节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-07-14
难易度:High
关键字:pricky, avocado, texture, marmalade, farmer's market, beta carotene
Hi, everyone.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
So happy you've joined us today.
The cactus, that strange-looking, prickly desert plant is most often seen as a
house plant or as a decoration in some restaurant or hotel lobby.
Well, they certainly are attention-grabbing.
But they're much more than that.
This month's HEALTH feature informs us that cacti have tremendous medicinal
value, so much so that we people are still learning new things about them.
So besides using them as medicine, are there any other surprising ways cacti are
used?
Let's read together today's lesson on page 31 and find out.
(Music).
The Benefits of Cactus.
Health foods.
One of the many kinds of edible cacti, nopal cactus is commonly referred to as
"prickly pear cactus" because of its many spines.
It can be found throughout Mexico and America's southwest desert regions.
In the U.S., cactus products have become favorite health food items that can be
purchased in Mexican grocery stores and farmer's markets.
The prickly pear fruit is an avocado-shaped fruit that ranges in color from
yellow to red and is two to four inches long.
This kind of fruit can be found on many varieties of prickly pear cacti.
Hello, everyone.
Thank you for joining us.
My name is Ryan.
And my name is Kaylah.
And today we're back talking about our HEALTH article about the benefits of
cactus on your health.
Now Ryan, yesterday what was the final point we made about the benefits of
cacti?
OK. Well, we saw that cacti can be very beneficial in many different ways.
But the last one we talked about is how it can help suppress cancer growth.
That's right.
We said it can help suppress, or stop, the growth of cancer cells.
Even though this is a possibility, it's important to remember that that is still
being researched and more information is still needed.
But we do know cactus has all kinds of benefits.
So let's see what those benefits are today.
Yeah. Let's see even more about this nopal cactus that we started talking about
yesterday.
Now we do know that it is an edible kind of cacti.
And we're going to keep learning more about it.
That's right.
It would be considered a health food because of the nutrients that it's in it.
We learned about nutrients yesterday.
Well, nopal cactus is commonly referred to as the "prickly pear cactus." Now
what does prickly pear mean?
OK. Well, a prickly pear is the name of the fruit that you would find on this
cactus.
They're kind of red and round.
But what does the word "prickly" mean?
Well, to be "prickly" means it has little spines on it that would be poky, and
they would hurt you.
So when we think of cactus, we think of those needle-type leaves that come out
of them, those spines.
Those are also on the prickly pear cactus.
That's what makes it prickly... has all those "ouch" pieces on it.
Exactly. Now sometimes in English, we might use the word prickly to describe the
way someone behaves.
Maybe they're a little abrupt or a little bit mean sometimes, you might call
that person prickly.
So either way, prickly is not something you want to reach out and touch, or
someone you'd want to be around.
Exactly. Now this cactus is also called the "prickly pear cactus" because of its
many spines that can be found on it.
That's right.
So on the fruit itself are those spine pieces as well.
OK. Now the prickly pear, or the nopal cactus, can be found throughout Mexico
and America's southwest desert regions.
Well, we've talked about this area before.
We know it's desert, it's very dry.
And the "region" refers to a certain area that this could grow.
And these are desert regions.
So this area is full of deserts.
It's very dry.
Yeah, not a whole lot of water.
But cacti usually are good at saving water.
So they're the perfect plant to grow in a desert.
Well, in the U.S., cactus products have become a favorite health food item that
can be purchased in Mexican grocery stores and farmer's markets.
So right now it's actually a very popular and favorite health food for people.
Yeah. They can go find this cacti.
They can eat it and stay very healthy.
And like you said, it can be found in grocery stores, which are larger stores
where you go to buy food.
But what are farmer's markets?
Well, a "farmer's market" is a place in a city, more in a town, not out in the
countryside,
where farmers from the countryside can bring their produce or their products to
sell.
And that way, people in the city can also get fresh fruits and vegetables and
other fun breads and cheeses as well.
Yeah. It's a regular event with the farmers all come together to sell their
fruits and vegetables.
Well, the prickly pear fruit is an avocado-shaped fruit that actually has...
ranges in color from yellow to red.
Now an "avocado" is a very popular vegetable.
It is kind of an oval shaped.
It has a large, round bottom and kind of comes to a skinnier part at the top.
But it is still very round and plump.
Yeah. It's kind of a green fruit.
It's very delicious.
They grow in California.
And they're kind of shaped like a very large egg.
Now these fruits on the prickly pear, they can be red or yellow, and they can be
two or four inches long.
So that's a very large fruit.
Well, this kind of fruit can be found on many varieties of prickly pear cacti.
OK. So you can find these fruits all over the place very easily, and they are
very good for you.
They're very healthy.
Well, we've learned a lot about how we can eat them.
We'll learn more after we visit the Chat Room.
Hey, Bryan.
How are things going?
Oh. Hi, Ken. Pretty good.
My cousin Helen is coming over tonight.
Oh. What is she like?
Well, she is very health conscious and is very concerned about eating natural
foods.
So I went to a health food store nearby and bought these organic fruits.
There's a healthy food store around here?
I should go.
I need to start eating more healthy food.
Well, I'd be happy to give you directions.
But first, I want to point out that there's a difference between health food and
healthy food.
Really? What's the difference?
Healthy food is any food that is good for you.
But health foods are something more specific.
They are foods that are supposed to be especially good for you usually because
they don't have lots of artificial chemicals.
So would a salad be a healthy food or a health food?
Salad is certainly a healthy food.
We wouldn't usually call it a health food, though, unless it's made with organic
vegetables.
You know, that's the second time you've used the word "organic." What does it
mean?
Well, organic fruits and vegetables are grown without using chemicals to kill
insects or make them grow faster.
And a farm that grows organic vegetables can be called an organic farm.
So since they don't have chemicals in them, organic fruits and vegetables are a
health food, right?
That's right.
Now you also used the phrase "natural foods." Does that mean the same thing?
It's similar.
A natural food is made with fairly little processing.
But there isn't a strict official definition for natural food like there is for
organic.
Thanks for the explanations.
Now if I stop by the healthy food... uh, I mean, health food store, I'll know
exactly what I'm getting.
Here, let me draw you a map for you.
OK, good.