“The main idea of eating is not to gain pleasure, but to satisfy your hunger and keep you alive”

“The main idea of eating is not to gain pleasure, but to satisfy your hunger and keep you alive”

1. Read and translate the text, then retell it in a written form (12-18 sentences)

The British and food

It is natural that the best way to experience another culture is to try the local (national) food of the country. Visitors to Britain generally agree about one thing – British cooking. “It’s terrible!” they say. “You can cook vegetables in so many interesting ways. But the British cook vegetables for too long, so they lose their taste”. But we can’t say these statements are right.

British tastes have changed a lot over the past years. If you go back to the time of Queen Elisabeth I (1558-1603), people really knew how to eat and drink. Country houses had special herb gardens full of rosemary, thyme, parsley, garlic and basil. Chefs used to travel around Europe to get new ideas and ingredients. The reign of Elisabeth I was also time when British explorers sailed all over the world. They brought back all sorts of exotic foods: rice and tea from China, spices such as cumin and cardamom from India, coffee from Arabia. In the Americas they found tomatoes, maize, peanuts, pineapples, sugar cane, hot chillies and vanilla. In the 1990s the national average for each person was 352 grams of “red” meat each week, but now it is less than 250 grams. People prepare chicken and fresh fish. More people are interested in healthy eating these days. The British have a “sweet tooth”, they love cakes, chocolates and sweets.

Changing tastes… Today many people want food to be quick and easy, when both parents are working, they can’t cook large meals in the evenings. “Ready – made” meals from supermarkets and “take-away” meals from fast food restaurants are very popular. Twenty years ago, British people usually ate at home. They only went for a meal at special times, like somebody’s birthday. But today, many people eat out at least once a week. In the past, traditional steakhouses were very popular places, but now many people prefer foreign food. Every British town has Indian and Chinese restaurants. Pubs are also very popular. There are over 60 000 pubs in the UK, more than 80 % of beer is drunk in pubs.

The British and tea …The British population drinks about 2 000 000 000 cups of tea a day! This is an average of nearly 1, 040 cups of tea a year for each person. Tea – mostly green tea from China – came to Britain in the late 1500s, but it was only for very rich. It became cheaper about three hundred years later, when it was planted in India and later in Ceylon. People from all classes started drinking it. But some people thought that too much tea was bad for your health, so they started putting milk in it, to make it healthier. Afternoon tea is a small meal, not a drink. Now most ordinary British families do not have time for afternoon tea at home, but in the past it was a tradition. It became popular about hundred and fifty years ago, when rich ladies invited their friends to their houses for an afternoon cup of tea. They started offering their visitors sandwiches and cakes too. Soon everybody was enjoying this exciting new meal.

But the British working population did not have afternoon tea. They had a meal at about midday, and a meal after work, between 5 and 7 o’clock. This meal was called “high tea”, or just “tea”. Today, most people have a meal between 12 and 2 p.m. In the past, this meal was called “dinner” in working families. But now most people call it “lunch”. Dinner has become a bigger meal in the evenings.

If you ask foreigners to name some typically English dishes, they will probably say “Fish and chips”. It is known that fish and chips were developed separately. The French invented chips and in 1839 Charles Dickens reffered to a “fried fish warehouse” in Oliver Twist. But it was not until the 1860s that the trade began to develop as we know it now.

Vocabulary

Local [ ] – местный

National [ ]food – национальная еда, традиционная

Statement [ ] – утверждение

country house -поместье; имение, усадьба

herb [ ] – трава, лекарственные травы

rosemary [ ] – розмарин

thyme [ ] – тимьян, чабрец

parsley [ ] – петрушка

garlic [ ] – чеснок

basil [ ] - базилик

ingredient [ ] – ингредиент, составляющая

reign [ ] – правление, царствование

spice [ ] – специя, острота

cumin [ ] – тмин

cardamom [ ] – кардамон

maize [ ] – кукуруза, маис

peanut [ ] – земляной орех, арахис

pineapple [ ] – ананас

vanilla [ ] - ваниль

“Ready – made” – полуфабрикат

“take-away” – еда на вынос, готовая

Average [ ] – средний

Foreigner [ ] - иностранец, незнакомец

Trade [ ] – торговля, коммерческая деятельность

2. Read and translate the text in a written form

Sandwich

Two slices of bread with something put in between – was named after the Earl of Sandwich, John Montague. According to the legend, the Earl of Sandwich was a passionate gambler and would often spend not only days but also nights at the gaming table. Only one thing spoiled his pleasure, the fact that from time to time he had to break off the game to go to eat. So it was that some time around 1762 a new food was created for the Earl which allowed him to eat while he was gambling. This invention was a slice of fried beef placed between two slices of bread. So it was that the Earl, well-fed and with his hands still clean, could continue playing. He might eat without stopping the game and without soiling the fingers.

3. Read the recipe, write the recipe of your favourite dish at home

Chicken salad with grapes (Serve this chicken salad as a sandwich)

Ingredients:

· 1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken

· 8 to 12 red or green seedless grapes, halved(бескосточковый виноград, разрезанный пополам)

· 4 tablespoons mayonnaise

· 1 rib celery, chopped (порезанный сельдерей)

· 1 green onion, with about 2 inches of green, chopped

· salt and pepper, to taste

· dash(щепотка) curry powder, or to taste, optional

Method:

Combine ingredients until blended. Spread on bread for sandwiches or arrange on lettuce leaves.
Serves 4.

4. Look through the explanations of the food idioms and fill in the gaps in the sentences with the proper idiom

To butter both sides of one’s bread – одновременно делать несколько дел

To be one’s bread and butter – делать работу, за которую вы получаете деньги

To butter sb. up - получить что-то путем подхалимства, лести

To be the breadwinner – зарабатывать хорошую зарплату

To be full of beans - полный энергии

Not to know beans about – не иметь ни малейшего представления о чем-либо

To get paid peanuts – получать низкую заработную плату

To spill the beans – рассказать кому –то секрет

Not to have a bean – быть абсолютно без денежных средств

Not worth a hill of beans – пустое дело

1. This employer can’t be trusted - he is sure_______________________

2. It’s the kids’ party today and they _____________________________

3. I’m sorry, but he won’t suit because he________________this project

4. She earns the main salary – she is the _______________in our family.

5. He works for one company during the day and at the same time he has a job with another company during the evening – he wants to ________________________

6. I can’t pay today – I _____________________________________

7. I don’t write just for fun – it’s my __________________________

8. _________________ing me up will get you nowhere

9. He _________________. We can hardly make both ends meet.

10. The story you got involved in is ________________________

5. Answer these questions:

1. What is the aim of food for the English people?

2. Do the British have a cult of food?

3. When do British people have supper?

6. Comment on these statements. Translate them.

1. “One should eat to live, not live to eat”

2. “One man’s eat is another man’s poison”

3. On the Continent people have good food; in England people have good table manners”

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