Food: British Food
Activity 1 Work with your partner to match the words on the left below with the words on the right.
Afternoon ------------------------------------------------- roll Jacket/Baked -------------------------------------------- salad Full English ----------------------------------------------- lunch Pub---------------------------------------------------------- tea Bread------------------------------------------------------- breakfast Fruit--------------------------------------------------------- potato
Activity 2 Read the descriptions below then work with your partner to match them with word partners above.
1. This is a meal which British people traditionally had at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. You can still have this meal in some hotels and in tea shops. It consists of tea, sandwiches and cakes. ----------------------------------------------
2. This is a potato which is cooked in its skin in an oven. It is usually served with butter and grated cheese on top. ---------------------------------------------------------------
3. This is a little individual portion of bread. In a restaurant a waiter or waitress usually brings you a selection of these while you wait for your meal. -----------------------------------
4. This is a popular type of midday meal which you can have in some pubs. The food is usually good, simple and traditional. ---------------------------------------------------
5. This is a dessert which consists of small pieces of different types of fruit mixed together. ------------------------------------------------------
6. British people don't usually eat this now but you can still find it in most hotels. It consists of tea and toast, fried eggs, bacon sausages, tomatoes and mushrooms. --------------------------------------------
Activity 3 Use the word partners from Activity 1 to fill the gaps in the sentences below. Then make questions from the sentences and use them to begin a conversation with your partner.
1. I'm going to try a ------------------------------------- next time I go to England. I thought people only went to pubs to drink - I didn't realise you could eat there too!
2. I like ----------------------- because I like eating fruit. 3. I've never had a --------------------------------- because we don't eat a lot of potatoes in my country. 4. I think I'll have a ------------------------------------ every morning on my next holiday in Britain. 5. I don't think I'll have --------------------------------- next time I'm in Britain because I'm never very hungry in the middle of the afternoon. 6. I think it's strange that the British only have ---------------------------- with their food when they eat in restaurants. Apparently they don't usually have bread with their meals at home!
Food: Habits and Holidays
Activity 1 Correct the errors in the sentences below and write a short explanation of why they are wrong.
a) I don't eat many cheese. _____________________________________________ b) Did you eat much biscuits? _____________________________________________ c) I eat much chocolate. _____________________________________________
Activity 2 Underline the correct word ('much' or 'many') in the sentences below and guess your partner's answers to the 'true or false' questions. Then change the statements into questions and use them to begin a conversation with your partner.
1. My partner doesn't eat much/many green vegetables every day. True/False? 2. My partner doesn't eat much/many citrus fruit every day. True/False? 3. My partner doesn't eat much/many ice-cream in summer. True/False? 4. My partner doesn't eat much/many biscuits between meals. True/False? 5. My partner doesn't eat much/many chocolate between meals. True/False? 6. My partner doesn't eat much/many potatoes every day. True/False? 7. My partner doesn't put much/many salt on his/her food. True/False? 8. My partner doesn't drink much/many coffee in the morning. True/False? 9. My partner doesn't drink much/many alcohol in the evening. True/False? 10. My partner doesn't eat much/many snacks during the day. True/False?
Activity 3 Work with your partner to match the countries on the left below with their famous dishes on the right.
| India |
chili con carne |
|
| China |
paella |
|
| Germany |
fish & chips |
|
| Mexico |
sushi |
|
| France |
curry |
|
|
England |
pizza |
|
| Switzerland |
chop suey |
|
| Spain |
fondue |
|
| Italy |
snails |
|
| Japan |
frankfurters |
Activity 4 Read the following questions and use them to begin a conversation with your partner.
1. When you go abroad do you like eating foreign food or do you miss the food at home? 2. Have you ever eaten any of food listed above? Where? When? What was it like? Did you like it? Why/not? Describe your experiences to your partner. If you haven't had any of the food above, which dishes would you like to try? Which dishes would you avoid and why? 3. What's the best meal you've ever had? What's the worst meal you've ever had?
Idiom Quizzes - Food
Choose an idiom at the bottom to replace the expression in the brackets below:
1- The teacher said that the boy in the back of the classroom was (her favorite).
(a) polishing the apple (b) a piece of cake (c) out to lunch (d) the apple of her eye
2 - She was (very calm) during the job interview.
(a) as cool as a cucumber (b) in the soup (c) full of beans (d) the cream of the crop
3 - It is not really (something that appeals to me) but if you want I will go with you.
(a) my bread and butter (b) my duck soup (c) my cup of tea (d) my gravy train
4 - He told everyone that they could have a holiday next week but he later had to (take back what he had said) and cancel it.
(a) make his mouth water (b) eat his words (c) polish the apple (d) take it with a grain of salt
5 - I told him (briefly) what he wanted to know but he still wasn't satisfied.
(a) in a nutshell (b) out of the frying pan and into the fire (c) in the soup (d) as cool as a cucumber
6 - He worked all summer and was able to (save) quite a lot of money to go back to school.
(a) butter up (b) egg on (c) take with a grain of salt (d) salt away
7 - She is a very good worker and is definitely (being paid what she deserves).
(a) worth her salt (b) souped up (c) nutty as a fruitcake (d) a hot potato
8 - Please don`t (tell anyone) about my plans to get married next year.
(a) hit the sauce (b) get egg on your face (c) spill the beans (d) eat humble pie
9 - He is always trying to (flatter) his boss in order to get a raise.
(a) big cheese (b) butter up (c) bread and butter (d) egg on
10 - The toys have been (selling very rapidly) since they were released last month.
(a) upsetting the applecart (b) selling like hotcakes (c) worth their salt (d) half-baked
11 - I stopped to (chat) with an old friend on my way to work this morning.
(a) chew the fat (b) eat my words (c) cut the mustard (d) cry over spilt milk
12 - He was told that he wasn`t able to (succeed) in joining the football team again this year.
(a) bring home the bacon (b) eat crow (c) stew in his own juice (d) cut the mustard
13 - She has a lot of stress so recently she has begun to (drink heavily).
(a) eat her words (b) have egg on her face (c) hit the sauce (d) upset the applecart
14 - He went (from something bad to something worse) when he got angry and suddenly decided to quit his job.
(a) out of the frying pan and into the fire (b) cool as a cucumber (c) crying over spilt milk (d) over to him on a silver platter
15 - Passing the exam was (totally easy) because I spent a lot of time studying last week.
(a) the cream of the crop (b) out to lunch c) in the soup (d) a piece of cake
Food Idioms
| apple of one's eye | - someone or something that one likes a lot The little girl is the apple of her grandfather's eye. |
| back to the salt mines | - back to work, humorous expression to express going back to unpleasant work "Well, lunch is over so let's go back to the salt mines for the afternoon." |
| bad egg | - a bad person, bum That man is a bad egg so you should try and avoid him if you can. |
| big cheese | - an important person, a leader He is a big cheese in his company so you should be very nice to him. |
| bread and butter | - basic needs of life (food,shelter,clothing) The voters are worried about bread and butter issues like jobs and taxes. |
| bring home the bacon | - earn your family's living Recently he has been working very hard trying to bring home the bacon. He has no time to do anything else |
| butter up | - flatter someone to try to get their favor or friendship He spends most of his free time trying to butter up his boss so that he won't have to work so hard. |
| carrot and stick | - promising to reward and punish someone at the same time The government took a carrot and stick approach to the people who were illegally protesting against the construction of the dam. |
| chew the fat | - chat We stayed up very late last night chewing the fat about our university days. |
| coffee break | - a break from work to rest and drink coffee We usually take a 15-minute coffee break every morning about 10 o'clock. |
| cool as a cucumber | - calm, not nervous or anxious He is always as cool as a cucumber and never worries about anything. |
| cream of the crop | - best of a group, the top choice The company is well-known as a good place to work and is always able to hire the cream of the crop of university graduates. |
| cry over spilt milk | - cry or complain about something that has already happened You shouldn't cry over spilt milk. The past is past and you can't do anything to change it. |
| cup of tea | - something one enjoys or does well (usually used in the negative) Going to art galleries is not my cup of tea so I think that I will stay home this evening and not go with you. |
| cut the mustard | - succeed, do adequately what needs to be done He wasn't able to cut the mustard so he had to leave the army after only one year. |
| duck soup | - a task that doesn't require much effort It was duck soup. I was able to finish everything early last night. |
| eat crow | - admit one is mistaken or defeated, take back a mistaken statement I was forced to eat crow and had to apologize for the mistake that I made about the restructuring of our company. |
| eat dirt | - act humble, accept another`s insult or bad treatment We made him eat dirt after he accused us of lying about the salary cut. |
| eat humble pie | - be humbled, admit one's error and apologize Our boss was forced to eat humble pie after everyone realized that he had made the wrong budget estimate for next year. |
| eat one's cake and have it too | - use or spend something and still keep it He refuses to give up anything and always wants to eat his cake and have it too. |
| eat one's words | - take back something one has said, admit something is not true I told my boss that I would be quitting but later I had to eat my words and tell him that I wanted to stay. |
| egg on | - urge someone on Many people at the football game were egged on by the drunken fans. |
| finger in the pie | - participate in something that is happening He always tries to keep his finger in the pie so that he can control everything. |
| full of beans | - feel energetic, in high spirits She is full of beans tonight and doesn't want to stop talking. |
| gravy train | - a job or work that pays more than it is worth For many years his job was a real gravy train but now the company has become very strict and will not pay overtime |
| half-baked | - not thought out or studied carefully He has a half-baked idea about starting a new business but most of us think that it will fail. |
| hand to someone on a silver platter | - give a person something that has not been earned His education was handed to him on a silver platter and now he is very spoiled and selfish. |
| hard nut to crack | - something or someone difficult to understand or do He is a very serious person and is a very hard nut to crack. |
| (get or) have egg on one's face | - be embarassed He has egg on his face because everyone knows that he was sick at the party. |
| hit the sauce | - drink alcohol (usually regularly) I think that she has begun to hit the sauce since her husband lost his job. |
| hot potato | - a question or argument that is controversial and difficult to settle The issue of building the nuclear power plant is a real hot potato for the local town council. |
| in a nutshell | - briefly, in a few words We went to the meeting and they told us in a nutshell what would be happening to everyone next year. |
| in the soup | - in serious trouble, in disorder She is really in the soup now. She told her boss that she was sick but he saw her downtown shopping. |
| make one's mouth water | - look or smell very good, want to eat or drink very much The restaurant is supposed to be wonderful and every time that I see the menu it makes my mouth water. |
| nutty as a fruitcake | - crazy He is a very nice man but he acts strange sometimes and I often think that he is as nutty as a fruitcake. |
| out of the frying pan and into the fire | - go from something bad to something worse She quit the job because of some small problems but she has jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire because now her problems are much worse. |
| out to lunch | - crazy, mad She is totally out to lunch and you should never believe what she tells you. |
| piece of cake | - a task that is easily accomplished It was a piece of cake. I had everything done before lunch this morning. |
| polish the apple | - flatter someone Nobody likes her because she is always trying to polish the apple with her teacher. |
| souped up | - change something to make it faster or more powerful by changing or adding something The new car that his neighbor bought is a souped up model of the one that he had last year. |
| salt away | - save money He has been working there for seven years and has been able to salt away quite a lot of money. |
| sell like hotcakes | - sell quickly or rapidly The new CD has only been released for about a week but already it is selling like hotcakes. |
| spill the beans | - tell a secret to someone who is not supposed to know about it Please don't spill the beans about my plans to quit working and go back to school next year. |
| stew in one's own juice | - suffer from something that one has caused to happen He is the one who caused the problem for himself and he is now being forced to stew in his own juice. |
| take with a grain of salt | - accept or believe only part of something You should take everything that he says with a grain of salt as everyone knows that he likes to exaggerate things when he is speaking. |
| upset the applecart | - ruin a plan or event by surprise or accident Everything was going well at the company gathering until he came along and upset the apple cart. |
| worth one's salt | - being a good worker, worth what one is paid He has only been working here for a month but over and over he has proved that he is worth his salt. |