Text 4: Eating out

Eating out? London offers something for everyone, rich or poor. For the one who also wants a little style, London offers a big choice. In London's top restaurants one pays not just for the food, but also for the bands, the show and the name. They are famous for superb French and English cuisine and must be treated with respect - no open-necked shirts or trouser-suits here. You must also be rich enough not to worry about the bill.

For the working Londoner many cheap cafes offer the same monotonous menus of "meat and two veg", "fish and chips", "beans on toast". In the busy main streets American-style fried chicken and hamburger bars are highly popular.

In the City there are many lunch places. A fixed menu of three courses there may cost less than that at one of the greater establishments. Extremely popular with the office personnel, who may have "luncheon vouchers" from their employer, they provide the main meal of the day to many regulars. The food can be unexcitingly English: steak-and-kidney pie, spotted dick, roly-poly pudding and custard. But at least the service is quick, and the bill modest.

There are now hundreds of fast food restaurants in Great Britain. They all serve the same food. Everywhere people eat the same hamburger (cheeseburger, fishburger), chips (fries), apple pie. And they drink the same drinks: coffee, cola, orange drink or thick milk shakes.

There are several foreign food centres in the West End that sell dishes peculiar to their countries. The Norwegian Centre serves a particularly good lunch of smoked fish. The Ceylon Tea Centre also has an excellent restaurant, specialising in serving many different varieties of Ceylon teas.

The foodshops cover most national specialities, and offer some very unusual foods as well. The selection of English and French cheeses is enormous, the variety of game, fish and poultry is endless, and in the fruit and vegetable department you can buy exotic fruits, or strawberries out of season. Some specialise in tinned and bottled foods from all over the world and also have a mouth-watering selection of sweets and chocolates.

The English pub is a unique institution - it is a home from home. A long tradition stands behind the British pub ("pub" is short for "public house"). In earlier times Britons met in pubs to talk politics, strike a bargain or prepare for wars. Now, the pub serves many useful purposes. First, it is neutral ground, a place where you can entertain a friend. Also it is a place that is easy to leave, without all the formalities of a home visit. Secondly, the pub is classless, people of different social

levels visit it. Surprisingly, many pubs in the middle of London have delightful gardens, attractive courtyards or tables outside where one can enjoy some fresh air. The pub may be decorated with old clocks, copper and frosted decorated windows and have pleasant furnishings. Every pub has a name, and a sign outside the door with its name on it.

The pub garden is one of the ways that the Englishman can happily take children to a pub at lunchtime, and while they tuck in to a plate of shepherd's pie or bangers and mash, the father can sip that much needed pint of beer.

(From "Welcome to Britain")

Ex.4. Explain what the following cultural phenomena connected with food mean:

steak-and-kidney pie (pudding), spotted dick (spotted dog), roly-poly pudding, custard, shepherd's pie, bangers and mash.

Ex.5. Find in the text English equivalents to the following Russian ones:

Фешенебельный ресторан, великолепный, быть чрезвычайно популярным, персонал, талоны на питание, работодатель, обеспечивать, постоянный посетитель, блюда, специфические для какой-либо страны, разнообразие, выбор огромен, в любое время года, консервированные продукты, слюнки текут, поговорить о политике, заключить сделку, развлечь друга, без всяких формальностей, люди разных социальных слоев, на удивление, пить маленькими глотками, заглатывать, давиться.

Ex.6. Translate the sentences from Russian into English using the words and phrases from exercise 4.

1. В этом великолепном фешенебельном ресторане вы найдёте огромный выбор блюд, специфических для Японии. 2. Я люблю пить молочный коктейль маленькими глотками. 3. Работодатель обеспечивает нас талонами на питание в этом кафе, поэтому персонал нашего офиса - постоянные посетители данного заведения. 4. В магазине за утлом большое разнообразие консервированных продуктов. 5. У меня текут слюнки при виде фруктового рулета. 6. Люди разных социальных слоев могут прийти в паб без всяких формальностей, чтобы поесть, развлечь друга, поговорить о политике, заключить сделку. 7. Я очень торопился, поэтому мне пришлось давиться запеканкой. 8. Цены на фрукты в супермаркете на удивление низкие в любое время года.

Ex.7. Define the following statements as True or False:

1) Open-necked shirts or trouser-suits are not allowed in London's top restaurants.

2) American-style food is not popular among the working Londoners.

3) Lunch places in the City are really expensive.

4) There are now hundreds of fast food restaurants in Great Britain.

5) In the West End one can find foreign food centres that sell dishes peculiar to their countries.

6) The foodshops sell only national specialities.

7) The English pub is a unique institution with a long tradition.

8) The pub is a place where one can entertain a friend but cannot take children to, even at lunch time.

Ex.8. Answer the following questions:

1) Is eating out easy in London?

2) What should one bear in mind while visiting a top restaurant in London?

3) Where can the working people eat out?

4) What food is called American-style?

5) Where can the office personnel eat out? What food is served there?

6) What dishes are called unexcitingly English?

7) Do fast-food restaurants exist in London? What foods are served there?

8) Are there any foreign food centres that sell dishes peculiar to their countries?

9) Are foodshops rich in national specialities and unusual foods as well?

10) What do they offer?

11) What is peculiar about the English pub?

12) Does it have a long history and tradition?

13) What does it look like?

14) What food is served there?