30 ARTICLES FOR READING - B1 AND B2 LEVEL
SUGAR
Sugar is used as a sweetener all over the world. People sugar all sorts of food and drinks to
make them taste better. Sugar is often added to tea or coffee and to certain types
of pastries. The food industry adds sugar to soft drinks and ice cream.
Sugar is a simple carbohydrate, a substance that gives us energy. However, too much
sugar can be harmful. It can cause obesity and tooth decay. People who consume too
much sugar can be hyperactive. That is why some people
use artificial sweeteners instead of sugar.
Types of sugar
Our sugar is also referred to as sucrose. It is made up of two basic components. Glucose
comes from the carbohydrates that we eat. Our body changes them to energy and
transports them into the bloodstream. Fructose occurs naturally, especially in fruits,
vegetables and honey. When we eat an apple or orange fructose is changed into glucose
and goes into our blood.
Lactose, or milk sugar, is found in dairy products. Some adults are not able to digest milk
sugar and should not consume dairy products.
How sugar is produced
Sugar can be manufactured from two natural products: sugar cane and sugar beets. About
70% of the world’s 200 million tons of sugar comes from sugar cane.
Sugar beets grow in temperate climates of the world. Sugar is contained the white roots
of the beet. These beets are dug out of the ground and brought to a factory, where they are
washed and cut. Afterwards they are heated to a juicy mixture. As the
juice evaporates sugar crystals start to form. They are separated from the juice
and processed further. Raw sugar is brown or yellow. It is chemically bleached to make it
white. Then sugar is packaged and sold. The syrup that is eventually left over is called
molasses.
Sugar cane is in the stalks of a tall plant that grows in the tropical regions. Brazil, India and
China are the world’s largest producers of sugar cane. When the stalks are ripe they
are harvested and crushed in a special machine that squeezes out the sugar liquid. The
process after that is similar to the way sugar beets are processed.
History of sugar
Sugar has been known for a long time. Early inhabitants of Pacific Island used sugar
thousands of years ago. Sugar cane was also grown in ancient India and in other cultures.
Sugar reached Europe at the beginning of the Middle Ages. During the Age of
Exploration navigators brought sugar to Africa and America, where it was planted in the
southern colonies of the United States.
Words
• add = put into
46
• afterwards = after that
• artificial = not natural; man-made
• basic = main
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30 ARTICLES FOR READING - B1 AND B2 LEVEL
• beet = a vegetable, the root of which can be cooked
• bleach = to make something white or pale
• bloodstream = the blood flowing through paths in the body
• carbohydrate = stuff that is in sugar, bread, potatoes etc.. which gives your body heat
and energy; it is made up of oxygen, carbon and hydrogen
• certain = special
• consume = eat
• crush = break into small pieces
• dairy product = products that come from the cow, like milk, cheese, butter etc..
• digest = to change food into substances that the body can use
• dig out = to get something out of the ground
• evaporate = to change into a gas
• eventually = in the end
• factory = place where something is produced
• harmful = dangerous
• harvest = gather or bring in crops from the field
• hyperactive = not able to keep still for very long
• inhabitant = a person who lives in a place
• instead of = in something’s place
• manufacture = produce
• mixture = a combination of two or more substances
• navigator = person on a ship who plans which way to go
• obesity = if someone is too fat
• occur = can be found
• package = to put into boxes
• pastry = a mixture of flour, butter and milk used to make pies and other baked food
• process = to change or preserve food so that it is ready to be sold
• raw = natural, pure
• refer to = called
• ripe = fully grown
• soft drink = cold drink that does not have alcohol in it
• squeeze = to press something together
• stalk = the long narrow part of a plant
• substance = stuff, material 47
• sweetener = a substance that makes food sweeter
• tooth decay = when your tooth has a hole in it and is slowly damaged
TELEGRAM: @MULTILEVELTOP COMPILED BY MOKHIDA KHAKIMOVA