Learn English with BBC Podcasts

The Dark Side of Avocados

icon
Published: 1.16.2022
Level 5   |   Time: 3:28
Accent: British

Avocados are becoming more and more popular, but they are also causing some problems.

image        
image

You can download the file [ HERE ].

    

triangle Directions 목표 Direcciones Instruções


  1. READ the VOCABULARY

    It is important to read the vocabulary before you watch the video. This will improve your ability to understand the video. It will also help you understand how the new vocabulary is used naturally.

  2. WATCH the VIDEO

    The first time you watch the video, just try to understand the overall situation.

  3. ANSWER the QUESTIONS

    First try to answer all the questions from memory. Then rewatch the video and try to answer the questions that you missed.

  4. WATCH and READ the SCRIPT

    Watch the video again while you read the script. Reading and listening at the same time will help you hear each individual word and improve your listening accuracy.

  5. DO the ACTIVITIES

    There are several different activities that focus on test preparation, vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure.

  1. LEA el VOCABULARIO

    Es importante leer el vocabulario antes de ver el video. Esto mejorará su capacidad para comprender el video. También le ayudará a comprender cómo se usa el nuevo vocabulario de forma natural.

  2. VER el VIDEO

    La primera vez que vea el video, intente comprender la situación general.

  3. RESPONDE a las PREGUNTAS

    Primero intente responder todas las preguntas de memoria. Luego, vuelva a ver el video e intente responder las preguntas que se perdió.

  4. MIRAR Y LEER

    Mire el video nuevamente mientras lee el guión. Leer y escuchar al mismo tiempo lo ayudará a escuchar cada palabra individual y mejorará su precisión auditiva.

  5. HACER LAS ACTIVIDADES

    Hay una serie de actividades diferentes que se centran en la preparación de la examen, el vocabulario, la gramática y la estructura de las oraciones.

  1. 어휘 읽기

    비디오를 보기 전에 어휘와 배경을 읽는 것이 중요합니다. 이렇게 하면 비디오를 이해하는 능력이 향상됩니다. 또한 새로운 어휘가 어떻게 자연스럽게 사용되는지 이해하는데 도움이됩니다.

  2. 비디오 보기

    비디오를 처음 볼 때 전체 상황을 이해하려고 노력하세요.

  3. 문제에 답하기

    먼저 모든 질문에 답을 해보세요. 그런 다음 비디오를 다시보고 놓친 질문에 답해보세요.

  4. 비디오 보면서 대본 읽기

    대본을 읽는 동안 비디오를 다시 보세요. 읽기와 듣기를 동시에 하면 각각의 단어를 듣고, 듣기 정확도를 향상시킬 수 있습니다.

  5. 액티비티 하기

    듣기 정확도, 발음, 어휘, 문법 및 문장 구조에 초점을 맞춘 다양한 액티비티가 있습니다.

  1. LER o VOCABULÁRIO

    É importante ler o vocabulário antes de assistir ao vídeo. Isso melhorará sua capacidade de entender o vídeo. Também ajudará você a entender como o novo vocabulário é usado naturalmente.

  2. ASSISTA ao VÍDEO

    Na primeira vez que assistir ao vídeo, tente entender a situação geral.

  3. RESPONDA às PERGUNTAS

    Primeiro, tente responder a todas as perguntas de memória. Em seguida, assista novamente ao vídeo e tente responder às perguntas que você errou.

  4. ASSISTA e LEIA o SCRIPT

    Assista ao vídeo novamente enquanto lê o roteiro. Ler e ouvir ao mesmo tempo ajudará você a ouvir cada palavra individualmente e a melhorar sua precisão auditiva.

  5. FAÇA as ATIVIDADES

    Existem várias atividades diferentes que se concentram na preparação para o teste, vocabulário, gramática e estrutura de frases.

triangle Vocabulary 어휘 Vocabulário Vocabulario


  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a massive boom [exp] - become very popular or successful
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ prominently [adv] - with an important role
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ so-called [adj] - called (but perhaps inaccurately)
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ foodies [n] - people who love good, high-quality food
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ turn away [phv] - stop using, reject
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ trendy [adj] - popular, cool
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ embrace [v] - accept or support
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ guacamole [n] - a type of green dip or sauce made from avocados [image] vocab image
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ consumption [n] - eating
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ fashionable [adj] - trendy, popular, cool
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a decade [n] - 10 years
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ citing [v] - mentioning, using as evidence
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ peas [n] - a type of green vegetable (seed) [image] vocab image
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ courgettes [n] - a type of fruit/vegetable (AmE: zucchini) [image] vocab image
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ Jerusalem artichokes [n] - a type of root vegetable [image] vocab image
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ pistachios [n] - a type of nut/seed [image] vocab image
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a crop [n] - a cultivated plant that is grown for food
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ water stress [n] - not having enough water
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a plantation [n] - a large farm
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ the minimum wage [n] - the lowest wage ($) that can be paid to a worker according to the laws of a country (or state)
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ land that was previously native [exp] - land that used to belong to native (aboriginal) people
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ chic [adj] - cool, trendy
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a proprietor [n] - an owner of a business
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ biodiversity [n] - including many types of life
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ organized crime [n] - criminal activities that are controlled by powerful groups
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ drug traffickers [n] - people who produce and sell illegal drugs
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ casualties [n] - a person killed or injured in a war or accident
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ flee [v] - run away
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ force out [phv] - made (forced) to leave
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ squeeze [v] - try to take
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ protection payments [exp] - money that is paid for protection against crime

[n] - noun,  [v] - verb,  [phv] - phrasal verb,  [adj] - adjective,  [exp] - expression



triangle Questions 문제 Questões Preguntas [ ? ]

Questions

These are guided listening questions. These questions are NOT designed to test or trick you. They are designed to guide you through the video.

TIP: If you don’t understand something in the video, click "Show Answers". You should be able to understand all of the important points of the video by reading the questions and the correct answers.

Preguntas

Estas son preguntas de escucha guiada. Estas preguntas NO están diseñadas para ponerte a prueba o engañarte. Están diseñados para guiarlo a través del video.

CONSEJO: Si no entiende algo en el video, haga clic en "Show Answers". Debería poder comprender todos los puntos importantes del video leyendo las preguntas y las respuestas correctas.

질문

이것은 안내식 듣기 질문입니다. 이 질문들은 당신을 시험하거나 속이기 위한 것이 아닙니다. 동영상을 통해 안내하도록 설계되었습니다.

팁 : 동영상에서 이해가 되지 않는 부분이 있으면 "Show Answers"를 클릭하세요. 질문과 정답을 읽으면서 영상의 중요한 요점을 모두 이해할 수 있어야 합니다.

Perguntas

Estas são perguntas de escuta guiadas. Essas perguntas NÃO foram elaboradas para testar ou enganar você. Eles são projetados para guiá-lo através do vídeo.

DICA: Se você não entender algo no vídeo, clique em "Mostrar respostas". Você deve entender todos os pontos importantes do vídeo lendo as perguntas e as respostas corretas.


  1. Avocados are very ______ "foodies."
    new to
    popular among
    expensive for
    difficult to find for

  2. Global avocado production has dramatically ______ over the last ______ years.
    increased, 12
    increased, 20
    decreased, 12
    decreased, 20

  3. Some chefs are turning away from avocados because of their ______.
    cost to produce
    low nutritional value
    association with Mexico
    impact on the environment

  4. Some Mexican restaurants ______ guacamole from foods other than avocados.
    have refused to make
    have started making
    have stopped making
    are considering making

  5. Avocados require a lot of ______ to grow.
    time
    water
    humidity
    sunlight

  6. Mexico already has problems with ______.
    low wages
    soil problems
    water shortages

  7. Avocado farm workers earn a relatively ______ salary in Mexico.
    low
    high

  8. The chef (Santiago) is making guacamole out of ______.
    peas
    avocados
    tomatoes
    pistachios

  9. Avocados are also linked to ______.
    political problems
    organized crime
    heart problems
    diabetes

  10. Families have had to leave Mexico to escape ______ related to avocado farming.
    violence
    low wages
    water shortages



triangle Sentence Building (Summary) 문장 만들기 Construção de sentença Construcción de oraciones


Directions: Write sentences about the video clip using the words given. You can change the word form or add words, but you cannot change the word order.

Instrucciones: Escriba oraciones sobre el videoclip usando las palabras dadas. Puede cambiar la forma de la palabra o agregar palabras, pero no puede cambiar el orden de las palabras.

Instrucciones: Escreva orações sobre o videoclipe usando as palavras-chave. Você pode alterar a forma da palavra ou adicionar palavras, mas não pode alterar a ordem das palavras.

지시 : 주어진 단어를 사용하여 비디오 클립에 대한 문장을 씁니다. 어형을 변경하거나 단어를 추가할 수 있지만 어순은 변경할 수 없습니다.



Sentence 1

although / avocado / become / quite / popular / some / foodie / turn / away / them


Although avocados have become quite popular, some foodies are turning away from them.



Sentence 2

this / popular / create / massive / increase / avocado / cultivate / primary / Mexico


This popularity has created a massive increase in avocado cultivation, primarily in Mexico.



Sentence 3

avocado / consume / double / last / decade


Avocado consumption has doubled in the last decade.



Sentence 4

avocado / farming / have / negative / impact / environment


Avocado farming [is having/has had/has] a negative impact on the environment.



Sentence 5

single / avocado / may / require / hundred / liter / water / grow


A single avocado may require hundreds of liters of water to grow.



Sentence 6

because / avocado / farming / so / lucrative / avocado / plantation / push / area / that / previous / native / or / previous / forest


Because avocado farming is so lucrative, avocado plantations are pushing into areas that were previously native or previously forested.



Sentence 7

Santiago / make / guacamole / pistachio / instead / avocado


Santiago is making guacamole [out of/from] pistachios instead of avocados.



Sentence 8

Santiago / say / he / stop / use / avocado / because / environment / impact / and / link / organize / crime


Santiago says (that) he stopped using avocados because of [their/the] environmental impact and [their/the] link to organized crime.



Sentence 9

because / war / over / avocado / farming / people / Mexico / be / injure / force / flee / and / even / kill


Because of wars over avocado farming, people in Mexico have been injured, forced to flee, and even killed.



triangle Discussion 논의 Questões de discussão Discusión


  1. Why do you think avocados have become so popular recently?
  2. Why are avocados becoming less popular among chefs and foodies?
  3. Why do you think avocados are linked to organized crime?
  4. What crops do you think require the most water? What crops do you think require the least water?
  5. What crops do you think have the highest and lowest environmental impact? [ Link ]
  6. Do you like avocados? How do you usually eat them? (With what types of foods?)
  7. Are you a foodie?
  8. What is the minimum wage in your country? Do you think it should be higher or lower? What are the effects of raising or lowering the minimum wage?

triangle Script 대본 Roteiro Texto


The humble avocado has become something of a celebrity in the food world. And its popularity has seen a massive boom in farmers growing them, largely in Mexico.

Though it still features prominently on the Instagram feeds of so-called foodies, some have started to turn away from the versatile fruit. Keith Adams went to find out why.


The trendy cafes here on Broadway Market in East London have embraced the avocado. On toast, in salads, or in that Mexican staple guacamole. It's a fashionable food.

Global avocado production doubled over the last 20 years. And consumption in the US has doubled in the last decade.

But now some chefs are turning away, citing its impact on the environment. Popular Mexican restaurants in the UK, US, and Canada are offering guacamole made from peas or courgettes or Jerusalem artichokes instead.

So what's the problem? Some reports suggest a single avocado needs hundreds of liters of water to grow. Anonor Eldridge from the conservation charity Plant Life says that's a big issue.

So they're a really thirsty crop. And primarily avocados are grown in Mexico, which if anyone's been there knows it's quite a warm place already and is experiencing quite a lot of water stress.

What about the growers who grow them? Are they caring for the environment?

The average worker on a plantation growing avocados and sixty dollars a day. The minimum wage in Mexico is five dollars a day. What that means is more and more land is converted over into avocado production, pushing into areas that were previously native or previously forested. And so that's having an impact on the biodiversity in the environment.


I'm in a chic Mexican fusion restaurant in London. It's called Cole. And the proprietor and chef, Santiago Lastra, is preparing something.

What is it, Santiago?

So we're doing a guacamole, but made out of pistachio instead of avocado.

Santiago says it's not just the environmental impact of avocados that led him to drop them. Another reason is the link to organized crime.

Falco Ernst works for the International Crisis Group in Mexico City.

I first introduced myself with drugs traffickers who had gone into the avocado business 10 years ago basically. So it's been going on for quite a while now.

And along the way, there have been a lot of casualties. Families who've had to flee producers. Families who've had to flee for instance to the United States because they have been forced out. And direct physical violence has been applied. In the context of groups of trying to squeeze protection payments out of producers, which has brought disappearances. Family members, workers have gotten killed. So the cost has been huge.