China has passed a new law creating a national food safety commission. The Chinese congress approved the new legislation last week. The law, which comes in the wake of a series of tainted food scandals, aims to tighten supervision and increase penalties against offenders of food safety standards.
Under the new legislation, consumers can get financial compensation of up to 10 times the price of the product, in addition to compensation for any harm caused by tainted food. The law also bans food safety supervision agencies from advertising food products, and individuals including celebrities who advertise for a substandard product would also be liable for damages. Legislators say they reviewed four drafts and considered 10,000 public comments before finalizing the law, in an effort to restore consumers’ confidence.
According to China's Ministry of Health, the country's food-security situation appears grim. In fact, the country saw several tainted food product scandals last year, including milk spiked with the chemical melamine that sickened 300,000 children and killed six babies. Several dairy industry executives and milk suppliers have already been sentenced by the court, yet consumer’s doubt remains high. Complaints were also lodged against some imported dairy products, including Dumex brand milk powder, whose raw materials come from Australia.
(BBC NEWS,2009)
a.COMPREHENSION:
1.Say whether the following statements are true or false according to the text.
a.China has passed a new law creating a national food safety commission after a series of tainted food scandals.
b. China witnessed few contaminated food scandals last year.
c.Although the court has sentenced several dairy industry executives and milk suppliers, consumers’ doubt is still high.
2.Answer the following questions according to the text .
a. What is the aim of the newly introduced law in China?
b. Why did legislators review four drafts and take public comments into consideration before finalizing the law?
c. What did the consumption of tainted milk cause last year in China?
3.In which paragraph is it mentioned that the food security situation in China is not well ?
4.What or who do the underlined words in the text refer to? 1pt
a) they §2 b) the country §3
B. TEXT EXPLORATION
1. Find in the text words or phrases that are closet in meaning to the following :
a)Lawbreakers §1 b)to stiffen §1
2.Form the opposites of the following words by adding to them the appropriate prefixes .
a) pure ≠ …………. b) approve ≠………..
4.Join the pairs of sentences below using the connectors in brackets. Make changes where necessary.
a. Many people suffer from tricky health problems. They consume junk food. (due to)
b. The consumers’ doubt was high. They decided to boycott all homemade dairy products. (so ….that)
5.Complete sentence (b) so that it means the same as sentence (a)
1).a.Food scandals will decrease on the condition that the authorities tighten food safety laws.
.b.If……………………………………
2).a. Tainted foods cause serious health problems.
b.Serious health problems ………………………
6.Classify the words below in a table acoording to the pronunciation of their final (s): /s/ /z/ or /iz/
products – damages - materials- condtions
PART TWO: WRITTEN EXPRESSION(Choose ONE topic only)
Topic one : What should your government do to prevent contaminated food scandals?Write a composition to
suggest the appropriate measures. You may use the following plan and notes:
a.The effects of contaminated food and products : causing death/ serious diseases/ sicken children…etc
b . measures to be taken : to increase inspection/ to enact tougher laws/to ban unhealthy food/ control the imported goods/to ban the advertising of substandard products/make people aware of the danger of tainted food/ make a list of substandard products available in markets…etc.
Topic2: Are you for or against advertising? Write a passage of about 100 words arguing your point of view.
Under the new legislation, consumers can get financial compensation of up to 10 times the price of the product, in addition to compensation for any harm caused by tainted food. The law also bans food safety supervision agencies from advertising food products, and individuals including celebrities who advertise for a substandard product would also be liable for damages. Legislators say they reviewed four drafts and considered 10,000 public comments before finalizing the law, in an effort to restore consumers’ confidence.
According to China's Ministry of Health, the country's food-security situation appears grim. In fact, the country saw several tainted food product scandals last year, including milk spiked with the chemical melamine that sickened 300,000 children and killed six babies. Several dairy industry executives and milk suppliers have already been sentenced by the court, yet consumer’s doubt remains high. Complaints were also lodged against some imported dairy products, including Dumex brand milk powder, whose raw materials come from Australia.
(BBC NEWS,2009)
a.COMPREHENSION:
1.Say whether the following statements are true or false according to the text.
a.China has passed a new law creating a national food safety commission after a series of tainted food scandals.
b. China witnessed few contaminated food scandals last year.
c.Although the court has sentenced several dairy industry executives and milk suppliers, consumers’ doubt is still high.
2.Answer the following questions according to the text .
a. What is the aim of the newly introduced law in China?
b. Why did legislators review four drafts and take public comments into consideration before finalizing the law?
c. What did the consumption of tainted milk cause last year in China?
3.In which paragraph is it mentioned that the food security situation in China is not well ?
4.What or who do the underlined words in the text refer to? 1pt
a) they §2 b) the country §3
B. TEXT EXPLORATION
1. Find in the text words or phrases that are closet in meaning to the following :
a)Lawbreakers §1 b)to stiffen §1
2.Form the opposites of the following words by adding to them the appropriate prefixes .
a) pure ≠ …………. b) approve ≠………..
4.Join the pairs of sentences below using the connectors in brackets. Make changes where necessary.
a. Many people suffer from tricky health problems. They consume junk food. (due to)
b. The consumers’ doubt was high. They decided to boycott all homemade dairy products. (so ….that)
5.Complete sentence (b) so that it means the same as sentence (a)
1).a.Food scandals will decrease on the condition that the authorities tighten food safety laws.
.b.If……………………………………
2).a. Tainted foods cause serious health problems.
b.Serious health problems ………………………
6.Classify the words below in a table acoording to the pronunciation of their final (s): /s/ /z/ or /iz/
products – damages - materials- condtions
PART TWO: WRITTEN EXPRESSION(Choose ONE topic only)
Topic one : What should your government do to prevent contaminated food scandals?Write a composition to
suggest the appropriate measures. You may use the following plan and notes:
a.The effects of contaminated food and products : causing death/ serious diseases/ sicken children…etc
b . measures to be taken : to increase inspection/ to enact tougher laws/to ban unhealthy food/ control the imported goods/to ban the advertising of substandard products/make people aware of the danger of tainted food/ make a list of substandard products available in markets…etc.
Topic2: Are you for or against advertising? Write a passage of about 100 words arguing your point of view.