What’s Wrong with Sugar?

Gap fill
Listen to the story and fill in the blanks.

Many people, especially children, enjoy sweet food. New information, however, says that sugar is
____being____ be cause it hurts our mental and physical well being.

There are many ___types off____ _____ sugar. There’s sugar in fruit. Many people say that’s
good sugar because it’s healthy. Then there’s the __white sugar______ ________ people buy at
the supermarket. That’s bad for our health.

The worst kind is ______added__ sugar. It’s the sweet taste that comes from processed corn syrup,
called high fructose. It’s in soft drinks, salad __dressings______ , snacks and more.

Too much sugar is bad because it ____can create____ _____ addiction. When we eat it, our brain
makes us feel good for a short time. After the good feeling goes away, the brain tells us to _____eat
more___ ________ . That’s a craving. Over time, we have to eat more to get that good feeling
again. When the brain craves something, our feelings change. We become angry or
_irritable_______ easily.

Gaining weight is the second __problem______ . When we eat small amounts of food with good
sugar, like a banana, our body slowly __uses the ______ energy. Packaged food or drinks put too
much sugar into the body. It can’t use all that energy right away, so it’s quickly turned into
___fat_____ .

Many more serious health problems are ____linked to added____ ________ sugar, like heart disease
and cancer.

What happens if people stop eating sugar? The first couple of weeks might be _____tough___ .
Many people feel tired. After that, the long term ______benefits__ are great.

People have more energy, their ___thinking _____ is clear, they sleep well and they

don’t get sick very often. The bottom line is that sugar doesn’t ___improve_____ the

quality of life. It makes life more difficult.

3. craving c. refined
Synonym match
Match the words or phrases.
4. effect d. hunger
1. hidden a. conclusion
5. bottom line e. result
2. processed b. concealed
 True or false
1. hidden - b. concealed Choose the correct answer.

2. processed - c. refined 1. There are several types of sugar. T or F

2. We find high fructose in fruit. T or F

3. craving - d. hunger
3. People can be addicted to sweet food. T or F
4. effect - e. result 4. Cravings are good for people. T or F
5. People who give up sugar feel better after a
5. bottom line - a. conclusion couple of weeks. T or F

@ Rob Whyte 2021 englishlistening.rocks

What’s Wrong with Sugar?

Anagrams
Move letters. Make a new word.

PEIOMRV PEUCOL RKSUATERMEP AESRVC SNSACK

SIYACLHP

PEIOMRV - IMPROVE

PEUCOL - COUPLE

REUCOL - COULER

RKSUATERMEP - MARKETPLACE

AESRVC SNSACK - CASSEROLE CANVAS

SIYACLHP - PHYSICAL

ESL discussion questions

Talk about the story

1. Do you have a sweet tooth?

2. What is the worst kind of sugar and where
can we find it?
3. What is an addiction?

4. How do packaged foods make people gain

weight?
5. Is it easy to stop eating sugary foods?
6. Does this ESL listening story have a
message? What is it?

1) I don’t like sweets

2) White sugar. In the store
3) An addiction is a psychological and
physical dependence on a substance
or behavior that leads to compulsive
and harmful behavior despite
negative consequences.
4) High in sugar: Many packaged foods
are high in added sugars, which can
lead to increased calorie intake and
weight gain.
High in fat: Packaged foods can also
be high in unhealthy fats, such as
trans fats and saturated fats, which
can contribute to weight gain and
other health problems.
5)Stopping eating sugary foods can be
challenging for some people, as sugar can
be addictive and can trigger cravings.
However, it is possible to reduce or eliminate
sugary foods from your diet with some effort
and strategies.
 Writing practice

Put the words in the correct order.

1. kinds / many / sugar / are / there/of
1. There are many kinds of sugar.

2. sugar / kind / hidden / the / worst/ is

2. The worst kind of sugar is hidden.

3. away / the / good / us / tells / after /

feeling / to / goes / more / the / brain / eat
3. After we eat, the brain tells us to eat more,
but the good feeling goes away.

4. of / a / sugar / energy / body / with / good

/ amounts / when / small / slowly / like /
food / eat / our / banana / we / produces
4. When we eat small amounts of good
sugar like a banana, our body produces
energy slowly.

5. be / of / uncomfortable / first / the /

weeks / might / couple
5. The first couple of weeks might be
uncomfortable.

@ Rob Whyte 2021 englishlistening.rocks