Download Note: The following texts are for the master students who are

Note: The following texts are for the master students who are preparing for the English state
exam. The texts will be followed by reading comprehension and vocabulary exercises. Also will
be added speaking and grammar tasks in the exam.
Хүнсний сургууль
School of Food and Biotechnology
Text 1
WHY WE NEED FOOD
All foods – from apples and pears to whole meal bread and ice cream – contain two main
categories of nutrients, the macronutrients and the micronutrients.
Macronutrients are required in large amount for healthy growth and development;
they form the basis of every diet and they provide energy for all the body’s everyday functions
and activities. These nutrients are further categorized as being primarily fats, proteins,
carbohydrates, or fiber, although most foods contain all of them in varying proportions.
Vitamins and minerals make up the micronutrients, so called because they are found in
tiny amount in foods. Unlike macronutrients, vitamins and minerals do not provide energy and
are needed in small amounts, but they play a critical role in the normal functioning of the body
and digestive processes, to ensure good health.
Take a look at what you eat in an average day: the chances are that your diet includes a
wide variety of foods from all the basic food groups, and that it provides a range of essential
nutrients. Your breakfast, for example may be rich in carbohydrates and fiber from cereal or
wholemeal toast; you may have a mixed salad for your lunch, and grilled fish and vegetables for
dinner providing proteins and a variety of vitamins and minerals. Whatever you eat at individual
meals, your diet is made up of foods from the five basic food groups.
In addition to supplying nutrients, food provides your body with energy. Approximately
half to two-thirds of the energy we obtain from food goes to support the body’s basic,
involuntary functions, which are the activities that are performed without any conscious control,
such as heart rate, maintaining breathing, and body temperature. The minimum energy needed to
carry out these functions is determined by your basal metabolic rate which is your baseline rate
of metabolism measured when the body is at rest. You also expand energy through conscious,
voluntary activities, which range from the sedentary to the strenuous. All your body’s energy
needs are met from your body’s energy stores.
Text 2
FOOD SOURCES
Almost all foods are of plant or animal origin, although there are some exceptions. Foods
not coming from animal or plant sources include various edible fungi, including mushrooms.
Fungi and ambient bacteria are used in the preparation of fermented and pickled foods such as
leavened bread, wine, beer, cheese, pickles, and yogurt. Additionally, salt is often eaten as a
flavoring or preservative, and baking soda is used in food preparation. Both of these are
inorganic substances, as is water, an important part of human diet.
Plants: Many plants or plant parts are eaten as food. There are around 2,000 plant species
which are cultivated for food, and many have several distinct cultivars. Plant-based foods can be
classified as with the nutrients necessary for the plant’s initial growth. Because of this, seeds are
often packed with energy, and are good sources of food for animals, including humans.
Fruits are the ripened extensions of plants, including the seeds within. Fruits are made
attractive to animals so that animals will eat the fruits and excrete the seeds over long distances.
Fruits, therefore, make up a significant part of the diets of most cultures. Some fruits, such as
pumpkin and eggplant, are eaten as vegetables. Vegetables are a second type of plant matter
eaten as food. These include root vegetables (such as potatoes and carrots), leaf vegetables (such
as spinach and lettuce), stem vegetables (such as bamboo shoots and asparagus), and in Florence
vegetables (such as globe artichokes and broccoli). Many herbs and spices are highly-flavorful
vegetables.
Animals: can be used as food either directly or indirectly by the products they produce.
Meat is an example of a direct product taken from an animal, which comes from either muscle
systems or from organ. Food products produced by animals include milk produced by mammals,
which in many cultures is drunk or processed into dairy products such as cheese or butter.
Preparation: While some food can be eaten raw, many foods undergo some form of
preparation for reasons of safety, palatability, or flavor. At the simplest level this may involve
washing, cutting, trimming or adding other foods or ingredients, such as spices. It may also
involve mixing, heating or cooling, pressure cooking, fermentation, or combination with other
food. In a home, most food preparation takes place in a kitchen. A meal is made up of food
which is prepared to be eaten at a specific time and place. The preparation of animal-based food
will usually involve slaughter, evisceration, hanging, portioning and rendering. In developed
countries, this is usually done outside the home in slaughterhouses which are used to process
animals mass for meat production. On the local level a butcher may commonly break down
larger animal meat into smaller manageable cuts and pre-wrapped for commercial sale or
wrapped to order in butcher paper. In addition fish and seafood may be fabricated into smaller
cuts by a fish monger at the local level. However fish butchery may be done on board a fishing
vessel and quick-froze for preservation of quality.
Text 3
VITAMINS
These are naturally occurring chemicals essential for health. For many of us, the word
“vitamin” conjures up the shelves of the local chemist, or perhaps the fortified cereals that we eat
for breakfast each morning. But these chemical substances occur naturally, in minute quantities,
in most of the foods that we eat on food sources to meet our vitamin needs.
Although vitamins contain no calories, they are essential for normal growth and
development, and many chemical reactions in the body. Vitamins are necessary for the food to
use the calories provided by the food that we eat and help process proteins carbohydrates, and
fats. Vitamins are also involved in building cells, tissues, and organs- vitamin C, for example,
helps produce healthy skin. Vitamins are classified as fat-soluble or water-soluble, based on how
they are absorbed by the body. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble vitamins include vitamin
C and the B-complex vitamins.
Research has shown that foods rich in antioxidants are particularly beneficial for health.
Antioxidants include vitamins A, C, and E, and they are found in a wide range of vegetables and
fruits.
For the most part, we rely on food sources or supplements to meet our vitamin and
mineral requirements. However, there are a few exceptions to this; for example, gut flora (the
micro-organisms in the intestinal tract) produce vitamin K. Vitamin D is also converted by the
skin into a form that the body can use with the help of ultraviolet light in sun light.
Because your body makes only a few vitamins itself, a balanced diet is very important –
it ensures that your body receives the sufficient amount of vitamins, as well as minerals, that it
requires each day.
The key to getting enough vitamins in your diet is to eat a variety of foods. This is
because while some nutrients tend to be found in substantial amounts in certain groups of foods,
such as vitamin C in fruits and vegetables, other nutrients, such as the B vitamins, are found in
smaller amounts in a wide range of foods. No one food contains an adequate amount of all the
vitamins that you require daily, but if you make healthy choices from a variety of foods, you are
less likely to miss out on any one particular nutrient.
Most people buy the same foods each week, which can result in a limited range of
vitamin. For example eat two apricots instead of one orange, for a boost of vitamin A. Or choose
salmon on your bagel instead of your usual cream cheese, to boost your intake of vitamin D.
Buying vegetables and fruits in season also helps to vary your shopping choices.
Text 4
FAT
Part of a group of compounds known as lipids, and composed of the elements carbon
oxygen, and hydrogen, fats are found mainly in plants, fish, and meats. They form a major part
of all cell membranes in the body and play a vital role in the absorption of the fat –soluble
vitamins A,D,E, and K from foods.
Fat gives the body insulation, helping to maintain a constant temperature against
extremes of hot and cold. It is also serves as an important source of energy.
Lipids and lipoproteins: In addition to fats, lipids include phospholipids, triglycerides, waxes,
and sterols. The most well-known sterol is cholesterols which circulate in the blood attached to
compound known as lipoproteins. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL), which carry cholesterol to
tissues and organs, are often called “bad” cholesterol, since high levels in the blood are
associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. High-density lipoproteins (HDL),
which carry cholesterol away from the tissues and back to the liver, are known as “good”
cholesterol, since high levels decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Fats are also referred to as good or bad according to whether their chemical bonds are
“saturated” with hydrogen. Unsaturated fats are further classified into mono-and polyunsaturates,
which differ in their nutritional makeup.
Avoid saturated fats: With the exception of palm and coconut oils, most saturated fats are
derived from animal and dairy products. Red meat and meat products such as sausages are major
sources of saturated fat in the diet, along with whole milk and its products, such as cheese,
cream, and ice cream.
Excessive intake of saturated fats and trans fatty acids are now believed to increase the
risk of cardiovascular disease by raising the unhealthy LDL and triglycerides in the blood,
without lowering healthy HDL levels.
Polyunsaturated fats consist of two major types: omega – 3 fatty acids, founds in fish oils
and omega -6 fatty acids, found in vegetable oils such as sunflower, rapeseed, and corn. Your
diet should include both types.
Text 5
MINERALS
These are substances originating in rocks and metal ores. Many minerals are essential for
health. We obtain them by eating plants, which take up minerals from the soil, by eating animals
that have eaten plants and, to some extent, by drinking water that contains minerals.
Minerals are needed by the body in only tiny quantities and are termed macrominerals or
microminerals, according to the percentage of your total body weight they constitute and how
much you need in your daily diet.
Macrominerals make up more than 0.005 percent of the body’s weight and you need to be
getting more than 100mg of these daily. They include calcium, magnesium, phosphorous,
potassium, sodium, and sulphur. Microminerals, which are also known as trace elements, make
up less than 0.005 percent of the body’s weight and you need less than 100 mg daily. Those
microminerals with identified roles in health include chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron,
selenium, and zinc.
Minerals work together in making and breaking down body tissues and breaking down
body tissues and in regulating metabolism-the chemical reactions constantly occurring in the
body. Bone, for example consists of a framework of the protein collagen in which most of the
body’s calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium are deposited. Minerals are stored in your bones so
that in the event of a dietary deficiency, some of the minerals can be released from the bones for
the body’s needs. The teeth also contain significant amount of the minerals calcium and
phosphorus. Minerals are found in many key molecules in the body and are involved in essential
chemical reaction. For example, calcium activates a digestive enzyme that helps to break down
fats; copper is needed to incorporate iron into hemoglobin.
No single food is the best source of all of the minerals, but eating a variety of foods usually
ensures that you get enough of these important nutrients. In addition, the body can store minerals
for future use when intake might be low.
Animal foods are generally the best sources of minerals because they tend to contain
minerals in the proportions our bodies need. Fruits and vegetables can be useful sources of some
minerals such as potassium. Mineral water can be a source of minerals including magnesium.
Minerals are often lost when a food is processed. For example, potassium, iron, and
chromium are removed from whole grains during the refining process.
Minerals differ from vitamins in that they are not damaged by heat or light, that but some
can be lost in the water used for cooking. To help preserve the mineral content of vegetables,
avoid boiling them. Instead, steam them if possible or use the microwave, and keep the cooking
time short. If you do boil, wait until the water is bubbling before you add the vegetables: if you
put them in cold water and then bring it to the boil, more nutrients will be lost.
Text 6
FRUITS FOR HEALTH
Fruits – naturally sweet, colourful, high in vitamins and fibre, and low in calories and fat
– are the ideal snack. Scientific research shown that a modest increase of one or two servings of
fruit per day can dramatically reduce your susceptibility to many diseases.
Rich in antioxidants: Vitamin C and phytochemicals, including antioxidants, abound in fruit.
Antioxidants destroy harmful substances in the body, called free radicals, which can build up and
cause cancer. Of particular interest are two types of phytochemicals – flavonoids and
polyphenols – which together have a powerful antioxidant quality. In addition, other
phytochemicals in fruit have been found to be anti-allergenic, anti- carcinogenic, anti- viral, and
anti- inflammatory.
We truly do have a reason to say that an apple (or any fruit) a day keeps the doctor away.
Benefits of different fruits: Fruits are rich in vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin
C and potassium, and in fibre. Eat a variety to reap their individual nutritional benefits.
Apples: The skin of this refreshing fruit is an excellent source of fibre. A medium apple
has about 47 calories.
Apricots: Due to a short life span once picked, most apricots are dried or canned. A fresh
apricot has about 12 calories.
Bananas: Technically a herb and hot a fruit, a medium banana (100g) contains 95
calories and is loaded with vitamins and minerals.
Blueberries: These delicious fruits are rich in antioxidants and help prevent urinary tract
infections. There are about 50 calories in 80g blueberries.
Grapes: 80g contains 48 calories, with vitamins A and C and minerals.
Kiwi fruit: A medium kiwi fruit 60g has 29 calories and offers a good range of vitamins.
Melon: This is rich in a form of carotene that is known to fight cancer. A slice of melon
(100g) has 24 calories.
Peaches: A medium peach 100g has about 33 calories, and offers vitamin C and D plus
potassium.
Pears: A medium peach (100) has about 33 calories, and offers vitamins C and D plus
potassium.
Pineapple: This fruit contains a potent enzyme, bromelain that has been used to aid
digestion, reduce inflammation, and help cardiovascular disease. A large size 80g has 33
calories.
Plums: A medium plum 55g has 20calories. Plums are a good source of vitamins C and
offer potassium too.
Raisins and sultanas: Being so rich in sugar, these dried fruits are an excellent source of
energy: 1 tablespoon contains 82 calories.
Raspberries: There are nearly 1000 varieties of raspberries. They provide 20 calories per
80g.
Watermelon: A slice 200g of this refreshing melon contains 62 calories plus vitamin C
and some carotenoids.
Text 7
THE BENEFITS OF DAIRY PRODUCTS
Milk and its products are excellent sources of protein, vitamins, and minerals – most
particularly of calcium, which is essential for healthy bones and teeth.
The varieties of milk: Although cow’s milk is the most common in the UK, sheep’s and
goat’s milk are available too, as are plant- based substitutes such as soya milk and rice milk.
Cow’s milk is processed in a variety of ways to create products that vary in nutritional content
and storage capability. Fat content is one of the most important distinctions, varying from whole
or full-fat milk (which contains 3.9 percent fat) to through semi-skimmed (1.6 percent) to
skimmed.
Special milks are available for people with specific dietary needs, such as lactose
intolerance. Milk is also available in UHT (ultra –heat-treated), dried, evaporated, and condensed
forms, which are useful for cooking.
Cheese is in concentrated form, which is why cheese is such a great source of the
important nutrients found in milk. It’s also the reason why cheese has such high saturated fat
content. As with milk, the solution is simply to opt for reduced fat and low –fat varieties, which
contain the vital nutrients while limiting unhealthy saturated fat.
Yogurt is another milk product, made by treating milk with a bacterial culture. Yogurt is
rich in protein and vitamin B2, and contains living bacteria that are healthy for your digestive
system. It is available in many different types and, as with other milk products, the lower fat
varieties are the healthier choice.
Choosing the right milk: Most milk consumed in the world is cow’s milk. However, other
milks are available as healthy alternatives.
Cow’s milk: Whole or full-fat milk has 7.8 g of fat per 200ml serving and 132 calories.
Calcium content is slightly less than that in lower fat varieties.
Goat’s milk: With slightly less lactose than cow’s milk, goat’s milk contains more
vitamins A, B6, and calcium, potassium, copper, and selenium. Full-fat goat’s milk has about
the same amount of fat as cow’s milk, but there are skimmed versions.
Sheep’s milk: Rich in protein, fat, and minerals, sheep’s milk is not widely available. It is
most often found made into cheese and yogurt.
Soya milk: This is good for people with lactose intolerance as it doesn’t contain any
lactose or casein. A 200ml glass contains almost 6.0g of protein, 4.8g of fat, no cholesterol, and
86 calories. Soya milk is not a good natural source of calcium or vitamin B12, so choose a
fortified variety.
Rice milk: This is a good substitute for semi-skimmed cow’s milk for people who have
allergies or who are lactose-intolerant.
Oat milk: Lactose- and cholesterol-free, and low in fat. Choose varieties fortified with
calcium and vitamin D.
Almond milk: Lactose-free and low in saturated fat, almond milk is also very low in
sugar.
Text 8
FAST FOOD IN AMERICA
The modern history of fast-food in America began on July 7, 1912 with the opening of a
fast food restaurant called the Automat in New York. The Automat was a cafeteria with its
prepared foods behind small glass windows and coin-operated slots. Joseph Horn and Frank
Hardart had already opened an Automat in Philadelphia, but their “Automat” at Broadway and
13th Street, in New York City, created a sensation. Numerous Automat restaurants were quickly
built around the country to deal with the demand. Automats remained extremely popular
throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s. The company also popularized the notion of “take-out” food,
with their slogan “Less work for Mother”. The American company White Castle is generally
credited with opening the second fast-food outlet in Wichita, Kansas in 1921, selling hamburgers
for five cents apiece. Among its innovations, the company allowed customers to see the food
being prepared. White Castle later added five holes to each beef patty to increase its surface area
and speed cooking times. White Castle was successful from its inception and spawned numerous
competitors.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s, the largest fast-food chain in the world and the brand most associated with
the term “fast food,” was founded as a barbecue drive-in in 1940 by Dick and Mac McDonald.
After discovering that most of their profits came from hamburgers, the brothers closed their
restaurant for three months and reopened it in 1948 as a walk-up stand offering a simple menu of
hamburgers, French fries, shakes, coffee, and Coca-Cola, served in disposable paper wrapping.
As a result, they were able to produce hamburgers and fries constantly, without waiting for
customer orders, and could serve them immediately; hamburgers cost 15 cents, about half the
price at a typical diner. Their streamlined production method, which they named the “Speeded
Service System” was influenced by the production line innovations of Henry Ford. The
McDonalds’ stand was the milkshake machine company’s biggest customer and a milkshake
salesman named Ray Kroc traveled to California to discover the secret to their high-volume
burger-and-shake operation. Kroc thought he could expand their concept, eventually buying the
McDonalds’ operation outright in 1961 with the goal of making cheap, ready-to-go hamburgers,
French fries and milkshakes a nationwide business.
Kroc was the mastermind behind the rise of McDonald’s as a national chain. The first
part of his plan was to promote cleanliness in his restaurants. Kroc often took part at his own Des
Plaines, Illinois, outlet by hosing down the garbage cans and scraping gum off the cement. Kroc
also added great swaths of glass which enabled the customer to view the food preparation. This
was very important to the American public which became quite germ conscious. A clean
atmosphere was only part of Kroc’s grander plan which separated McDonald’s from the rest of
the competition and attributes to their great success. Kroc envisioned making his restaurants
appeal to families of suburbs. “Where White Tower (one of the original fast food restaurants)
had tied hamburgers to public transportation and the workingman...McDonald’s tied hamburgers
to the car, children, and the family.
Text 9
FOOD FOR DIFFERENT CULTURE
Have you ever stopped to really think about what you and your family eats every day and
why? Have you ever stopped to think what other people eat? In the movie Indiana Jones the
Temple of Doom, there are two scene in which the two lead characters are offered meals from a
different culture. One meal, meant to break the ice consisted of insects. The second meal was a
lavish banquet that featured such delicacies as roasted beetles, live snake, eyeball soup, and
chilled monkey brains for dessert. Some cultures eat such things as vipers and rattlesnakes, bush
rats, dog meat, horsemeat bats, animal heart, liver, eyes, and
insects of all sorts. Sound good?
The manner in which food is selected, prepared, presented and eaten often differs by
culture. One man’s pet is another person‘s delicacy– dog, anyone? Americans love beef, yet it is
forbidden to Hindus, while the forbidden food in Moslem and Jewish cultures is normally pork,
eaten extensively by the Chinese and others. In large cosmopolitan cities, restaurants often cater
to diverse diets and offer “national” dishes to meet varying cultural tastes. Feeding habits also
differ, and the range goes from hands and chopsticks to fill sets of cutlery. Even when cultures
use a utensil such as a fork, one can distinguish a European from an American by which hand
holds the implement. Subcultures, too, can be analyzed from this perspective, such as the
executive dinning room, the soldiers mess …or the ladies tea room, and the vegetarian’s
restaurant.
Often the different among cultures in the foods they eat are related to the difference in
geography and local resources. People who live near water (the sea, lakes, and rivers) tend to eat
more fish and crustaceans. People who live in colder climates tend to eat heavier fatty foods.
However with the development of a global economy, food boundaries and difference are
beginning to dissipate: McDonalds is now on every continent except Antarctica, and tofu and
yogurt are served all over the world.
Text 10
FISH AND SHELLFISH
Eating fish twice a week reduces your risk of heart disease. Low in both total and
saturated fat content, fish and shellfish are excellent sources of protein and vitamins, so you
should try to include them in your diet at least twice a week. Fish and shellfish are high in
important nutrients, such as vitamins B1, B6, niacin, and D and some are rich in omega – 3 fatty
acids.
Benefits of fish: Ever since it was discovered that people such as Inuite, who eat a diet
based on fish, have a low incidence of cardiovascular disease, the link between eating fish and
reduced risk of heart attack has been a hot topic.
Shellfish is healthy: This food source has acquired a bad reputation because some
shellfish contain a high level of cholesterol. However we now know that cholesterol levels in the
blood are related to the intake of saturated fat rather than to eating cholesterol – rich foods.
When handled properly, fish and shellfish are as safe to eat as any other source of protein.
Most harmful microbes found in fish are destroyed during cooking.
Choosing fish for omega – fatty acids: Oil rich fish such as sardines, mackerel, and
salmon contain healthy fat called omega-3 fatty acids. This fat is believed to reduce the risk of
your developing cardiovascular disease by increasing the levels of “good” cholesterol in the
body and lowering the levels of “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides. All fish and shellfish contain
some omega -3 fatty acids, but the amount can vary. Generally, the fattier fish contain more than
the leaner fish, but the proportion of omega-3 fatty acids can vary considerably between fish
species.