Fast food
Read the text and answer the questions that follow.
What is a ‘fast food’ restaurant?
Are they a European tradition?
When did the McDonald brothers open their first restaurant?
What did the McDonald brothers do to reduce their prices?
How could people see that the McDonald’s restaurant was clean?
What happened in 1955?
How many McDonald’s restaurants are in the world now?
What can you buy in a ‘fast food’ restaurant today?
Have you ever been to a ‘fast food’ restaurant?
Is there one in your city?
Why are they so popular among young people?
1. The British eat more fast food than any other Europeans, spending on average ₤2.5 billion each year on burgers, takeaway chicken, fish and chips and pizza. The French come second and the Germans third. How much do you think the Russians spend a year on fast food?
Do you ever eat ‘fast’ or ‘junk’ food? What is your favourite fast food? What is good, or bad, about it?
3. What does this cartoon mean? Do you find it funny?
4. Choose one of the following statements and prepare an argument to support it. (Don’t worry if you don’t believe in it!) Make a few notes first.
"American food like burgers and cola is taking over the world. It’s time we remembered our own national dishes."
“Fast food is just a fast way to get fat.”
"TV advertisements for crisps, chocolate bars and fizzy drinks should be banned."
How many people in the class are vegetarians? When did they become vegetarians? Do you think the number of vegetarians is increasing?
a) Correct each of these statements.
1. Most teenagers stop eating meat because they are worried about their health.
2. At rock concerts, some animal-rights groups show videos of terrible diseases you can get from eating meat.
3. Most parents are worried that their children will not get enough vitamins if they are vegetarians.
4. Teenagers say there is a big selection of high quality vegetarian food in their school cafeteria. 5. Giving up meat is always a sign of a psychological problem.
6. Linda Ahkami cooks vegetarian food for the whole family every night.
b) Do you think it is wrong to kill animals for food? Why/why not? Is it more acceptable to eat fish and some types of meat than others? Is it wrong to kill animals for leather?
c) Do you agree with the vegetarians who avoid eating meat for health reasons? Why/why not?
d) Read about these two practices on factory farms? What do you think about them? Do you think they’re a good way of keeping the price of meat down? Are they a good reason to give up eating meat?
Pigs are locked in metal cages and made to reproduce every eight weeks. They are kept indoors and cannot turn around. The piglets are taken away from them at three weeks.
20000 chickens are kept in one shed. They are bred and fed so that they are ready for the slaughterhouse at seven weeks. Forth last week of their life they do not move much because they are so heavy.
Ex. 1. Here are some common ideas about food. Do you agree or disagree with them? Think of situations where people use them.
Eating carrots is good for the eyes.
Fish is good for the brain.
Eating cheese at night makes you dream.
Garlic stops you getting colds.
Drinking coffee stops you sleeping.
Yoghurt makes you healthy.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
A hot milky drink helps you go to sleep.
A cup of tea revives you.
Guinness is good for you.
Crusty bread makes your hair cud.
Brown eggs taste better than white ones.
Ex. 2. Fill in the appropriate words from the right column.