Shopping for Food
Grocery (store) = grocer's (shop)
cereals rice buckwheat semolina oatmeal macaroni noodles sugar tea spices: pepper salt vinegar ketchup mayonnaise mustard |
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Bakery = baker's (shop)
a loaf of rye (brown)/wheat (white) bread bun long loaf |
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Confectionary and Pastry
biscuits pie cake sweets chocolate a bar of chocolate |
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Dairy products
milk cream sour cream butter cheese curds yoghurt margarine vegetable oil |
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Butcher's shop
beef pork veal mutton minced meat poultry chicken turkey |
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Greengrocery = greengrocer's
beet cabbage (head of cabbage) cauliflower carrot (bunch of carrots) cucumbers lettuce onion garlic potatoes tomatoes peas parsley dill |
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Fruits
apples apricots bananas berries grapes tangerine orange peaches pears plums pineapple melon watermelon strawberries raspberries cranberries |
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Fish shop
fresh/salted/smoked fish tinned fish flatfish herring trout salmon caviar (red / black) oyster shrimp (prawn) lobster |
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Smoked meat and sausage
bacon sausage |
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Drinks
soft drinks juice mineral water (still/sparkling)
alcoholic drinks (spirits) champagne (sweet, semisweet, dry, semidry) wine (red, white) vodka |
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Ex. 1. a) Do you usually shop at the supermarkets or do you prefer to use the local corner shop/general store? What are the differences in terms of a) price, b) convenience, c) service, d) quality and variety of produce, e) opening hours?
b) Are supermarkets really cheaper or do they cunningly persuade you to spend more money than you intend? Read the article and find out.
Buying foodstuffs in a modern supermarket can be considered a sort of art. It is the art of combating a temptation.
Supermarkets play a dirty trick on the customers: practically every shopper is tempted to buy things he or she does not need or cannot afford.
The mechanism of this lamentable deceit is simple. Firstly, supermarkets are laid out to make a person pass as many shelves and counters as possible. Only the hardest of souls can pass loaded racks indifferently and not collect all sorts of food from them.
Secondly, more and more supermarkets supply customers with trolleys instead of wire baskets: their bigger volume needs more purchases. One picks up a small item, say, a pack of spaghetti, puts it into a huge trolley and is immediately ashamed of its loneliness. He or she starts adding more.
Thirdly, all products are nicely displayed on the racks and all of them look fresh in their transparent wrappings with marked prices. A normal person cannot ignore attractively packed goods. And so one cannot but feel an impulse to buy. And, finally, supermarkets don’t forget about those who look for bargains. The so-called “bargain bins” filled with special offers wait for their victims. No one can tell for sure if the prices are really reduced, but it is so nice to boast later that you have a very good eye for a bargain.
So when a simple-hearted customer approaches a check-out, his or her trolley is piled high. Looking at a cashier, running her pen over barcodes, he or she starts getting nervous while the cash register is adding up the prices. And, getting a receipt, he or she gives a sigh of relief if the indicated sum does not exceed the cash he or she has.
Of course, one can give a piece of advice to the simple-hearted: make a shopping list and buy only pre-planned goods. But is it worth losing that great sensation of buying? One can really wonder.
A lot of people prefer to do their shopping in small shops. The daily shopping route of some housewives includes visits to the baker’s, butcher’s, grocer’s, greengrocer’s, fishmonger’s and a dairy shop. In the end of the route their bags, are full of loaves of bread, meat cuts, packs with cereals, fruit, vegetables, fish and dairy products.
The explanation for this housewives’ craze is very simple. In every shop their buys are weighed, wrapped up, their money taken and the change given back. Meanwhile they can have a chat with salesgirls and shop-assistants about their weak hearts and broken hopes.
So, friends, go shopping as often as you can. Because the simple truth is: a visit to a good shop is worth two visits to a good doctor.
c) Read the article again and explain the words in bold. Make up your own sentences using them.
Ex. 2. Make a list of pros and cons about doing your shopping at supermarkets.
Ex. 3. Answer the following questions.
What is your personal style of shopping for food? Do you buy at once or do you take your time to look around for lower prices?
Do you usually make a shopping list?
Do you pay attention to the brand name when you buy food? How do you make your choice?
How often do you buy expensive foodstuffs? What kind of products are those? When does it happen?
What are the best shops for food in your city? Tell about your favourite shop?
Here is a list of the most popular grocery stores one can find in Britain:
Supermarkets
These are large shops selling food, drinks and household goods (paper goods, cleaning agents, etc.). Everything is self-service with the possible exception of the meat department, where you may ask for help, for instance in getting a special cut of meat. People choose what they want from the shelves and pay for it as they leave. The biggest of the supermarket chains is Sainsbury’s.
Corner shops
Eighty-seven per cent of British people live less than a mile from their local corner shop. A corner shop is a small shop on, or near, a street corner. Many are run by Indian or Pakistani families. Most corner shops sell food and newspapers. They are open until late in the evening, as well as on Sundays.
Organic and Natural Foods
Also known as "health foods". The central idea of this kind of food is that it has gone through relatively little processing - refining, preserving - and is therefore "natural", such as whole grains, seeds. "Organic" means that the food in its growing stages was not treated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Most health-food stores also sell nutritional supplements – vitamins, minerals – sometimes at higher prices than drugstores.
Ethnic Foods (e.g. Tropical Foods, Japanese and Chinese groceries, German and Polish groceries, Greek and Middle Eastern groceries etc.).
Street markets
Street markets are both fun and cheap. Most markets sell fruit and vegetables, clothes, things for the house, records and jewellery. In London, there are about 40 or 50 markets.
Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill is one of the biggest and oldest street markets in the world. It has over 1500 stalls which sell all kinds of antiques and collectibles ranging in price from one or two pounds to several thousand pounds. People come from all over the world to visit Portobello Road because they know there is no other place like it.
Portobello Market is several markets rolled into one. From Monday to Friday the market sells fruit and vegetables. The air is filled with the voices of traders shouting and hawking their goods. The antique stall holders open on Saturdays.
The market opens at 5.30 am and the hustle and bustle of shoppers, traders and tourists continues all day. As well as antiques, you can find ctothes, household items, rare records and furniture. There are many talented street performers to keep an eye out for, too.
Out-of-town shopping
Many small high street and corner shops are closing because people prefer to drive to a shopping complex outside town. There they can park their cars without any problems and do all their shopping in one place.
In a British shopping complex, you usually find a supermarket, a branch of most of the chain-stores, some smaller shops, a few cafes and sometimes a multi-screen cinema.
a) Compare grocery stores in Britain and in Russia.
b) You are new to the area and you want your neighbour to tell you where to do your shopping. In pairs discuss:
where you should do your daily grocery shopping and why;
where it is and how to get there;
where the best places to buy specific items e.g. newspapers, milk, medicine, etc. are.
