2.5. Read the article more carefully. Choose the best answer, a, b or c.

1. The writers believe that British cooking ...

a has always been very bad.

b was good until World War II.

c is good because it is so international.

2. They say that the British...

a eat only traditional British food in their homes.

b don't like cooking with foreign ingredients ...

c buy lots of foreign ingredients.

3. They say that the British weather ...

a enables the British to produce good quality food.

b often ruins fruit and vegetables.

c is not such an important influence on British food as foreign trade.

4. They say that World War II had a great influence on British cooking because ...

a traditional British cooking was rediscovered and some good cheap recipes were produced.

b people had limitless supplies of home-grown food.

c people started to believe that British food was boring, so after the war they wanted to cook more interesting and international dishes.

5. They say that ...

a British tourists try lots of new dishes when they are abroad.

b nowadays it is very unusual for British people to cook British food.

c literature and language are more culturally important than food.

6. The writers' final conclusion about British cooking is that ...

a there is no hope.

b you will only be able to get British food in expensive restaurants.

c you will be able to get more good traditional British dishes, especially in pubs.

III. After Reading

2.6. Discuss the following questions in small groups.

1. Do you agree that food is as much a part of a country's culture as its landscape, language, and literature?

2. Which are your favourite places to eat in your country? Why?

Task 3. Facts and myths of English food.

3.1. Read the article and find answers to the following questions:

1. What do foreigners think of English food?

2. Does the author of the article share their opinion?

3. What argument(s) does the author give in favour of / against English cooking?

3.2. Summarize the author’s theory about English cuisine. Do you consider it plausible?

English food, facts or myth?

I am always both amused and annoyed when I hear foreign people criticise English food. ‘It's unimaginative,’ they say. ‘It’s boring, it's tasteless, it’s chips with everything and totally overcooked vegetables.’ ‘It’s unambitious,’ say the French, ‘all you do is roasts with jam.’ (We eat apple sauce with pork.) That’s the bit they find really shocking, but then the French are easily shocked but things that aren’t French.

When I ask these visitors where they have experienced English cooking I am astonished by their reply. ‘In Wimpy Bars and MacDonald’s Hamburger restaurants,’ they often say. I have won my case. Their conclusions are inexcusable.

I have a theory about English cooking and I was interested to read that several famous cookery writers agree with me. My theory is this. Our basic ingredients, when fresh, are so full of flavour that we haven’t had to invent sauces and complex recipes to disguise their natural taste. What can compare with fresh peas or new potatoes just boiled (not overboiled) and served with butter?

I have a theory about English cooking and I was interested to read that several famous cookery writers agree with me. My theory is this. Our basic ingredients, when fresh, are so full of flavour that we haven’t had to invent sauces and complex recipes to disguise their natural taste. What can compare with fresh peas or new potatoes just boiled (not overboiled) and served with butter? Why drown spring lamb in wine or cream or yoghurt and spices, when with just one or two herbs it is absolutely delicious? It is interesting to speculate what part factors such as geography and climate play in the creation of a country’s food. We complain about our wet and changcable weather, but it is the rain which gives us our rich soil and green grass. ‘Abroad,’ says Jane Grigson, ‘poor soils meant more searching for food, more discovery, more invention, whereas our ancestors sat down to plenty without having to take trouble.

If you ask foreigners to name some typically English dishes, they will probably say ‘Fish and chips’ and then stop. It is disappointing, but true, that there is no tradition in England of eating in restaurants, because our food doesn’t lend itself to such preparation.

English cooking is found in the home, where it is possible to time the dishes to perfection. So it is difficult to find a good English restaurant with reasonable prices.

It is for these reasons that we haven’t exported our dishes, but we have imported a surprising number fro all over the world. In most cities in Britain you’ll find Indian, Chinese, French and Italian restaurants. In London you’ll also find Indonesian, Lebanese, Iranian, German, Spanish, Mexican, Greek … Cynics will say that this is because we have no ‘cuisine’ ourselves but, well, you know what I think!

Task 4. You are going to read some information about British food. For questions 1-9, choose from the foods (A-H). Some of them may be chosen more than once. When more than one answer is required, these may be given in any order. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Which type or types of food are for:

0 people who like turkey? H

1 lovers of very spicy food? ___

2 those who like fried food? ___ ___

3 fans of cream? ___ ___

4 people who like sauces? ___ ___

5 people who like boiled food? ___ ___

6 fans of cafe food? ___ ___

7 people who want to take ready food home with them? ___ ___

8 those who enjoy a very large midday meal at the weekend? ___

9 you? ___ ___