Ex. 2. Fill in the appropriate words from the right column.What Does it Come Under?
If you.................., there are certain.................... you really have to avoid:................ and.................... are out for a start, but you can’t live forever on..................... and.................... There are men and women who spend their entire lives counting.................... they take in each day. Some national.................... make you fat. The Japanese have a high protein diet, while the Swiss eat a lot of..................... Personally, I’m lucky not to have to diet, but my friend, John, can’t eat anything without looking it up in his Calorie Chart. This is carefully organized so that.................... and.................... are under ‘Fruit’;.................... and.................... come under ‘Starchy Foods’, and so on. I entertained John to a nice low calorie.................... yesterday and at the end I offered him some..................... ‘What does "jelly" come under?’ he asked looking at his chart. ‘Haifa litre of double cream,’ I said, pouring the stuff over my plate! Ex. 1. Master the pronunciation of the following words:
Cuisine, sausage, toast, porridge, marmalade, bacon, cornflakes, sandwich, biscuit, garnish, pie, waffle, cocoa, vegetables, preserves, course, soup, pudding.
Ex.2. a) Read the title of the article. How do you understand its meaning? b) Read the article and say what the author thinks of Russian and British cuisine. Do you agree with the author? “What is a Russian man’s meat is a British man’s poison”
Living in Russia one cannot but stick to a Russian diet. Keeping this diet for an Englishman is fatal. The Russians have meals four times a day and their cuisine is quite intricate. Every person starts his or her day with breakfast. Poor Englishmen are sentenced to either a continental or an English breakfast. From the Russian point of view, when one has it continental it actually means that one has no breakfast at all, because it means drinking a cup of coffee or fruit juice and eating a bun. A month of continental breakfasts for some Russians would mean starving. The English breakfast is a bit better, as it consists of one or two fried eggs, grilled sausages, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms. The English have tea with milk or coffee and toast with butter and marmalade. As a choice one may have corn flakes with milk and sugar or porridge. In Russia people may have anything for breakfast. Some good-humoured individuals even prefer soup, but, of course, sandwiches and coffee are very popular. One can easily understand that in Great Britain by one o’clock people are very much ready for lunch. Lunch is a substantial meal. That would be music for a Russian’s ears until he or she learns what lunch really consists of. It may be a meat or fish course with soft drinks followed by a sweet course. The heart of a Russian person fills with joy when the hands of the clock approach two o’clock. His or her dinner includes three courses. A Russian will have a starter (salad, herring, cheese, etc.), soup, steaks, chops, or fish fillets with garnish, a lot of bread, of course, and something to drink. The more the better. At four or five the Russians may have a bite: waffles, cakes with juice, tea, cocoa, or something of the kind. Around 5 p.m. British people definitely need their afternoon tea. The British like it strong and fresh made. Tea must be “just like mother makes it”, one tea-spoonful of tea for each person. They drink it with or without sugar but almost always with milk. Usually the afternoon tea is a total meal with cucumber sandwiches, cakes and scones. In Great Britain they have dinner about half past seven or later. Soup may be served then, but one should not be misled by the word “soup”. British soup is just thin paste and a portion is three times smaller than in Russia. The main course will often be fish or meat, perhaps the traditional roast beef with potatoes or vegetables, Shepherd’s pie or Yorkshire pudding. The next course will be something sweet and often cooked, such as a fruit pie. A lot of British prefer to eat out. “Fish and Chips” shops are very popular with their take-away food. The more sophisticated public goes to Chinese, Italian, seafood or other restaurants and experiments with shrimp, inedible vegetables and hot drinks. Supper in Russia means one more big meal at seven. The table groans with food again. The British eat less meat and more fresh fruit and vegetables nowadays. A growing number of people are becoming vegetarians. Even children know about sugar-free sweets. Most Russians have never counted calories and they are deeply convinced that their food is healthy. Some housewives may admit that it takes some time to prepare all the stuff, including pickles, home-made preserves and traditional Russian pies and pancakes. But they don’t seem to mind too much and boil, fry, roast, grill, bake and make. Paraphrasing a famous proverb one can say: “What is a Russian man’s meat is a British man’s poison”*.
*“What is one man’s meat is another man’s poison” – Что русскому хорошо, то немцу смерть. Ex.3. a) Explain the words in bold. Make up your own sentences with them. b) Find in the text synonyms to the following words and word combinations: to be on a diet – to have a snack – to include – to like sth – good for health – to be certain about sth – c) Paraphrase the following sentences: 1) Many Russians are sure that their food is good for health. 2) Russian style of cooking is original and varied. 3) Most Russians have a snack at 5 o’clock. 4) British lunch includes a meat or a fish course with fruit juice or cola. 5) There are a lot of restaurants serving fish and shellfish in Great Britain. 6) A lot of British don’t like to eat in. 7) About 10 percent of British people don’t eat meat. d) Pick out from the text words and expressions denoting: a) food, b) drinks, c) ways of cooking. Discussion:
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