Reading comprehension: Gapped summary
Hinweise zur Aufgabenform „gapped summary“
„Gapped summary“ bedeutet wörtlich übersetzt „Textzusammenfassung mit Lücken“. Diese Aufgabenstellung verlangt das Vergleichen eines Ausgangstextes mit einem zweiten kürzeren Text. In diesem ist die wichtigste Textinformation zusammengefasst, jedoch sind einige Schlüsselwörter ausgelassen worden. Aufgabe ist es nun, diese Schlüsselwörter, die unbedingt aus dem Ausgangstext stammen müssen, zu finden und richtig einzusetzen. Wichtig hierbei ist, dass die Zusammenfassung inhaltlich dieselbe Aussage hat wie der Ausgangstext. D.h., es genügt nicht, den Lückentext mit sinnvollen Wörtern zu vervollständigen (wie dies z.B. beim „cloze-test“ der Fall ist). Inhaltlich muss der Lückentext eine Zusammenfassung des Ausgangstextes darstellen. Der Arbeitsauftrag besteht darin, ein einzelnes Wort oder einen Ausdruck einzusetzen, der aus zwei bis drei Wörtern besteht.
Häufig bezieht sich diese Aufgabenstellung nur auf einen Teil des Ausgangstextes oder auf Äußerungen einer bestimmten Person in einem Text. Bei der Bearbeitung dieser Aufgabenstellung ist es unter Umständen sinnvoll, sich zuerst den Lückentext durchzulesen und dann erst den Ausgangstext, sodass der Leser gleich weiß, worauf beim Lesen geachtet werden muss.
Text: US schools to be battleground in war on junk food
A America is starting to fight back against the junk food culture which is so ingrained a part of its national identity. Its two biggest states, California and Texas, are proposing to ban snacks and soft drinks from school cafeterias while legislation at state and federal levels is being prepared. In a country where 60 per cent of the adult population is overweight, these moves are, most will agree, long overdue.
B „We’re just beginning to see obesity move into the policy arena,“ said Morgan Downey, of the American Obesity Association, who says the floodgates were opened by last month’s decision by the IRS (= Internal Revenue Service) to link weight loss to tax breaks. „Previously, it was seen as an individual problem.“ Plans to turn the land of the cheeseburger into the land of the soy bean shake have set the scene for a battle royal with the giant companies whose profits depend on the national appetite for fast food. They argue that it is lack of exercise rather than a diet of cheeseburgers and sodas which is to blame for the three-fold increase in child obesity in the past 30 years.
C Mr Downey says: „They [the fast-food companies] dwarf pro-nutrition groups in terms of resources and they have huge clout on Capitol Hill (= Congress). But they are also very sensitive to their public image. That is the real way change is being brought about.“
D In the past year, a number of polemical popular books have addressed the social and nutritional implications of the way giant food conglomerates market junk food. It is the marketing of big-brand junk foods to school-age children which, for most nutritionists, remains the most powerful single factor in the country’s future health. PepsiCo, for example has said explicitly that its strategy is to push to expand soft drink consumption among children aged six to 11.
E Sponsorship deals with food companies are now worth an estimated $750 million annually to American schools. The money often allows them to buy much-needed sporting and computer facilities but comes with strings attached. Fast food companies say they are merely making their products available more widely.
F Contracts with soft-drink makers specify numbers and placements of vending machines in schools, often tying sponsorship levels with sales quotas. Fast food companies, meanwhile, operate concessions in an increasing number of school cafeterias. Elementary schools hold themed days for Pizza Hut and McDonalds; Taco Bell products are sold in 4,500 schools.
G Academic independence, say many nutritionists, is under threat. Corporate sponsorship also extends to teaching materials such as text books. A 1998 survey by the Consumers‘ Union concluded that 80 per cent of such material were biased in ways which promoted the sponsors‘ views and products. „There is a groundswell of concerns from parents and administrators,“ said Mr Downey. „It’s a bad trade-off to try to get extra revenue by fattening up our kids.“
H Nutritionists and public health campaigners say the incursion of junk food into America’s public schools contributes directly to the obesity pandemic which taxes the health care system to the limits. Their opponents describe them as nags and busybodies determined to interfere with freedom of choice. But those on both sides of the debate seem to agree on one thing: the fight against Big Food in America looks set to be for the beginning of this century what the fight against Big Tobacco was at the end of the last.
Adapted from an article in The Daily Telegraph, May 21, 2002