Super Size Me

Three trips to McDonald’s a day might be every little boy’s dream. But the reality was a nightmare for Morgan Spurlock whose film Super Size Me documents his one – month existence on fast food and its disastrous consequences. So, if it was so awful, why did he do it? And does it work as a film?

The main basis of the film is that Spurlock promises to eat three McDonald’s meals a day, every day for a month. He must only eat food from McDonald’s and every time an employee asks if he would like to “super size” the meal, he must agree. “Super sizing” refers to the fact that with this type of meal you gat a considerably larger portion of everything. Instead of the normal burger, fries, and a drink, you get an extra-large burger, extra-large fries, and an extra-large drink for only a very small price increase.

Spurlock admitted that the whole experiment ignored any sensible eating plan. He knew that by the eating three McDonald’s meals a day, he would be consuming more calories, fat, salt and sugar per meal than he needed. Before he started, three doctors certified that Spurlock was 183cm tall, weight about 84kg and was in good health. Although both Spurlock and his doctors knew his diet was unhealthy, none of them were quite prepared for just how unhealthy it turned out to be. The changes in his body were horrifying. In this first week, he put on 4.5 kilos in weight and by the end of the thirty days he had gained nearly 14 kilos, bringing his total weight to a massive 98kg.

Weight gain was only one of the negative effects, however. When all three doctors saw the severe damage to his liver, they all recommended stopping the experiment after twenty days. Spurlock continued to follow the diet, however, because he wanted to show people what this kind of diet can do to you, And you begin to realize that the film could be a fast-forward picture of your life: in thirty days you get to what could happen to you over twenty or thirty years of over consumption. You’re on a path to heart disease, liver failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and more.

“I think we need to take responsibility for ourselves”, says Spurlock. “There also has to be some responsibility on the part of the fast food companies. McDonald’s alone feeds 46 million people every day. They have an obligation to give their consumers information about exactly what they’re eating”. Spurlock also focuses on the advertising and marketing of fast food products, especially to children. McDonald’s markets to children through Happy Meals (a children’s meal in a box including a free toy) and playgrounds in the restaurants. “The playgrounds aren’t there just for kids to come and play”, he says. “You’re only allowed into the playground when you’ve bought a burger or some fries or a coke. It’s an effective way of establishing a positive association in children’s mind.”

It’s the humor above all that makes this film work. Even towards the end of the month, when he admitted to feeling lethargic, depressed and smelly, the audience remain entertained by his sense of humor and upbeat style. Spurlock says that he hopes that the film is entertaining, but ht also hopes that it encourages them to take better care of themselves. He says, “I’d love people to walk out of the movie and say, “Next time I am not going to “super size”. May be I am not going to go there at all. I am going to sit down and eat dinner with my kids, with the TV off, so that we can eat healthy food, talk about what we are eating and have a relationship with each other”. Judging by critics and audiences alike, the film certainly does seem to work. Food for thought indeed.

Comprehension questions

1. What does the phrase “super size” mean?

2. What kind of responsibility should fast food companies have?

3. What were the results of the Spurlock’s diet?

4. What did Spurlock want people to say after watching his film?

5. Do you think that the amount of fast food you eat is healthy?

Exercise 6. Compose the dialogs according to the following topics

1. What is preferable for you — to buy food in a big supermar­ket or in small shops? Why?

2. Where are the best shops for food in your city or town?

3. Speak about foodstuffs sold in your shops. Say whether they are shipped in or grown locally; say which are expensive and inexpensive; say what foodstuffs which you might have seen in the shops abroad are not sold in this country.

4. Do they sell foodstuffs under the counter nowadays? What kind of goods can those be?

5. Do you pay attention to the brand name when you buy food? If not, how do you make your choice?

6. What is your personal style of shopping for food? Do you buy at once or do you take your time to look around for lower prices?

7. How often do you buy very expensive foodstuffs? What kind of products are those? When does it happen?

Exercise 7. Write a short essay on one of the following topics.

1. Buying Delicacies Gives the Greatest Pleasure When One Hasn't Got Enough Money.

2. Shopping for Food — a Boring Routine or a Revealing Ex­perience?

3. Why I Always Buy Food in the Same Place.

4. The Main Principles I Observe When I Shop for Food.

5. Why Men and Women Have Different Styles of Shopping for Food.

THE PASSIVE VOICE (Страдательный залог)

Образование – вспомогательный глагол to be в нужном времени и третья форма смыслового глагола (если глагол неправильный), или смысловой глагол с окончанием –ed (если глагол правильный).

NB! Смысловой глагол всегда остается в 3-й форме (если он неправильный) или к нему добавляется окончание –ed (если он правильный). По временам изменяется только вспомогательный глагол to be.

Exercise 8. Open the brackets, using the necessary Voice form

1. The movie (to show) four times in the cinema. 2. The hikers (to force) to turn back by bad weather. 3. The letter (to write) by a left – hander. I (to understand) it after I (to read) it several times. 4. When I (to enter) the classroom my friend (to examine). 5. April Fool’s day (to mark) for the last few years in Russia too. 6. He (to bring up) by his parents to be a strict Catholic. 7. Sue (to lose) her purse yesterday, It (to be) in her bag and her bag (not to fasten). 8. He (to wound) when he (to try) to stop the man attacking a young girl. He (to shoot) in the leg. 9. Finally after we (to wait) for half an hour salad, beefsteak and tea (to serve). 10. The twins (to impress) by the beauty of the night city. 11. The glass mirror (to invent) by the Romans. 12. The huge pyramids (to decorate) with thousands of carved pictures. 13. The textbook (to look) so shabby because it (to use) for many years. 14. The crops (to damage) by the heavy rain falls and the peasants expected a hard year. 15. Many superstitions and occult practices (to build) on dreams to foretell the future.

Exercise 9. Translate the sentences using the Passive Voice

1. Самые важные новости печатаются в утренних газетах. 2. Национальная галерея в Лондоне была построена в 1838 г. 3. В Массачусетсе сохранились дома, которые были построены в самом начале XVII века. 4. – Все приготовили для приема гостей? – Стол накрыт, обед приготовлен, пирог пекут. 5. Решение принято. Ничего нельзя менять. 6. Вас обслужат через пять минут. 7. Эту песню везде поют. 8. Такие вопросы на вступительном экзамене не задают. 9. Послушай! Играют какую-то очень знакомую мелодию. 10. Вас просят к телефону. 11. Дети не ложились спать, пока елка не была украшена. 12. Вас пригласят, когда ваш вопрос будет обсуждаться. 13. За Рождеством последовали школьные каникулы. 14. За что его критикуют? – Его лекции никто не слушает. 15. Вы знаете, из чего делают йогурт? 16. Вещи уже упакованы, не так ли? – Да, чемоданы уже собраны, а сумку сейчас упаковывают. 17. К нему часто обращаются за советом. 18. На него наехала машина, и его увезли в госпиталь. 19. Он почувствовал, что за ним кто-то идет. 20. Наконец, об условиях контракта договорились, и он был подписан.