![](/user_photo/2706_HbeT2.jpg)
- •1. Speak about the kinds of fast food that are popular and the eating places where British people can find it
- •2. Talk about English food and the qualities it is often criticized for
- •3. Talk about the problem of food additives in the world
- •4. Speak about going out to eat at a restaurant.
- •5. Shape the recipe for “Irish Oatmeal”
- •6. Speak about table manners as seen by the food editor Craig Claiborne
- •7. Talk about the difference between teenagers and adults in the attitude to shopping and in their tastes in clothes
- •8. Speak about the different ways of doing the shopping
- •9. Talk about children with exceptional intellectual abilities and various kinds of schools they can go to
- •10. Talk about the similarities and differences between the “Orientation Week” at an American University and the University you study at
- •11. Talk about the reasons people have for studying at the Open University
- •12. Speak about children’s attitude to school
- •13. Speak about England’s best known public school Eton
- •14. Speak about learning English in different countries, and about the English language as an international language
- •15. Talk about the relationships between the world’s climate and man’s activities
- •16. Talk about Jerusha’s first steps at college
- •17. Talk about Jerusha’s academic life in college: her failures and achievements
- •18. Talk about Jerusha’s winter and summer holidays
- •19. Talk about the relationships between Jerusha and her guardian
- •20. Describe Jerusha’s personality
2. Talk about English food and the qualities it is often criticized for
Some foreigners say that English food is boring and tasteless, unimaginative, unambitious, they say that vegetables are overcooked and all English people do is roasts with jam. The French, for example, find really shocking to eat pork with apple sauce.
It is accepted that Britain and good food are the two things that can’t be associated. Moreover, it is really very difficult to find English food in England. In Greece you can eat Greek food, in France—French, in Italy—Italian, but in England in any High Street it is easier to find Indian or Chinese restaurants than English ones. Besides, it is not only in restaurant that foreign dishes are replacing traditional British food. Go to any supermarket and you will see that sales of pasta and pizza are booming there. Why has this happened? What is wrong with the English cooks that they prefer cooking lasagna to shepherd’s pie? Anyway, English food was not always disgusting and tasteless; it was not boiled to death or swimming in fat.
Actually, the British have always imported food from abroad and foreign trade has become the major influence on British cooking. English cuisine like English language absorbed ingredients from all over the world—chicken, rabbit, apples and tea. All of these and more were successfully incorporated into British dishes. Another important influence on English cooking is certainly weather. The good old British rain gives them rich soil and green grass, which means that the Englishmen are able to produce some of the finest varieties of meat, fruit and vegetables. And there’s no need to fancy sauces or complicated recipes to disguise their taste. For comparison, abroad poor soils mean more discoveries, searching for food and invention. That is why it is wrong to claim that British food is terrible. On the contrary, English cuisine is wonderful, still it has a great minus—it is very time–consuming. For example, making a Christmas cake should start a few weeks beforehand. And it takes about half a year for a Christmas pudding to mature. Yet, it is so delicious that it really worth waiting.
Actually, the British believe that basic ingredients, when fresh, are so full of flavor that there’s no need to invent complex recipes. For instance, nothing can be compared with fresh peas or new potatoes just boiled and served with butter. So, I am absolutely convinced that there’s the only explanation why most visitors consider British food awful: they simply haven’t had an opportunity to sample English home cooking. Probably, they either eat out a lot or (mostly in cheap restaurants) or they eat too much fast food. Nobody will deny that such places are definitely not those where real British cuisine can be found, because English cooking which involves a lot of time doesn’t suit the quick preparation that is required there. British food is found in the home where it is possible to time the dishes to perfection. Apart from that British pubs are often the best places to eat well and cheaply— luckily they still increasingly try to serve tasty British food.