.What benefit will employees get from the new schedule?
A. Higher pay. B. More spare time. C. Richer working experience.
4.What does the speaker think of the new schedule?
A. Acceptable B. Costly. C. Impractical.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Why did the woman come to the office?
A. To get her notice letter.
B. To find her physics class.
C. To offer her mailing address.
2.How did the man deal with the woman’s enquiry?
A. By giving her a notice letter.
B. By checking on the computer.
C. By confirming with the office.
3.When was the letter sent out to the students?
A. A month ago. B. A fortnight ago. C. A week ago.
4.Who was responsible for the mistake?
A. The woman. B. The man. C. The postman.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Where does the conversation take place?
A. In an office. B. In the street. C. On the subway.
2.What’s the relationship between the two speakers?
A. Colleagues. B. Strangers. C. Roommates.
3.What are the two speakers mainly talking about?
A. High price of gas.
B. Importance of exercise.
C. Advantages of taking the subway.
