General Listening Quiz

What are three important steps to losing weight in a healthy way? What are some reasons why people struggle with their weight and physical condition?

1. Eating healthy means never eating your favorite treats.
2. Dieting is more successful when you have support from family or friends.
3. Drinking water is more important than taking vitamins.
4. Skipping meals can help you lose weight faster.
5. Everyone should eat the same healthy foods, no matter their culture.
6. It’s better to eat smaller meals more often than three big meals a day.
7. Fast food can be part of a healthy diet if eaten occasionally.
8. Reading food labels helps people make better choices.
9. Good eating habits start with understanding nutrition.
10. Exercise is just as important as diet for good health.

“have one’s plate full” = have a lot to do, be busy
“I have my plate full with so many projects, so I don’t have much free time.”

“What’s eating you?” = What is bothering or making you angry?
“Hey, what’s eating you? You look so upset, and you didn’t say a word during dinner.”

Listen to the recording and answer the questions. (See transcript)

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the recording:

• blunt (adjective): direct
  – Ashley is always very blunt about her feelings towards other people.
• fatso (noun): fat or heavy (not polite)
  – Kids at school always used to call me fatso. It was a hard time in my life.
• scam (verb; also noun): to cheat or deceive someone
  – A few dishonest companies scam people into buying things they don’t need.
• portion (noun): amount of food, serving
  – I sometimes overeat at this restaurant because their portions are very generous.
• load up (verb): fill
  – I know this is an all-you-can-eat restaurant, but you don’t have to load up on all those fatty foods.
• cut out (verb): stop or remove
  – If you want to really lose weight, you need to cut out the cakes and cookies after every meal.
• buddy (noun): close friend
  – You and your buddy drink way too much soda with your meals.
• tough (adjective): difficult
  – It’s sometimes tough not to overeat during the holidays.
• cut back on something (verb): reduce the amount of something
  – You should cut back on soda and drink water instead.

Do the vocabulary quizzes with the words from the conversation for more practice:

• Mixed-Up Sentence  |   Sentence and Vocabulary Matching

Discuss what you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and the reasons for these food choices. Do you have any plans to change your eating habits in the future? Explain your reasons.

There are many diet programs around the world that market ways to lose weight and stay fit. Review three different programs or plans and answer these questions:

• Who is the founder or creator of the diet plan or program?
• How long has it been around?
• What is the mission statement or main goal of the plan?
• How is the program similar and different from other programs?
• What do reviewers say about the benefits and drawbacks of the program’s system?
• What are the requirements and cost of joining the program?