EBAU Practice- Reading

What Happens When You Only Eat Fruit

Fruitarianism is not a diet, but a way of life. And as someone who has tried it out, I can say that I also think it is crazy. It involves eating nothing but fruit with a sprinkling of nuts and seed thrown in. People do it for different reasons and to different degrees, but the general rule is that your diet should consist of at least 75% raw fruit and 25% nuts and seeds.

Most famously, the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs spent some time as a fruitarian. He claimed it aided his creativity. But when actor Ashton Kutcher tried to follow the fruitarian diet for a month to help him prepare to play Jobs in the film, he ended up in hospital.

However, it is perhaps on Instagram where the lifestyle is most visible. There are just under 475,000
Instagram posts with the hashtag #fruitarian, and the photos mostly feature beautiful women, fruit topped smoothies and beautiful fruit platters. It is a lifestyle that looks very healthy and glamorous. I really like fruit myself, so I thought I would try to be a fruitarian for a week. I believed it would be quite easy but I was wrong. I managed three days and I had to stop because I was feeling so ill. So it turns out that fruitarianism isn't for me and I didn't even follow it strictly. I was left wondering why people really do it.

There are various popular reasons why people follow a fruitarian diet, including: to avoid cooking, to detox, to reduce calories, to be more environmentally friendly or even to feel morally superior. Many fruitarians believe we should only eat food that has actually fallen from the tree, which would be incredibly difficult in today's world.

It is an incredibly extreme diet and is not recommended by many dieticians and nutritionists. Followers often have low levels of vitamin B12, calcium, iodine, and omega 3 fatty acids, which can lead to anaemia, fatigue, and a weak immune system. Dietician Lisa Defazio says, “Restricting your diet to just 1 or 2 groups is not considered healthy. Even if you love fruit, your body may not love it just as much.”

7 March 2017, The Independent (Adapted).

Question 1: [2,5 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer. 

a) The writer has not done the fruitarian diet herself. 

b) Steve Jobs felt the diet was positive for him. 

c) The writer was not able to follow the diet for a whole week. 

d) Eating fruit that falls from the tree is an easy option according to the writer. 

e) Most health experts do not think this diet is a good idea. 

Question 2: [1,5 POINTS] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given. 

a) Mad (paragraph 1) 

b) Uncooked (paragraph 1)

c) To give up (paragraph 3) 

d) Rigorously (paragraph 3) 

e) To cause (paragraph 5)

Question 3: [2 POINTS] Choose the correct option, a, b or c for each question and COPY the sentence onto your answer sheet. 

1. On the fruitarian diet, you must eat... a) Much more fruit than nuts and seeds. b) Equal amounts of fruit, nuts and seeds. c) Slightly less fruit than nuts and seeds. 

2. If Ashton Kutcher hadn’t been playing Steve Jobs in a film... a) he would not have tried the fruitarian diet. b) he would not be in hospital now. c) he would have tried the fruitarian diet anyway. 

3. The writer had to stop following the diet... a) Because she felt ill. b) So she felt ill. c) Despite feeling ill. 

4. The text says that people follow a fruitarian diet... a) Since many dieticians and nutritionists warn them of its dangers. b) Even though many dieticians and nutritionists warn them of their dangers. c) As long as many dieticians and nutritionists warn them of their dangers. 

Question 4: [4 POINTS] Write a short essay (about 120-150 words) on the following topic: – What types of food and drink are necessary in a balanced diet and which should be avoided? Give reasons.
 

Criterios Pg42:  https://web.unican.es/admision/Documents/Documentos%20EBAU/Ex%C3%A1menes%20EBAU/CRITERIOS%20GENERALES%20Junio%202017.pdf