Lesson 4

QUANTITY EXPRESSION
A . R ead ing

Check the Label Before You Buy the Food

Food labels have several parts, including the front
panel, nutrition facts, and ingredients list. The front panel often
tells you if nutrients have been added. For example, iodized
salt lets you know that iodine has been added, and enriched
pasta (or enriched grain of any type) means that thiamin,
riboflavin, niacin, iron, and folic acid have been added.
The ingredient list tells you what is in the food, including any nutrients, fats, or sugars that have been added. The
ingredients are listed in descending orders by weight.
See the figure on the right side to learn how to read
nutrition facts. Use the nutrition facts to see if the food is a
food source of a nutrient or to compare similar foods; for
example, to find which brand of frozen dinner has lower
saturated fat, or which kind of breakfast cereal contains more
folic acid. Look at the % daily value (%DV) column to see
whether the food is high or low in nutrients. If you want to
limit a nutrient (such as fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium),
try to choose foods with lower %DV. If you want to consume
more nutrient (such as calcium, other vitamins and minerals,
fiber), try to choose foods with higher %DV. As a guide, foods
with 5%DV or less contribute a small amount of nutrient to
your eating pattern, while those with 20%DV or more contribute a large amount. Remember, nutrition fact serving sizes
differ from those used in the Food Guide Pyramid. For
example, 2 ounces of dry macaroni yields about 1 cup cooked,
or two (1/2 cup) Pyramid servings.

Exercise
Decide whether the statements bellow are true (T) or false (F) according to the text.
1. All food labels have three parts.
2. We find enriched pasta in the nutrition facts above.
3. If the major part of noodles is wheat flour, then wheat flour will be written in the last line of the
ingredients list.
4. The higher the % DVS means the lower the nutrition.
5. Food with 15% DV means that it has a large contribution of nutrient.
6. Serving sizes in nutrition facts is always the same with those in the Food Guide Pyramid.
7. We find the composition of the foods in the front panel.
8. By looking at % of DV, we can compare nutrients from some different foods.

B . V o c a b u la r y

Abbreviations and Others

Exercise 1
Match the abbreviations in the left column with their corresponding explanation in the right.
Check with your dictionary to help you.
1. ISBN
2. FAO
3. TKO
4. RSVP
5. VIP
6. OPEC
7. EEC
8. UFO
9. BBC
10. SOS
11. SAR
12. GATT
13. GMT
14. RIP
15. COD

A. international time
B. international book number
C. international organization related to food
D. flying in space
E. payment at home
F. radio broadcasting station
G. European organization related to economy
H. a term in boxing or fighting sports
I. international agreement on tariffs and trade
J. dead
K. team to search and help troubled people
L. international oil organization
M. very special persons
N. answer please
O. please help us

Exercise 2
Match the abbreviations in the left column with their corresponding meaning in the right.
Check with your dictionary to help you.
1. Inc.
2. et. al.
3. etc.
4. a.m.
5. e.g.
6. Ltd.
7. i.e.
8. cf.
9. pto
10. vs.

a. that is, namely

b. compare
c. company
d. in the morning
e. against
f. please turn over
g. limited
h. and others
i. and so on
j. for example

Exercise 3
Match the symbols in the left column with their corresponding meaning in the right. Check
with your dictionary or other reference books.
1. #
2. &
3. !
4.
5.
6. >

a. more than
b. cut here
c. information
d. watch out
e. sum, total
f. number

7.
8.
9.
10.

g. and
h. unlimited amount
i. new paragraph
j. copy right

C . G ra m m a r

Clause and Sentence Structure

The text above consists of some paragraphs and each paragraph consists of some sentences.
How many paragraphs are there and how many sentences are there in each paragraph? Again, look at
the second paragraph.
China is changing. It is no longer a country where absolutely
everything is owned and controlled by the state. Developers are welcomed.
As Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leader, said in 1992, To get rich is glorious.
The old China of bicycles and little red Books are disappearing. A world of
mobile phones and capitalism is arriving.

How many sentences does the paragraph have?

Now we are focusing our discussion on sentences. Look at the following sentences
1. China is changing.
2. Developers are welcomed.
3. It wont be beautiful, but its power, energy, and wealth will be felt in all corners of
the world.
4. The new Hopewell highway runs from Shenzhen to Guangzhou, and it takes just
two hours to do the 123 kilometres.
5. We die if we have no food.
6. If you move to slowly here, someone will walk over you.

The above sentences can be classified into three categories on the basis of the number and
type of clauses. Sentences 1 and 2 are simple sentences 3 and 4 are compound sentences, and 5 and 6
are complex sentences.

Simple Sentences
A simple sentence has one clause, beginning with the subject. The subject is followed by a
verb phrase, which can be followed by another word or phrase. These two elements, the subject and
the verb, constitute the minimum requirements for a clause. Look at sentences 1 and 2.

1. China

is changing.

Subject

Verb Phrase

2. Developers
Subject

are welcomed.
Verb Phrase

Compound Sentences
A compound sentence has two or more clauses: the clauses are main clauses, that is, clauses
which are equally important. We can join them with and, but, or or. A clause is like a sentence. It
has a subject and a verb phrase. But, a clause always occurs with another clause. A sentence can occur
by itself.

Itwontbebeautiful, but itspower,energy,andwealthwillbefeltinallcorners.

Clause
Clause
It wontbebeautiful, but itspower,energy,andwealth wilbefeltinal corners.
Subject VerbPhrase

Subject

VerbPhrase

Can you do these like the one above?

1. The new Hopewell highway runs from Shenzhen to Guangzhou, and it takes
just two hours to do the 123 kilometres.

2. You can come here or we will meet you.

Complex Sentences
7. We die if we have no food.

8. If you move to slowly here, someone will walk over you.

In sentences 5 and 6, the subjects are we, we and you, someone, and the verbs are die, have
and move, will walk over. Each sentence has two subjects and two verbs. In sentence 5 the subject in
the second part is the same as that in the second part. In sentence 6 the subject in the first part is
different from that in the second part. In sentence 5, the first and second parts are joined wit if
respectively. This sentence is called complex sentence. The part beginning with if or that is called
the subordinate clause and the other is the main clause.
A complex sentence contains a subordinate clause (or sub-clause) and at least one main
clause. A sub-clause is introduced by a conjunction such as because, If, or a wh- word. A main
clause can stand by itself. A sub-clause cannot stand by itself.

We die

if

we have no food.

Clause

W
e die if
Subject Verb

Clause

we

havenofood.

Subject

Verb

Can you do the same for sentence 6?

Exercise
Now try to identify the subject and the verb in each of the following sentences. Say whether it
is a simple sentence, compound sentence, or a complex sentence.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

Economics is the oldest of the social sciences.

My friend is always thinking about the past and worrying about the future.
The company looks good because the competition looks bad.
Things are much worse when the rains come.
Three million people are unemployed in this country.
Singing is one of my interests.
Some people write out a new address book every January.
We think of ourselves as members of the local community.
I would not forget something that I finished reading only half hour ago.
I am only twenty-five, but I feel forty.
The envelopes are nearly all brown ones.
The boy who often comes here lives next-door.
The fruit was quite fresh in that store.
The doors were made of strong wood andiron.
Here is a present for you and there is a present for your sister.
The well they are digging is quite deep.
He was dismissed because he often came late.
Although it was quite expensive, we bought the book.
In hot, dry places the stars shine brightly on clear nights.
Many of the historical documents of the country disappeared.