英国人喜欢吃快餐。然而，越来越多的人正在转向素食和植物性饮食。这是否意味着这些人不能再享受那些美味的经典快餐？情况似乎不是这样 —— 欢迎加入纯素食快餐潮流。纯素快餐为什么如此受欢迎？它比普通快餐更健康吗？本期 “随身英语” 介绍纯素食快餐的流行趋势。

Vocabulary: food and nutrition 词汇：食品和营养

There are around 600,000 vegans in the UK, according to The Vegan Society. That's just over 1% of the population – an amount expected to increase to 25% by 2025. And if there's one type of food that Brits love, it's fast food. True, it's not the most nutritious, but there's nothing quite like the crunch of crispy chips, or that first big bite into a juicy hamburger. People in the UK love junk food so much that there was a 34% increase in the number of fast food outlets from 2010 to 2018, according to the Office for National Statistics. It's no surprise, then, that vegan fast food is also on the rise.

Vegan fast food has become big business. At Just Eat, an online food delivery company, vegan orders more than doubled in 2018, a spokesperson told the BBC. Greggs, a chain of high-street bakeries, named its vegan sausage roll the 'fastest-selling product in six years'. And big franchises such as McDonald's and KFC have announced meat-free chicken nuggets to come in the future.

What's driving this popularity? Katrina Fox, founder of Vegan Business Media, believes it's the result of social media and the breaking down of stereotypes. "Vegan food is no longer seen as a bit of lettuce and lentils – you can eat pretty much anything," she told the BBC.

It's also claimed that there are health benefits. John Marulanda, owner of Mooshies - a vegan burger bar in London – wants to implement "a change to a healthy version of fast food." Something, he claims, that comes as a result of the inherent nutritional value of the ingredients they use.

But, is vegan fast food actually healthy? Azmina Govindji of the British Dietetic Association says "not to assume" that is the case. "It's fine if those products have got vitamin B12, iodine or calcium added to them… but they can still be fried, it can still have lots of creamy, fatty sauces and lots of salt."

Given the current growth in orders, the trend for vegan fast food isn't likely to disappear any time soon. Health-wise, it may not be any more nourishing than regular fast food, but for many, the lack of animal suffering involved in the process is a big plus.

词汇表

vegan 严格素食主义者
fast food 快餐
nutritious 营养丰富的
crispy 酥脆的
juicy 多汁的
junk food 垃圾食品
bakery 面包店
meat-free 无肉的
nugget 小块食品
lentil 扁豆
nutritional value 营养价值
ingredient （食品）成分，原料
vitamin 维生素
iodine 碘
calcium 钙
fried 油炸的
creamy 像奶油的
fatty 富含脂肪的
sauce 酱，调味汁
nourishing 富有营养的

测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. True or false: The number of vegans in the UK is expected to fall by 2025.

2. What evidence is there that vegan fast food has become popular?

3. According to Katrina Fox, what is making vegan food popular?

4. According to Azmina Govindji, why should we not assume that vegan fast food is healthy?

5. Which word in the text means 'existing as a natural or basic part of something'?

2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. I don't want to eat fast food tonight. I feel like something more _______.

newtrishus                  nutritious                    vitamin                     fried

2. Before cooking anything, I like to gather together all the _______ I need to make the recipe.

vegan                         junk food                    ingredients               iodine

3. We encourage children to drink milk because it's a good source of _______ to keep their bones healthy.

vitamin                       calcium                      fast food                    ingredients

4. I always prefer thick, chunky soup to thin, watery soup. When soup has thick vegetables in it, it's much more _______.

nutrition                      nutrients                    nourishment               nourishing

5. I can't eat too many sausages. I love their taste, but they're too _______ I prefer my meat leaner.

creamy                       fatty                           fried                            vegan

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. True or false: The number of vegans in the UK is expected to fall by 2025.
False. By 2025, 25% of the UK population is expected to be vegan. 

2. What evidence is there that vegan fast food has become popular?
Just Eat says that vegan orders more than doubled in 2018. Greggs' fastest-selling product in 6 years was a vegan sausage roll and big franchises such as McDonald's and KFC have announced meat-free chicken nuggets.

3. According to Katrina Fox, what is making vegan food popular?
Katrina Fox believes it's the result of social media and the breaking down of stereotypes. 

4. According to Azmina Govindji, why should we not assume that vegan fast food is healthy?
Because those products can still be fried, it can still have lots of creamy, fatty sauces and lots of salt. 

5. Which word in the text means 'existing as a natural or basic part of something'?
Inherent. (Something, he claims, that comes as a result of the inherent nutritional value of the ingredients they use.)

2 . 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. I don't want to eat fast food tonight. I feel like something more nutritious.

2. Before cooking anything, I like to gather together all the ingredients I need to make the recipe.

3. We encourage children to drink milk because it's a good source of calcium to keep their bones healthy.

4. I always prefer thick, chunky soup to thin, watery soup. When soup has thick vegetables in it, it's much more nourishing.

5. I can't eat too many sausages. I love their taste, but they're too fatty. I prefer my meat leaner.