Real English Conversation: junk food (part 1 of 3)

Posted on April 6, 2007
Filed under Listening, Real English conversations, Upper intermediate |

 
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Introduction
Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations from BetterAtEnglish.com. In today’s conversation, which is the first of three parts, my English friend Michael and I talk about junk food and television advertising. Before you listen to the conversation, you might want to warm up and activate your existing vocabulary by thinking about the following questions:

1) What is junk food anyway, and how does it differ from healthy food?
2) Do junk food ads on TV influence you in any way?
3) Do you think that junk food ads should be banned on TV when children are likely to be watching?
4) What challenges do parents face when trying to get their children to eat healthy food instead of junk food?

If you want to read along as you listen, you can find the full transcript and vocabulary notes on our website, www.BetterAtEnglish.com.

OK, here we go with the conversation!

Conversation Transcript

Michael: You know, I was reading an article just yesterday in the news that the government in England is bringing in a law to make it illegal to show TV advertisements for junk food. On any…

Lori: Really?

M: …but on any programmes that are targeted at the under-16s, so kids’ programmes…

L: Ah ha.

M: Umm, they’re going to completely outlaw it, umm…and…and… I mean, junk food, I mean, it’s anything — that’s from McDonalds to any kind of food that’s high in fat or sugar or anything like that — it’s…and it’s something that people have been talking about for years, you know, that…that…how bad junk food is for people.

L: Right.

M: Umm…but I was just really amazed that the government is taking such a strong action you know, just something across the board.

L: Yeah.

M: You know, umm…but I think…errr…from what I can remember, the advertising standards were…people were saying that they wanted to ban all junk food ads before 9 o’clock.

L: Ah ha.

M: Which…which in…in…in Britain, we have this thing called the…the “9pm watershed.”

L: Right.

M: I don’t know if you’re familiar with that?

L: Yeah, I think it’s the same…In the…the States, they talk about a watershed.

M: Right…right it’s sort of like after…after 9pm then they’re allowed to show more “adult” programmes, where they have maybe nudity and violence and things like that, so…

L: Yeah, all that good stuff!

[Laughter]

M: So, umm…You know, but it…I just thought that it was really amazing that the government would take such a strong stance because…errr…do you remember the film…ahh…what’s it called? The…the…the one…ummm… Supersize Me?

L: Oh yeah, yeah, the documentary.

M: Yeah, the documentary that they…

L: Yeah.

M: You know, I mean, I don’t see how anybody could watch that documentary, see the evidence and then try to deny how unhealthy junk food is.

L: Right…well you have to remember that was a study of “n=1” and, I mean, that there…there was probably some bias going into it, so I mean…

M: Oh…yeah…

L: …as far as a scientific study goes, you know, you…you really couldn’t…couldn’t…umm read too much into that, but I mean, it is suggestive, it does suggest that… that you know, that junk food isn’t good for us, and it’s basic sound…principles of sound nutrition…

M: Right, yeah.

L: ..that if you’re eating a lot of processed, carbohydrates and sugars…

M: Yeah, sugary, yeah.

L: …and fats and no fiber and no vegetables and…

M: Yeah.

L: …especially in such huge quantities.

M: Right…right, I mean it’s…it’s the thing with the advertising though is that ummm…with the junk food manufacturers targeting young kids…

L: Mmm.

M: Ummm…I mean, this is something that…that advertisers have been doing for years because they know that if you can get in…into…appeal to a child, then the child will go to his or her parents…

L: Oh sure.

M: and say “Mum, Dad, I…you know, I… I want to go and have a McDonald’s Happy Meal or, I want to go to Burger King.”

L: No, tha…that’s not what they will do, they would say “Mom, Dad, can’t we eat at McDonald’s? Mom please? All the other kids can eat at McDonald’s!”

M: [Laughs] Right! And…and then when Mum and Dad say errr… “Well no, because we ate at McDonald yesterday! Umm…”
[Laughs] “Let’s have something…” push something healthy on the children, the…the kids don’t…they don’t want to know, because the…you know, McDonald’s is portrayed as something that is cool, and of course it’s yummy! I mean…

L: Yeah.

M: I think McDonald’s is yummy!

L: Junk food is yummy! Are you kidding?

M: Yeah! Umm…

L: Given the choice between junk food and…and healthy food…

M: Salad?

L: Just…just, yeah, well, I love salads, that’s…that’s the weird thing is I really, truly love a good salad.

M: OK.

L: But even so, given the choice between a really yummy, good salad…

M: Yeah, well I like…I like salad too, but on…on my burger…

L: …and a big, honking, stinking great pizza full of all my favorite toppings…

M: Right.

L: I mean, I would have to be really in the mood for salad for me to choose the salad over the pizza.

M: Yeah, yeah I think that’s but it…it’s kind of…

L: Or the ice cream sundae.

M: Aaahhh! Now…

[laughter]

M: You’re bringing out the heavy artillery there!

L: Yeah…yeah.

M: Yeah, but it…I think it’s umm…I think this is the only way that they can…they can tackle something like this because I’ve seen this situation too many times, and…and what parent err…really wants to be saying “no” to their…their child and being a killjoy all the time?

L: Well there’s another more sinister aspect of the whole thing is that, you know, imagine being a parent and you’ve worked all day long at your job that maybe you don’t like so much and that drains so much of your energy, and then when you come home and you have the choice, “I can either go into the kitchen and start cutting up vegetables and…spending an hour preparing a healthy home-cooked meal for my family…”

M: Yup.

L: “…or, I can give them what they’re telling me that they want by just stopping at McDonald’s on the way home from work or, you know, some other fast food, or popping a frozen dinner in the oven… and giving them what they want.” I mean it just makes it that much easier to…

M: Of course, of course.

L: …to resist doing the right thing

Final Words
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Real English Conversations at BetterAtEnglish.com. Before signing off, I’d like to thank the anonymous listener who sent me the book, “Grammar for English Language Teachers” by Martin Parrott. I really love the book. For any listeners who are native or near-native speakers, either teachers or learners, who are interested in a comprehensive book about English grammar, I can highly recommend this one. It’s even got exercises and key so you can test yourself as you learn.

If you missed my announcement last week, Better at English has a new sister site, UncensoredEnglish.com, where Michael and I discuss all the naughty slang, swear words and other topics that some listeners here might find offensive. That way we can keep B@E fairly clean, and really go for it on a separate site. You can find the new site at www.uncensoredenglish.com. Thanks for listening, and for your continued donations. Your donations and support make our shows possible.

Bye for now!

Vocabulary notes

the under-16s
The group of people who are under 16 years old. You can also talk about the over-16s. Any age group can be referred to this way, e.g., the over-65s, the under-30s.
taking such a strong action
To do something severe. Notice that take and strong collocate (go together) with action in this case.
across the board
Complete, affecting every level of something. The ban is on all foods considered junk food, not just ice cream and candy.
watershed
The time (usually 9 pm in the UK, 10 pm in the USA) after which programs not generally suitable for children can be shown on TV.
take such a strong stance
to take a stance means to have a certain opinion or way of thinking about something, usually that you express publicly. Notice that take and strong collocate with stance.
n=1
In scientific studies, n is used to denote the number of people who participated in the study. An n=1 study would be a study of only one person, a sample size of 1.
bias
Bias is the tendency to let your personal beliefs and preferences influence you when you are supposed to be neutral. If scientific studies are biased, it means that the scientists let their personal beliefs and agendas influence the results.
read too much into
to read something into something means to believe that an action, event or remark is more important or significant, even if it is not necessarily true.
sound
In this case, sound (adj) means valid and in agreement with accepted views
mom / mum
Mother. In American English, mothers are moms. In British English, they’re mums.
yummy
Delicious, tasty. Often used by children, but even by adults in informal situations.
Are you kidding?
Are you kidding means are you joking? But in this case, it is used to ad emphasis to the truth of Lori’s utterance, i.e., “I’m not joking, I’m being very serious!”
honking
Am.E slang for large.
stinking great
Br.E slang for extremely large. Stinking can also be used alone as an adverb, for example in the phrase “stinking rich” (extremely rich).
bringing out the heavy artillery
Literally, heavy artillery is a class of very large and powerful military guns, usually moved on wheels or metal tracks. In this case, “bringing out the heavy artillery” means doing or saying something as a means of impressing, arguing, or persuading.
killjoy
a killjoy is someone who spoils the pleasure of other people.
sinister
The main sense of sinister is evil. In this case, Lori talking about a general feeling of apprehension or worry.
popping
Informal for to put. To pop something in(to) something = to quickly put something in(to) something.

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Comments

14 Responses to “Real English Conversation: junk food (part 1 of 3)”

  1. Flavio on April 9th, 2007 05:58

    Hello Lori, first congratulations.. I’m very impressed with this site, everything here is extremely interesting.. and useful.. I’m from Brazil.. and I will always be here.. ok? learning of Better At English.. bye..

  2. Lori on April 10th, 2007 01:28

    Thanks, Flavio — I really appreciate your taking the time to let us know. Good luck with your continued learning! :)

  3. Kristof on April 13th, 2007 08:09

    Hej Lori,

    Very impressive conversation and a very well chosen topic as well. Let’s just say that I’m a superuser at Mc Donalds because I go there once a week. Sometimes for a quick burger in between meals, sometimes for a few burgers instead of a meal.

    Love the fact that you brought back the transcription!

  4. Lori on April 14th, 2007 00:47

    Kristof, even I like the little MacD’s cheeseburgers now and then — with extra ketchup! When on bicycle tours, I make a point of going through at least one MacD’s drive-through on my bike. I get a kick out of silly things like that.

    I’ve streamlined the transcription process, so it’s not THAT much more work to do the html. And the results of the poll show that a significant portion of readers/listeners like having the transcription on the site. We do aim to please :-)

  5. Deivis on April 25th, 2007 20:49

    Hi Lori!… I love this site. I think that this site is the best!…

    Before, I didn’t know anything about english but I have learned listening your convesations and reading while the transcript.

    By the way, I’m just learning and I would like to have more interesting episodes in the intermediate level.

    Thank you!

    Take care.

    Deivis.

  6. Lori on April 25th, 2007 23:56

    Hi Deivis,
    Thanks for your comments! Glad you’re finding some use for our shows — it’s a pleasure to serve you :-)

    To be honest, my podcast levels are a big fat guess; I just listen to the show and look at the vocab and try to make a rough estimate. If you could tell me specifically what would make the shows seem like an “intermediate” level, I’ll be happy to arrange more of that for you (and other intermediate listeners). I know it’s a hard question, but your thoughts would be really useful!

  7. Nima on May 7th, 2007 00:00

    hello there…

    first of all i have to thank you guys for your great website and all the effort you’re putting in to it…

    I was trying to download “junk-food.pdf” part 1 series from your website… but unfortunately it seems there is a problem with the server… so if you could help me..I’ll be so grateful…

    thanks!

  8. Lori on May 8th, 2007 02:49

    Hi Nima,
    Thanks, there was a problem with one of the links. It is fixed now :)

  9. Dawoni on July 19th, 2007 11:00

    it was amazing~
    haha
    im from Korea and im 12 years old.^^
    im big fan~
    i will wait for more and more good episodes..
    bb

  10. christopher on September 11th, 2007 10:07

    hi Lori, I am from India.ITs amazing,good and useful site.

  11. Val on January 30th, 2009 23:00

    Hi Lori!!

    Dear, you are doing a GREAT job! I learn so much while listening to your podcasts and reading the transcripts (it´s a big support!) The only problem is that I spend much time in my car, driving all day long so I would really appreciate having some records of your conversations there. I guess you have already been asked about it but I was not able to find any comments on if there is any possibility to download and record the conversations?

    Thank you in advance!
    Warmest regards
    Val

  12. Jorge on March 16th, 2009 19:26

    this is really cool…
    im learning english by this way and its a great support for me..coming here and start reading…i mean i really needed a source where to get converzations from…and start using usual words on my speaking…
    thank u
    and keep doing it haha

  13. xkavik on April 10th, 2009 11:08

    Hi Dear, really good job you guys doing. This is one of the better way of learning english. This is the one what I expected to read earlier. it could be appreciated, if possible to make it in audio. So many people like me get benefited.

    Thanks,

  14. carlos on April 15th, 2009 01:56

    Hi Lori,
    I’ve just discovered your site today! It’s (and not its) extremly great!!!!
    I’m chilean and I love English. I have been hearing and talking it ever since.
    I must say your site is cool, it will help me very much, I presume.
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    Thanks

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