第11章 Lesson 11: Burger Time
Reese was famished! It was nearly 2 PM, and he had not eaten since breakfast. Reese asked his mom if she would stop at a fast food restaurant on their way home from his baseball game. His mom loathed fast food. However, she found it hard to avoid fast food restaurants because they were everywhere!
Reese's mother reluctantly agreed to indulge her son with a fast food lunch, but on the way to the restaurant she tried to explain to Reese the importance of a healthy diet. She had always been a health food fanatic and knew a lot about food. She explained to Reese that although fast food is convenient to order and very tasty, it often contains excessive fat and calories. Reese agreed that a diet of only hamburgers and fries would be unhealthy, and he promised to definitely eat a variety of nutritious foods as well.
While they were at the restaurant, Reese's mother began to talk about some of the strange and unusual foods eaten by some people around the world. In China, for example, some restaurants serve bird's nest soup made from the nests of swallows. Reese also didn't know that in Columbia, moviegoers may buy paper cones filled with fried ants, as a snack. His mother also told him about fugu, a special kind of fish served in Japanese restaurants. If not prepared correctly, fugu can be highly toxic. Those who cook it must be specially trained, so the diners do not get sick or die from their meal. Much safer meals include the horse-meat sandwiches served in restaurants in the Netherlands, and the grilled guinea pig enjoyed in South American countries. As his mother was explaining how Scottish cooks prepare haggis, a boiled sheep stomach stuffed with oatmeal, Reese began to feel nauseated and asked her to please stop talking until he had finished his lunch.
Looking at Reese's pale face, his mother took pity on him and promised not to talk about any more strange foods. She did remind him, though, that just because the food was different from what he was used to eating, it was not bad. In fact, people in different countries enjoy their food as much as Reese enjoys fast food. Reese agreed that was probably true, but now all he wanted to enjoy was an ice cream cone for dessert.
I. Use the clues from the story to find what the words mean.
a. feeling sick: n _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
b. to give someone their wish: i _ _ _ _ _ _
c. a devoted person: f _ _ _ _ _ _
d. sympathy: p _ _ _
e. more than what is acceptable: e _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
f. to keep away from: a _ _ _ _
g. unwillingly: r _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
h. easy to reach: c _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
i. starving, very hungry: f _ _ _ _ _ _ _
j. certainly: d _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
k. healthy: n _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
l. disliked intensely: l _ _ _ _ _ _
m. poisonous: t _ _ _ _
II. Answer the following questions.
1. Reese's mother loathed fast food. What are foods that you loathe?
___________________________________________________________.
2. What does it mean if a meal is nutritious?
___________________________________________________________.
3. What are three nutritious foods that you like?
___________________________________________________________.
4. Would you order fugu in a Japanese restaurant? Why or why not?
___________________________________________________________.
5. What is the most unusual food that you have eaten?
___________________________________________________________.
III. Write T (true) or F (false) for each sentence.
___ 1. Hamburgers are fast food.
___ 2. Someone who is famished is not hungry.
___ 3. Fugu is a kind of fish.
___ 4. If we avoid something, we try to find it.
___ 5. Some unusual food is very healthy.