Reading 1

Pre-Reading Questions. Before reading the text Meals and Meal Times in Britain, work with a partner and ask and answer the questions below. Base your answers on your possible knowledge of the topic:

· Name various dishes and food which you consider to be typical of Britain.

· How many meals a day do the British have?

· Is convenience food widely used in Britain?

· What is the most popular drink in Britain?

Meals and Meal Times in Britain

Some people have their biggest meal in the middle of the day and some have it in the evening, but most people today have a small mid-day meal – usually sandwiches, and perhaps some crisps and some fruit. We have three main meals a day: breakfast (between 7: 00 and 9: 00 a.m.), lunch (between 12: 00 and 1: 30 p.m.), dinner, sometimes called supper (eaten anytime between 6: 30 and 8: 00 p.m.).

Traditionally, and for some people still, the meals are called breakfast (between 7: 00 and 9: 00 a.m.), dinner, the main meal (between 12: 00 and 1: 30 p.m.), and tea (anywhere from 5: 30 and 6: 30 p.m.).

On Sundays the main meal of the day is often eaten at midday instead of the evening. This meal is usually a roast dinner consisting of a roast meat, Yorkshire pudding and two kinds of vegetables.

Breakfast

Most people around the world seem to think a typical English breakfast consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, mushrooms and baked beans all washed down with a cup of coffee. Nowadays, however, a typical English breakfast is more likely to be a bowl of cereals, aslice of toast, orange juiceand acup of coffee.

Many people, especially children, in England will eat a bowl of cereal. They are made with different grains such as corn, wheat, oats etc.

In the winter many people will eat " porridge" or boiled oats.

The traditional English breakfast consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, baked beans and mushrooms. Even though not many people will eat this for breakfast today, it is always served in hotels and guest houses around Britain.

The traditional English breakfast is called the 'Full English' and sometimes referred to as 'The Full English Fry-up'.

Lunch

Many children at school and adults at work will have a 'packed lunch'. This typically consists of a sandwich, a packet of crisps, a piece of fruit and a drink. The 'packed lunch' is kept in a plastic container.

Sandwiches are also known as a 'butty' or 'sarnie' in some parts of the UK.

My favourite sandwich is prawn and mayonnaise. I also love tuna and mayonnaise and ham and pickle sandwiches.

Dinner

The evening meal is usually called 'tea', 'dinner' or 'supper'.

A typical British meal for dinner is meat and " two veg". We put hot brown gravy, traditionally made from the juices of the roast meat (but more often today from a packet!) on the meat and usually the vegetables. One of the vegetables is almost always potatoes.

This traditional meal is rarely eaten nowadays; a recent survey found that most people in Britain eat curry! Rice or pasta are now favoured as the 'British Dinner'.

Vegetables grown in England, like potatoes, carrots, peas, cabbages and onions, are still very popular. We can also buy vegetables from many countries all through the year

Sunday dinner time is a typical time to eat the traditional Sunday Roast. Traditionally it consists of roast meat, (cooked in the oven for about two hours), two different kinds of vegetables and potatoes with a Yorkshire pudding. The most common joints are beef, lamb or pork; chicken is also popular.

Beef is eaten with hot white horseradish sauce, pork with sweet apple sauce and lamb with green mint sauce. Gravy is poured over the meat.

Tea

Afternoon tea (The traditional 4 o'clock tea)

This is a small meal, not a drink. Traditionally it consists of tea (or coffee) served with either of the following: freshly baked scones served with cream and jam (known as a cream tea), afternoon tea sandwiches – thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off.

Nowadays afternoon tea is not common because most adults go out to work. However, you can still have afternoon tea at the many tea rooms around England.

Afternoon tea became popular about one hundred and fifty years ago, when rich ladies invited their friends to their houses for an afternoon cup of tea. They started offering their visitors sandwiches and cakes too. Soon everyone was enjoying afternoon tea.

High tea (The traditional 6 o'clock tea)

The British working population did not have afternoon tea. They had a meal about midday, and a meal after work, between five and seven o'clock. This meal was called 'high tea' or just 'tea'.

Traditionally eaten early evening, high tea was a substantial meal that combined delicious sweet foods, such as scones, cakes, buns or tea breads, with tempting savouries, such as cheese on toast, toasted crumpets, cold meats and pickles or poached eggs on toast. This meal is now often replaced with a supper due to people eating their main meal in the evenings rather than at midday. [https://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/food/meals.htm]

1. Find the single words in the text which mean the following:

1. a customary time of eating food; 2. a lunch prepared at home and carried to be eaten somewhere else; 3. food made from grains; 4. juices of cooked meat, often thickened and seasoned and used as a sauce; 5. sufficient, nourishing.

1. Say if the following information is TRUE / FALSE/ NOT GIVEN:

1. Dinner and supper are two words that can denote one meal. - T
2. The British drink tea in the morning as well as in the evening. – F
3. Cereals are mostly popular with adults. - F

1. You can buy packed lunch from stores. – NG
2. The most popular vegetable for dinner is potatoes. – T
3. Dishes of foreign cuisines are ignored by the British. – F
4. Afternoon tea appeared in the 19^th century as a socializing mealtime. – T
5. ‘High tea’ is popular in other parts of the world. – NG

3. Answer the following questions:

1. How is the time of the meals different from your country?

2. What is the difference between the stereotype about the typical English breakfast and the real ‘typical’ English breakfast?

3. What foreign dishes are popular with the British people?

4. Is tea in your country as popular as in Britain?

Text