Preventing Disease, Healthy Community
FoundationObesity, short-sightedness, tooth decay and flu can all be prevented; community health depends on health services and everyone keeping the environment clean.
- Obesity, short-sightedness, tooth decay and flu can all be prevented.
- Eat well, exercise often, care for eyes and teeth, and keep clean.
- The Student Health Service and vaccinations protect us.
文體小知識：生活常識說明文提供實用方法，這一篇教你預防疾病，並一起保持社區健康。
§Text Passage
1Four health problems are common among primary pupils. Obesity: too much fried food and sweet drinks with too little exercise pushes weight past the healthy mark and raises the chance of illness later. Short-sightedness: long hours on phone screens, reading too close or in dim light tire the eyes until far things look blurred. Tooth decay: frequent sweets without thorough brushing let germs eat into the teeth and form cavities. Influenza: caused by a virus and spread by droplets, it is worst in winter, bringing fever, cough and tiredness.
2The ways to prevent these problems all live in daily habits. Eat a balanced diet: less fried and sugary food, more vegetables and fruit, water instead of soft drinks. Keep moving: an hour of physical activity every day — skipping, running and ball games are all good. Care for your eyes: limit reading and screen time, look far away for a moment every thirty minutes, and keep good light and posture. Care for your teeth: brush morning and night, go easy on sweets, and have regular dental checks. Prevent flu: wash hands often, wear a mask when ill, and have the flu vaccination.
3The community also runs many activities that promote health. The Student Health Service of the Department of Health checks pupils' eyesight, hearing, spine and weight every year to find problems early; schools also provide dental care to check and protect classmates' teeth. Vaccination programmes give students their injections, such as the school outreach flu vaccination. Schools hold health talks, sports days and fruit days, and the LCSD's leisure venues make exercise easy — the whole community guards our health together.
4When the community stays clean, diseases naturally decrease. Hong Kong's common environmental hygiene problems include: rubbish piling in back lanes and rats, which spread germs; dripping air-conditioners that soak the pavement and breed mosquitoes; and spitting and littering in public places. To fight these, government and citizens must work together: the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department cleans up and enforces the law, prosecuting littering and dripping air-conditioners; pest control officers clear rats regularly; property managers step up cleaning; and citizens do their part by keeping bin lids closed.
5Health is not only one's own business but the community's. Be a health ambassador in three ways. First, mind your own health: build good habits of eating, exercise, sleep and cleanliness. Second, remind those around you: help family give up late-night snacks, teach younger brothers and sisters to wash hands properly. Third, watch the neighbourhood: when you see rats, piled rubbish or a dripping air-conditioner, tell an adult or call 1823 to report. When everyone does a little, the community is cleaner and diseases find it harder to spread.
1Summary 重點摘要
Obesity, short-sightedness, tooth decay and flu can all be prevented; community health depends on health services and everyone keeping the environment clean.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Being far heavier than healthy for your height.
Seeing near things clearly but far things blurrily.
Holes in teeth made by germs and sugar.
A contagious illness with fever and cough, caused by a virus.
An injection that trains the body to fight disease.
The Department of Health's yearly health checks for pupils.
Too many rats around, which spread disease.
Keeping public places clean and healthy.
A person who promotes healthy habits and helps others.
3Step by step Steps
- Step 1: Know the common health problemsFirst, know the four most common health problems of primary pupils. Obesity: weight over the standard, usually from too much oily and sugary food and too little exercise, raising the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes later. Short-sightedness: far things blur, usually from long hours of close reading and screens; Hong Kong pupils' myopia rate is among the world's highest, so take it seriously. Tooth decay: black spots and cavities, and a jolt of pain with cold drinks. Influenza: fever, cough and sore throat, very contagious, and it spreads easily around school. Know the problems, and you can act on them.
- Step 2: Four personal keys to preventionPrevention beats cure, and there are four personal keys. One, eat healthily: regular meals, more vegetables and less fried food, water when thirsty, only a little snack. Two, move more: an hour of activity a day — skipping, cycling or swimming after school all count. Three, care for eyes and teeth: hold books thirty centimetres away and rest your eyes by looking afar every half hour; brush morning and night with fluoride toothpaste and cut down on sticky sweets. Four, stay clean: wash hands with soap for twenty seconds, cover coughs, and rest with a mask when ill — protecting yourself and your classmates.
- Step 3: Use the community's health servicesThe community offers many services for health — know them and use them. The Student Health Service centres of the Department of Health check pupils' height and weight, eyesight, hearing and spinal curvature every year, with health education and individual guidance. School dental care checks primary pupils' teeth and gives basic treatment. For immunisation, maternal and child health centres vaccinate babies and toddlers, and the seasonal flu vaccine school outreach brings the injection right into school — easy and safe. LCSD sports centres and pools are cheap to use, and the department and schools often hold health talks. Attend your check-ups and vaccinations on time, and deal with problems early.
- Step 4: Know the environmental hygiene problemsEnvironmental hygiene is closely tied to personal health. Hong Kong's common problems fall into four kinds. First, rats: rubbish and clutter in back lanes give rats food and shelter, and they spread disease. Second, piled rubbish: it invites mosquitoes and cockroaches and gives off stench. Third, dripping air-conditioners: besides soaking passers-by, the water breeds mosquitoes. Fourth, dirty back lanes and public spaces, such as spitting and littering. These problems hurt more than the city's looks — they help diseases spread, since rats and mosquitoes both carry germs to people, so they must be taken seriously.
- Step 5: Government and citizens work togetherSolving hygiene problems takes government and citizens together. The government side: the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department cleans streets, runs refuse collection points and cleansing services, and prosecutes littering, spitting and dripping air-conditioners; pest control teams kill rats and mosquitoes at black spots regularly; the 1823 joint hotline takes citizens' reports and passes them to departments. The citizens' side: bag rubbish and put it in bins, and sort for recycling; never spit, and keep back lanes clear; management offices clean and service air-conditioners regularly. Enforcement plus everyone's self-discipline keeps the environment clean for the long run.
- Step 6: Know the 1823 hotlineWhen we find hygiene problems, there is a channel to report. 1823 is the government's joint hotline, answering calls twenty-four hours a day for many departments: rat problems, piled rubbish, dripping air-conditioners, street clutter and broken street lamps can all be reported. State the location clearly — the building name, street and spot — and describe the problem; you can also upload photos with the 1823 app so departments follow up faster. After a report, officers will inspect and handle it. Children should never go into back lanes to look; tell your parents and let an adult report — that is the safe and effective way.
- Step 7: Be a health ambassadorAnyone can be a health ambassador and spread health and cleanliness. At school: do morning exercises and PE properly, remind classmates to wash hands before eating and to drink water instead of sweet drinks, and join the health ambassador scheme to help with hygiene checks. At home: encourage family to smoke and drink less and to eat fruit every day instead of snacks, and exercise with Mum and Dad. In the community: watch the environment, report problems promptly, and join estate clean-ups and country park clean-up days. A health ambassador needs no superpowers — just keep doing right and helping others, drop by drop, to make the community healthier.
5Worked example Example
Example: Kit finds rats in the back lane of his estate, with bin lids open and rubbish scattered on the ground. What should he do? And how can the community work together to solve it?
- Kit protects himself first: he keeps away from the rats, does not touch them, leaves the lane by another way, and tells his parents what he saw.
- The family reports to the management office and calls 1823 about the rats, stating the lane's location and details clearly, with photos if possible.
- The property company fits the bins with lids and clears the clutter; the government department follows up, sending staff to inspect, lay bait and step up cleaning.
- Prevention for the future: residents bag rubbish before discarding it and keep the lids closed, leaving no food scraps — then the rats naturally grow fewer.
- Answer: Kit should stay away from the rats and tell an adult, and the family or management should call 1823 to report the rats, stating the place and the details. The government will send staff to kill rats and clean up; the property company must close the bins and clear clutter; residents must handle rubbish properly. Solving community hygiene problems needs three parties working together: citizens who report, a government that enforces, and everyone's self-discipline — none can be missing.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1How can influenza be prevented?
Q2What problem do long hours close to screens cause?
Q3Which hotline takes reports of rats?
Q4Which department runs the Student Health Service?
Q5How can we stop air-conditioners dripping?
8Recap Recap
- Obesity, short-sightedness, tooth decay and flu can all be prevented.
- Eat well, exercise often, care for eyes and teeth, and keep clean.
- The Student Health Service and vaccinations protect us.
- Report rats, rubbish and dripping air-conditioners by calling 1823.
- Be a health ambassador: mind yourself, remind others, care for the community.