Unit 18. Food and Drink
LISTENING WARM-UP
Look at the pictures. In pairs, discuss whether you agree or disagree with the following statements. Explain why.
• I really don't like foreign food and the idea of it makes me feel sick.
• I love spicy food. The hotter, the better!
• I like to taste new and unusual food. I'll try anything once.
• I think everybody likes the kind of food they grow up with.
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DEVELOP YOUR LISTENING SKILLS
 You are going to listen to some people talking about the cuisine ofdifferent countries. First, listen to one sentence from each person andpredict what they are going to talk about next by choosing the correctanswer.Key.Speaker 1: a Speaker 2: b Speaker 3: b Speaker 4: a Speaker 5: a |
a some of the ingredients of Indian food.
b some of his experiences in Indian restaurants.
Speaker 2 is going to talk about
a the history of Italian food.
b the image of Italian food.
Speaker 3 is going to talk about
a some prob/ems with Chinese food.
b some misunderstandings about Chinese food.
Speaker 4 is going to talk about
a some less well-known English dishes.
b some health dangers of the English diet.
Speaker 5 is going to talk about
a how people in Mexico make a particular dish.
b what a particular Mexican dish tastes like.
Tapescript
Speaker 5
People there often make their own tortillas and it's really quite easy, once you've got your flour.
| Listen to what the speakers said next and check your answers to A. |
Speaker 1
Indian food relies on spices and strong flavours. There's a lot of garlic and ingredients like turmeric, cumin and curry powder.
Speaker 2
For me, Italian food is all about the idea of family. You know, the image from films of a large family around a table with a big pot of spaghetti in the middle.
Speaker 3
You'd be surprised at some of the strange ideas going around about Chinese cookery. Some people seem to think it's just dogs and snakes, but it's not like that at all.
Speaker 4
English food isn't all fish and chips, you know. There are other dishes that people around the world don't seem to know quite so well, like Lancashire hotpot.
Speaker 5
People there often make their own tortillas and it's really quite easy, once you've got your flour. You take it when it's wet and you shape it into flat cakes which are round and thin.
You are going to listen to the same speakers saying more about food.Circle the words in each of these lists you think they might use. Then,in pairs, try to think of more words for each list and write them on theline.
Speaker 1: Indian food
spicy chips popular hot popcorn vegetables
_____________________________________________________________
Speaker 2: Italian food
tomatoes pizza chopsticks restaurants chocolate cheese
_____________________________________________________________
Speaker 3: Chinese food
healthy microwave steak rice crisps fried
_____________________________________________________________
Speaker 4: English food
stew octopus potatoes Mediterranean tasty traditions
_____________________________________________________________
Speaker 5: Mexican food
rice vodka chillies chicken pizza burgers
_____________________________________________________________
| Listen to the complete recordings and check which keywords from С the speakers actually used. Did they use any of your words? Key.Speaker 1: spicy, chips, popular, hot, vegetables Speaker 2: tomatoes, pizza, restaurants, cheese Speaker 3: healthy, rice, fried Speaker 4: stew, potatoes, tasty traditions Speaker 5: rice, chillies, chicken |
Speaker 1
I really got a taste for it when I visited the country. Indian food relies on spices and strong flavours. There's a lot of garlic and ingredients like turmeric, cumin and curry powder. They use a lot of vegetables, like spinach and potatoes, and the meat is usually lamb or chicken. It can be quite hot and spicy, but with the climate they have over there that's an advantage because it helps to cool you down. It's become very big in Britain, and I heard that it's even more popular these days than fish and chips.
Speaker 2
I've always loved pasta. For me, Italian food is all about the idea of a family You know, the image from films of a large family around a table with a big pot of spaghetti in the middle. I love the combination of tomatoes, basil and Parmesan cheese. I don't think we do it justice outside Italy. If they could see the pizza that we eat ... well, let's just say that the best pizzas I've ever tasted are from the little restaurants in the centre of Rome.
Speaker 3
I spent about three years living in Beijing and that's where I learned a lot about Chinese food. You'd be surprised at some of the strange ideas going around about Chinese cookery. Some people seem to think it's just dogs and snakes, but it's not like that at all. In fact, there are many different traditions that make up Chinese cuisine. Most of them are based around the idea of small pieces of meat and vegetables fried quickly and then eaten with rice or noodles. It's actually a very healthy diet.
Speaker 4
I don't think that we really deserve our reputation for not being able to cook properly. English food isn't all fish and chips, you know. There are other dishes that people around the world don't seem to know quite so well, like Lancashire hotpot. It's a kind of stew of potatoes and lamb and it's really tasty. I think all countries have their own traditions and you can always find something worth cooking, if you look closely enough.
Speaker 5
I love Mexican food! People there often make their own tortillas and it's really quite easy, once you've got your flour. You take it when it's wet and you shape it into flat cakes which are round and thin. They're eaten as bread with rice, tomatoes, garlic and chillies. You can quite easily find them these days, although the Mexicans themselves think the shop-bought ones are a bit dry. One of my favourites is a tortilla wrapped around spicy chicken and fried onions with chilli sauce. You can't beat it!
| Listen to the speakers again and choose which of the following ideaseach speaker expresses by writing the correct letter in the spaceprovided. There is one extra letter you do not need to use. Key.Speaker 1: С Speaker 2: E Speaker 3: D Speaker 4: A Speaker 5: В |
Speaker 2: ________ В This food is thought to be better home-made.
Speaker 3: ________ С This food is appropriate in the country it comes from.
Speaker 4: ________ D This food doesn't demand a lot of preparation time.
Speaker 5: ________ E This food is done better in the country it comes from.
F This food appeals to all kinds of different people.
Tapescript
Speaker 1
I really got a taste for it when I visited the country. Indian foodrelies on spices and strong flavours. There's a lot of garlic andingredients like turmeric, cumin and curry powder. They use a lot ofvegetables, like spinach and potatoes, and the meat is usually lamb orchicken. It can be quite hot and spicy, but with the climate they haveover there that's an advantage because it helps to cool you down. It'sbecome very big in Britain, and I heard that it's even more popularthese days than fish and chips.
Speaker 2
I've always loved pasta. For me, Italian food is all about the idea of afamily You know, the image from films of a large family around a tablewith a big pot of spaghetti in the middle. I love the combination oftomatoes, basil and Parmesan cheese. I don't think we do it justiceoutside Italy. If they could see the pizza that we eat ... well, let'sjust say that the best pizzas I've ever tasted are from the littlerestaurants in the centre of Rome.
Speaker 3
I spent about three years living in Beijing and that's where I learned alot about Chinese food. You'd be surprised at some of the strange ideasgoing around about Chinese cookery. Some people seem to think it's justdogs and snakes, but it's not like that at all. In fact, there are manydifferent traditions that make up Chinese cuisine. Most of them arebased around the idea of small pieces of meat and vegetables friedquickly and then eaten with rice or noodles. It's actually a veryhealthy diet.
Speaker 4
I don't think that we really deserve our reputation for not being ableto cook properly. English food isn't all fish and chips, you know. Thereare other dishes that people around the world don't seem to know quiteso well, like Lancashire hotpot. It's a kind of stew of potatoes andlamb and it's really tasty. I think all countries have their owntraditions and you can always find something worth cooking, if you lookclosely enough.
Speaker 5
I love Mexican food! People there often make their own tortillas andit's really quite easy, once you've got your flour. You take it whenit's wet and you shape it into flat cakes which are round and thin.They're eaten as bread with rice, tomatoes, garlic and chillies. You canquite easily find them these days, although the Mexicans themselvesthink the shop-bought ones are a bit dry. One of my favourites is atortilla wrapped around spicy chicken and fried onions with chillisauce. You can't beat it!
You are going to listen to an extract from an interview with thespeaker you heard talking about Indian food. Before you listen, try topredict what words are missing from these notes by circling the correctanswer and then writing your guess on the line provided.
1 He thought before he went that people ate more ________________ than they actually did.
The missing word is probably ...
a a noun.
b an adjective.
с a verb.
It could be: ________________
2 Some of the food is quite ________________ for local people.
The missing word is probably ...
a an adverb.
b a preposition.
с an adjective.
It could be: ________________
3 If the food was too , the speaker didn't like it.
The missing word is probably ...
a an adjective.
b a verb.
с a noun.
It could be: ________________
In pairs, discuss your ideas. Do you agree on what the missing words might be?
Decide whether the following words could be used to complete any ofthe sentences 1-3 in F. Write the number(s) of the sentences next to thewords. If the word can't be used to complete any of the sentences, put across.
Key.1 cheap 2, 3
2 quickly 1
3 rather X
4 potatoes 1
5 curry 1
6 salty 2, 3
1 cheap ______________
2 quickly ______________
3 rather ______________
4 potatoes ______________
5 curry ______________
6 salty ______________
| Listen to the extract from the interview and complete the notes in F. Were any of your guesses correct? Key.1 meat (noun) 2 expensive (adj) 3 spicy (adj) |
Interviewer Was there anything that surprised you about the food in India?
Speaker I'd read a little about it before I went so I was quite well prepared. I've also been eating curries for years in this country, so I knew more or less what to expect. There was a lot less meat than I thought there would be.
Interviewer Why do you think that was?
Speaker Well, of course the Indians generally don't eat beef for religious reasons, so most meat is lamb or chicken. Compared to the West, though, it's quite expensive for the ordinary Indian. You have to remember that many people in that country are poor, very poor by European standards. They will often eat a whole meal of rice and vegetables.
Interviewer Was there anything you tasted that you didn't like?
Speaker I experienced some wonderful dishes from all over India and there were some incredible tastes in every area. I think the only time I really didn't enjoy what I was eating was when it was too spicy, even for a curry-lover like me!
| Now listen again. This time, decide if the statements are true or false. Circle T for True or F for False. Key.1T 2F 3F 4F |
2 The speaker was expecting more vegetables. T / F
3 The Indians eat a large amount of beef. T / F
4 The speaker loved everything he ate. T / F
Tapescript
Interviewer Was there anything that surprised you about the food in India?
Speaker I'd read a little about it before I went so I wasquite well prepared. I've also been eating curries for years in thiscountry, so I knew more or less what to expect. There was a lot lessmeat than I thought there would be.
Interviewer Why do you think that was?
Speaker Well, of course the Indians generally don't eat beeffor religious reasons, so most meat is lamb or chicken. Compared to theWest, though, it's quite expensive for the ordinary Indian. You have toremember that many people in that country are poor, very poor byEuropean standards. They will often eat a whole meal of rice andvegetables.
Interviewer Was there anything you tasted that you didn't like?
Speaker I experienced some wonderful dishes from all overIndia and there were some incredible tastes in every area. I think theonly time I really didn't enjoy what I was eating was when it was toospicy, even for a curry-lover like me!
WORDPERFECT
Read these sentences and then use the words in bold to complete the sentences below.
Key.1 self-service
2 stew
3 spicy
4 toast
5 pasta
6 cook
7 diet
8 cuisine
9 acquire / get a taste for
10 dish
• I've always loved French cuisine and I took a course to learn how to cook it properly.
• This one's quite spicy, so you might need a glass of water with it to cool your mouth down!
• In Europe, we eat quite well, but we still have too much salt and sugar in our diet.
• A person who makes food but who hasn't been specially trained is usually called a cook.
• Some places are self-service and don't have waiters. You get your food from the counter and pay for it before sitting at a table.
• If you acquire / get a taste for something, you try it and start to like it.
• The waiter told us that each dish on the menu was served with chips and vegetables.
• A stew is usually meat and vegetables in a sauce cooked in a pot for quite a long time.
• The Italians eat a lot of pasta, such as spaghetti and ravioli.
• Many people eat toast for breakfast. It's bread which has been cooked on both sides and they often put butter and marmalade on it.
1 I think the restaurant is ______________, so join the queue and choose what you want.
2 A ______________ is a great meal to make for a cold winter's day, especially if you have plenty of time.
3 I'd love to try some of your curry, as long as it's not too ______________.
4 I'm never very hungry in the morning and a cup of coffee and a slice of ______________ is usually enough.
5 I don't like pizza, so when we go to an Italian restaurant I usually order ______________.
6 Sarah's got a job as a ______________ at the local hospital and she says it's really hard work.
7 People in some countries have a very poor ______________ without enough vitamins.
8 Our chef is highly experienced and specialises in producing top quality European ______________.
9 The food in other countries can seem a little strange at first, but you soon ______________ it.
10 The waiter came back and said that they'd run out of chicken pie, so I had to order another ______________.
PRACTISE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS
Listening know-how
• Выполняя задание K, перед прослушиванием текста, прочитайте, чтоговориться о каждом участнике беседы. Постарайтесь спрогнозироватьинформацию, которую вы можете услышать в тексте. Во время прослушиваниятекста сопоставьте ваши предположения с содержанием текста дляаудирования.
• Выполняя задание L, перед прослушиванием текстапрочитайте задание и вопросы. Постарайтесь догадаться, о чем пойдет речьв тексте. В вопросах подчеркните слова, которые вы предполагаетеуслышать. Текст легче понять, если вы будете знать, о чем пойдет речь.
| You will hear five people talking about their experiences indifferent restaurants. For questions 1-5, choose from the list A-F whathappened to each speaker. Use the letters only once. There is one extraletter you do not need to use. Key.Speaker 1: D Speaker 2: F Speaker 3: В Speaker 4: E Speaker 5: A |
В I was expecting a quieter place.
С I was expecting more polite waiters.
D I was expecting higher prices.
E I was expecting a busier place.
F I was expecting better service.
Speaker 1 ________________
Speaker 2 ________________
Speaker 3 ________________
Speaker 4 ________________
Speaker 5 ________________
Tapescript
Speaker 1
It was a little Spanish place. I'd told Sean to book but he'd thought we'd be all right if we just took a chance. We got there at about nine and it looked like we were in luck. We went in and sat down and started looking through the menu. They've got some wonderful dishes, and it wasn't as expensive as I'd heard it was. I was just making up my mind when a waiter came over and pointed to the little 'reserved' sign on the table. They all had them. It was a bit embarrassing, actually, because we'd already started drinking the water that was there. We had to get something on the way home.
Speaker 2
'Uncle Sam's', it was called. It was supposed to be a kind of quality American restaurant, rather than just a burger place. I wanted to try the chilli, thinking that it would be good because America is so close to Mexico. I went with Richard and he decided to go for the Cajun chicken. They were right when they said it wasn't the same as fast food. It took three quarters of an hour to arrive! We were starving! I think we would have eaten anything by that time. In the end, we weren't disappointed. I'd definitely recommend it, although they're a bit slow.
Speaker 3
I don't know if that's what they're all like, because I'd never been to an Indian restaurant before. We'd reserved a table and the waiter showed us to our seats when we arrived. They brought us a menu and recommended a few things, which was fine because we weren't really sure what we were doing. What I hadn't realised, though, was that they did takeaways as well, so we were there all night with the phone going and people queueing and chatting. For what we paid, I was really expecting something else.
Speaker 4
We'd been over to Greece on holiday, so we knew what to expect the first time we went, more or less. It's run by a family and the mother does all the cooking, which means you really get a home¬made taste. We thought it would have been more popular. In the end, we needn't have bothered booking. I loved the atmosphere as much as the food, although the music was a bit loud, maybe. I think they have somebody playing live at weekends.
Speaker 5
All I'd heard about Japanese food before was that they eat uncooked fish, so I wasn't really sure when Alex suggested it. It said in the advert in the paper that booking wasn't necessary, so maybe it's not very popular. The problem is not knowing what to order, but the waiters were helpful, apart from a bit of a language problem. I was surprised that there was such a range of different dishes. What we had was quite salty, but I suppose you should expect that with fish. I'd have to say that it's an acquired taste. Alex was keen, but he'll try anything once.
| You will hear an interview with a chef about a cookery programme onTV. For questions 6-12, decide which of the statements are TRUE andwhich are FALSE. Write T for True or F for False in the boxes provided. Key.6T 7T 8F 9T 10F 11F 12T |
7 Patrick was tested before being offered a part on the show. ________________7
8 Leave it to Cook is meant to make difficult techniques easier. ________________8
9 Patrick thinks he is a good example for the viewers. ________________9
10 Patrick thinks people should make a great effort to eat well. ________________10
11 Patrick's children love the things he makes for them. ________________11
12 I Trisha suggests listeners should be imaginative in their cooking. ________________12
Tapescript
Interviewer Those of you who have seen Channel 12's latest cookery programme, Leave it to Cook will be familiar with my next guests, chef Trisha White and comedian Patrick Hamilton. Trisha, how did you first become a TV chef?
Trisha It all happened completely by chance. I was working at the Hilton when I suddenly got a phone call asking me to rush over to the studio. Their regular TV chef had got ill and they wondered If I could take over for one programme. In the end, I seemed to do a good enough job and they asked me to do a whole series and I came up with the idea for Leave it to Cook.
Interviewer And how did you get involved, Patrick?
Patrick Well, as your listeners will know if they've seen the programme, at the start of the series I couldn't cook a thing. You know, I'm one of those men who went straight from my mum's cooking to my wife's. Channel 12 contacted me and we actually did a cooking audition. I made a complete mess and they said I was the man for the job.
Interviewer Now, each week you, Trisha, choose a dish, demonstrate how to make it and then Patrick has a go.
Trisha That's right. We hope to show that there really isn't any great secret to good, basic cookery. I think Patrick will agree that some of his efforts are better than others, but we want to get across the idea that everybody can have a go.
Patrick The idea is that if I can learn to do it, then so can
anybody. Before the series, I really was the kind of person who would even burn water. Now, though, I think that I could feed myself if I had to. Men, especially, are very bad at looking after themselves, and we want to make the point that with five minutes' thought and twenty minutes' cooking a day you can really improve your diet.
Interviewer What does your family think about your new abilities?
Patrick Well, my wife cooks very well, so I don't think her position is under threat just yet. There have been one or two experiments, like my Spanish omelette with chocolate, that the dog appreciated more than my children, but on the whole they think it's a positive thing.
Interviewer Trisha, what would be your tips for listeners who are thinking of taking up cooking?
Trisha First of all, don't be afraid. Even if it's a disaster, you
can always order a takeaway. Secondly, experiment. You can only find what you like if you try some things you don't like. Follow the basic principles you learn through the series and then follow your nose. You can't go too far wrong. [repeated]
GRAMMAR FOCUS
First, complete the following table using the words.
absolutely wonderful very expensive
| examples | we can use these expressions | |
| gradable adjectives | big, cheap, interesting, _______________1, etc. | a little, tnn quite extremely, _______________3. |
| ungradable adjectives | perfert amazing, exhausted, _______________2 etc. | totally, completely, quite, _______________4. |
Now look at the following sentences using the word 'quite' in two different ways.
I thought the food was quite spicy.
I thought the food was quite excellent.
In the first sentence, 'quite' means 'fairly'. That's because 'spicy' is a gradable adjective, and the sentence is the same as:
I thought the food was fairly spicy.
In the second sentence, 'quite' means 'absolutely, completely'. That's because 'excellent' is an ungradable adjective, and the sentence is the same as:
I thought the food was absolutely excellent.
Listen to these statements. For each one, decide whether the word 'quite' means 'fairly' or 'absolutely' by circling the correct answer.
| Statement 1 a fairly b absolutely | Statement 2 a fairly b absolutely | Statement 3 a fairly b absolutely | Statement 4 a fairly b absolutely | Statement 5 a fairly b absolutely |
 | Unit 17 Unit 18 Unit 19 |  |