VIII. What things do we need to lay the table?

1. There exist different kinds of serveware. Do you know how they are named and what they are made from? Give Russian equivalents. Match the words from left and right columns.

1. Cutlery (flatware/silverware, AmE) a) tin dishes

2. Pottery b) glass dishes, drinking glasses etc.

3. Tinware c) cups, plates etc made from baked

clay

4. Crockery (earthenware, AmE) d) knives, forks, spoons

5. Glassware e) pots and other objects made out of

baked clay

2. Read about the history of flatware. Answer the questions.

1. What is the first table set piece that man started to use? When did it happen?

2. What is the youngest one? Where and when did it appear? What were the reasons for this?

3. What main kinds of flatware do you know? When can we use them?

Man is believed to have started to eat with spoon and fork two thousand years ago. Earliest spoons were made of wood and had semi-sphere ladle. In the Middle Ages, European nobles used flatware made of other materials: gold, silver, sea shell and nacre.

A: Knives. Knife was the first table set piece. It appeared in the rise of mankind, primeval people used it for various life purposes, e.g. hunting, cutting food. Thousand years later knives got handles and the blades became bronze, iron and steel. Before forks came onto stage knives were used not only as cutlery, but also for taking food to the mouth. In the Middle Ages noble feasts often ended with slaughters, so using daggers was forbidden. Since then people have used knives with rounded tip.

There are several basic kinds of serving knives. Do you know what dishes are eaten with them? Correct the table given below.

Dessert knives pickles, aspics

Table knives hot fish dishes

Salad knives are used for eating cheese, oysters, butter, lemon

Fish knives hot meat dishes with garnish

Special knives fresh fruit

B. Spoons. Choose the correct variant (a, b, c) for each of the following sentences.

1. What kind of spoon is used for eating clear soups served in bouillon cups?

a) tea spoon b) dessert spoon c) soup spoon

2. This spoon is used both for eating and serving food. It is a ____.

a) ladle b) soup spoon c) table spoon

3. A ____ is for eating ice cream and stewed fruit as well,

a) table spoon b) dessert spoon c) tea spoon

4. The spoon used for serving liquid food is called ____.

a) table spoon b) coffee spoon c) ladle

5. If you order boiled eggs, you will be given a ___ for eating them.

a) tea spoon b) dessert spoon c) coffee spoon

6. Cocoa is served with ____.

a) coffee spoon b) dessert spoon c) tea spoon

7. Berries with cream or milk are eaten with ____.

a) soup spoon b) tea spoon c) dessert spoon

8. As modern etiquette is liberal for substituting some spoons, you won't make a serious mistake eating stewed fruit with a ____.

a) coffee spoon b) soup spoon c) tea spoon

C. Forks. Fork is the youngest piece of table set. It appeared in Europe in the 16th century, for jabo fashion of that time requested an instrument to carry food into the mouth safely without staining a suit. Early European forks had two or three teeth, later on — four teeth. Fork teeth be­came curled in the 17th century for making it easier to cut food on a plate without slipping food pieces over a plate when cutting it. To make eating garnish easier with such a fork it is turned up while eating.

Can you say what kinds of forks are used for:

1. eating hot and cold appetizers and salads;

2. eating fish;

3. eating fresh or canned fruit;

4. eating meat dishes with garnish;

e) eating exotic foods such as fondue, snails etc.

D. Glasses.

What do you know about glasses? Do you know how to choose the right glass if there’re many in front of you? Use the suitable words to complete the following sentences.