1 Put the words in the correct order to make useful phrases. Which phrases do customer say? Mark them with a c.

1 would to order you what like?

2 here think I there’s a mistake.

3 the I have could bill?

4 your meal you did enjoy?

5 medium small, or large?

6 reservation we’ve a got.

7 over have to pay you there.

8 thanks lovely, it was.

9 for two, table please a.

1

A: Good evening.

B: Hello. It’s a table for two, please. We’ve got a reservation.

A: Name?

B: Moore, that’s M – double O – R – E.

A: Ah, yes. Just this way.

A: Now, what would you like to order?

C: I’ll have the fish.

B: Just a minute. I haven’t seen everything on the menu yet.

C: Sorry, then can we have another minute to decide?

A: Of course.

2

A: Here you go. Anything to drink?

B: Sorry, I think there’s a mistake here. I wanted a hamburger, not a hot dog.

A: OK, sorry. Just a minute. One hamburger, please.

B: Thanks.

B: Anything to drink?

B: Uh… A diet Coke, please.

A: Small, medium or large?

B: Small, please.

3

A: More coffee?

B: No thanks, I’m fine.

A: Did you enjoy your breakfast?

B: It was lovely, thanks.

A: Good.

B: Could I have the bill?

A: You have to pay over there for the buffet service.

B: Sorry, where?

A: Over there, next to the plants and exit sign.

B: Oh, I see it. Thanks again.

A: You’re welcome.

The world’s best restaurant

When I was working as a civil engineer in Iran I had to visit a factory in Marinjab – the centre of a recent earthquake. Marinjab – about 150 miles from Tehran and is a quiet and isolated place. As we drove back along the long road, my colleague and I were both hungry and tired. We didn’t have much hope of finding anything to eat, however, as the next town was 80 km ahead. Our only hope was of finding a small roadside café, where you are unlikely to get more than some weak tea and a little sugar to eat.

Just then we came to a village made of small huts with flat roofs. Outside one of the many huts was a sign, ‘ghahvehkhaneh’ (café) so we went in. It was cool inside, and there were men sitting around smoking pipes. The owner, a proud man, came in from the back and greeted us. ‘Good afternoon,’ he said, in perfect English. ‘My name is Hosseini. My wife is Russian. We do not usually get any foreigners here. It will be a pleasure and an honour to prepare a meal for you.

A pale-faced lady appeared with a tablecloth, and some knives and forks, shortly followed by Mr H himself, carrying a couple of bowls of soup. Made with spinach and yoghurt, and served hot, it was the most delicious soup I have ever eaten. Soon, the next course arrived – Dolmas, stuffed vine leaves. These were so delicious I asked Mr H for the recipe. He replied, ‘vine leaves and rice’. It is not an Iranian dish.

The next course was a Chelo kebab – the national dish of Iran. The meat was marinated in yoghurt and spices. We ate in silence, and finished with Turkish coffee. There was something almost unreal about the atmosphere of the place. When it was time to go, we asked Mr H how much it cost, and I can tell you the price was astonishingly cheap. It was a fantastic meal – the best I have ever had, and I told him so. Mr H blushed. ‘I am glad,’ he said. ‘As I told you, we do not see many foreigners here. Do come again and tell your friends.

I told a lot of friends about the meal I had, yet no one believed me. ‘How could you get such a meal in such a remote place?, an English engineer friend asked me.

A few months later, I returned on exactly the same route, with this engineer friend and was determined to show him my special restaurant. We reached the village – I recognized the flat roofs – but there was no sign of a café. It was as if the building had never existed. I asked a villager. ‘ghahvehkhaneh’ he said. ‘There has never been one here in all the time I have been here. And companion laughed at me. ‘You have a wonderful imagination,’ he said. I don’t have any explanation. I only know that I definitely had a meal in this village, in a café which, ever since, I have called ‘the world’s best restaurant’.

Grammar: Conditionals (first conditional)

Exercise 1 Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form; simple present or will+infinitive.

1 He really will be ill if he ____ (not eat) more.

2 If his wife _____ (ask) him to go to the health spa again, he’ll say no.

3 If he isn’t there, we ____ (take) a taxi.

4 We will go to an expensive restaurant if you ____ (want).

5 If it _____ (not be) too late after that, we will find a good nightclub.

6 If he ____ (like) the company, he will take the job.

7 If it rains today, I ____ (stay) inside.

8 If there’s nothing good on TV this evening, I ____ (go) out.

9 If I ____ (get up) early tomorrow, I will go for a run

Unit 6 Seeing the sights

Reading: “London”

Reading