21. Comment on the following sentences in connection with the text and bring out their implicit meaning.

1) What she liked about Beatrice Richman and Frances Hickson was that they were both so much fatter than she…

2) It was their fat that had brought them together and bridge that had cemented their alliance.

3) Nothing impaired their good humour but the scales.

4) She could resist temptation well enough if temptation was not put right under her nose.

5) Now a distinct bitterness crept in and sometimes one pointed out a mistake to another with quite unnecessary frankness.

6) And though they hated her too they could not resist confiding in her.

7) They had got past quarrelling.

8) Tears welled up in Frank’s eyes. Suddenly she felt very weak and womanly.

9) Her appointment went clean out of her head.

10) They did not speak. What they were about was much too serious. They ate with solemn, ecstatic fervour.

11) The misunderstandings of the last fortnight dissolved and the sincere affection each had for the other welled up again in their hearts.

22. Discussion

1) What brought the main characters of the story together? Why did they enjoy each other’s company?

2) Why did they come to Antibes? What regimen did they follow? Describe their state of mind before Lena Finch arrived.

3) How did they happen to invite Lena Finch to join them?

4) How did Lena’s arrival affect the three fat women’s relationship? Why do you think their spirits went down? How can you explain their quarrels?

5) Why do you think each of the three women confided in Lena?

6) Comment on the end of the story. Was it predictable?

7) A humourist once wrote that the word diet was derived from the verb to die. Comment on this jest in connection with the text.

8) What do you think of dieting? Do you agree that all slimming diets are doomed?

23. Make up character sketches of Arrow, Beatrice, Frank, and Lena Finch.

24. Read the following text and do the assignments below.

In search of english food

How come it is so difficult to find English food in England? In Greece you eat Greek food, in France French food, in Italy [1] Italian food, but in England, in any High Street in the land, it is easier to find Indian and Chinese restaurants than English ones. [2] in London you can eat Thai, Portuguese, Turkish, Lebanese, Japanese, Russian, Polish, Swiss, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian dishes – but where are the English restaurants?

[3] it is not only in restaurants that foreign dishes are replacing traditional British food. In every supermarket, sales of pasta, pizza and poppadums are booming. Why has this happened? What is wrong with the cooks of Britain that they prefer cooking pasta to potatoes? Why do the British choose to eat lasagne instead of shepherd’s pie? Why do they now like cooking in wine and olive oil? Maybe, it is a good thing? [4], this is the 21^st century and we can get ingredients from all over the world in just a few hours.

[5], wasn’t English food always disgusting and tasteless? Wasn’t it always boiled to death and swimming in fat? The answer to these questions is a resounding “No!” [6] to understand this, we have to go back to before World War II. [7], foreign trade was a major influence on British cooking. From the time of the Roman invasion the British imported food from abroad. [8] English kitchens, like the English language, absorbed ingredients from all over the world – chickens, rabbits, apples, and tea. All of these and more were successfully incorporated into British dishes.

[9], there’s another important influence on British cooking – the weather. [10] the good old British rain gives us rich soil and green grass, and means that we are able to produce some of the finest varieties of meat, fruit and vegetables, which don’t need fancy sauces or complicated recipes to disguise their taste.

[11], World War II changed everything. Wartime women had to forget 600 years of British cooking, learn to do without foreign imports, and ration their use of home-grown food. The Ministry of Food published cheap, boring recipes. The joke of the war was a dish called Woolton Pie (named after the Minister for Food!). This consisted of a mixture of boiled vegetables covered in white sauce with mashed potato on the top.

Britain never managed to recover from the wartime attitude to food. [12] we were left with a loss of confidence in our cooking skills. [13], after years of Ministry recipes we began to believe that British food was boring, and we searched the world for sophisticated, new dishes which gave hope of a better future. [14], the British people became tourists at their own dining tables and in the restaurants of their land! This is a tragedy! Surely food is as much a part of our culture as our landscape, our language, and our literature. Nowadays, cooking British food is like speaking a dead language. It is almost as bizarre as having a conversation in Anglo-Saxon English!

[15], there is still one small ray of hope. British pubs are often the best places to eat well and cheaply in Britain, and they increasingly try to serve tasty British food. Can we recommend to you our two favourite places to eat in Britain? The Shepherd’s Inn in Melmerby, Cumbria, and the Dolphin Inn in Kingston, Devon. Their steak and mushroom pie, shepherd’s pie, Lancashire hotpot, and bread and butter pudding are among the gastronomic wonders of the world!

a) fill in a suitable link word in each gap: first of all, but,, in consequence, accordingly, furthermore, as a result, anyway, thus, yet, moreover, besides, after all, specifically, however, nevertheless, in order, thereby;

b) find words and phrases in the text which mean the same as:

- a thick flat piece of meat from cattle or large fish, cut from the fleshy side and of good quality;

- a mixture of mutton, potatoes, and onions, cooked slowly in a pot, which is eaten usually in the north of England;

- noticeably odd or strange;

- a very thin flat Indian bread cooked in hot fat;

- broad flat pieces of pasta, meat or vegetables, and usually cheese;

- a baked dish made of finely cut-up cooked meat covered with cooked potato;

- the most important shopping and business street of a town;

- food made in various shapes from flour paste;

- a dessert made from bread, dried fruit, milk, and eggs, baked in an oven;

- a thick white liquid cooked with flour, poured over certain food.

c) Discuss the following issues.

1) What is the major peculiarity of British cookery?

2) What are the three major factors that influenced cooking in Britain? Which of them had the most effect on it, according to the author?

3) How did the English weather affect the traditional English cookery? What is characteristic of English home-grown food?

4) The author claims that World War II had a devastating effect on British cooking. Why? Do you share his opinion?

5) What does the author mean when he says that the British became tourists at their own dining tables?

6) What is the writer’s final conclusion about British cooking? Does the article sound pessimistic?

7) Is the author’s reasoning convincing? Explain your point of view.

8) What factors do you think really affect a country’s cookery?

9) Comment on the statement that food is as much a part of a country’s culture as its landscape, language or literature.

10) Do you think that national cuisine reflects the national character? Can you think of examples to illustrate this idea?