Spain to open gastronomic university

Spain to open gastronomic university

Spain is to open the world's first "gastronomic university" complete with a research laboratory to explore the mysterious chemistry of taste. Construction began last month on the Basque Culinary Centre in San Sebastian and it will be ready to accept its first intake of students in September 2011 in a building designed to resemble a pile of stacked plates.
The university will be the first of its kind to offer a four-year undergraduate degree course in culinary arts taught in both English and Spanish and one year masters degrees as well as shorter courses for cooking enthusiasts.
The private university is located in the seaside resort of San Sebastian, which already holds a reputation for some of the best gastronomical expertise in Spain. The town is home to nine restaurants who together boast a total of 16 Michelin stars. Many of the local chefs have pledged their support to the new university and will participate in the tuition on degree courses.
But it is perhaps the promise of guest lecturers such as the top chef Ferran Adria that will have aspiring chefs applying in droves. Mr Adria who owns the famed El Bulli restaurant on Spain’s Costa Brava is considered the father of molecular gastronomy and has treated those few diners lucky enough to secure a reservation at one of his tables to such rare delights as Parmesan snow and pine cone mouse. Despite hostility from Spain’s more traditional chefs, his restaurant has been voted the best in the world for the fourth consecutive year.
Spain’s minister of Science and Innovation said the time had come for gastronomy to be treated with the same seriousness as other academic subjects and given its own university degree. ”Not only is gastronomy an art, culture and an industry,” said Cristina Garmendia at the ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the new university. “It is also a technology and a science.”
Question 1 (2 points)
Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.
a) Courses at the university will last between 1 and 4 years.
b) 16 restaurants in San Sebastian have been given a Michelin star.
c) Ferran Adriá’s restaurant is very popular with both customers and cooks.
d) Cristina Garmendia thinks that it is right to teach gastronomy at university level.

Question 2 (2 points)
Answer the following questions in your own words.
a) What will the Basque Culinary Centre look like?
b) Who will teach at the university?

Question 3 (1.5 points)
Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.
a) the people accepted on a school or university course (Paragraph 1)
b promise (Paragraph 3)
c) large numbers (Paragraph 4)

Question 4 (1.5 points)
Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.
a) Adria’s restaurant has been voted the best in the world for the fourth consecutive year.
Judges ………………………..
b) Local chefs will make attractive teachers but it is Ferran Adria who will be a star guest lecturer.
Although…………………………..
c) The private university is located in San Sebastian, as it already has a reputation for the best gastronomy in Spain.
If San Sebastian ………………………………………..

Question 5 (5 points)
Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:
‘Our universities and schools do not teach the things we need to know.’ Do you agree?
Self-Access Group. CEP Santander

Spain to open gastronomic university

Spain to open gastronomic university

Spain is to open the world's first "gastronomic university" complete with a research laboratory to explore the mysterious chemistry of taste. Construction began last month on the Basque Culinary Centre in San Sebastian and it will be ready to accept its first intake of students in September 2011 in a building designed to resemble a pile of stacked plates.
The university will be the first of its kind to offer a four-year undergraduate degree course in culinary arts taught in both English and Spanish and one year masters degrees as well as shorter courses for cooking enthusiasts.
The private university is located in the seaside resort of San Sebastian, which already holds a reputation for some of the best gastronomical expertise in Spain. The town is home to nine restaurants who together boast a total of 16 Michelin stars. Many of the local chefs have pledged their support to the new university and will participate in the tuition on degree courses.
But it is perhaps the promise of guest lecturers such as the top chef Ferran Adria that will have aspiring chefs applying in droves. Mr Adria who owns the famed El Bulli restaurant on Spain’s Costa Brava is considered the father of molecular gastronomy and has treated those few diners lucky enough to secure a reservation at one of his tables to such rare delights as Parmesan snow and pine cone mouse. Despite hostility from Spain’s more traditional chefs, his restaurant has been voted the best in the world for the fourth consecutive year.
Spain’s minister of Science and Innovation said the time had come for gastronomy to be treated with the same seriousness as other academic subjects and given its own university degree. ”Not only is gastronomy an art, culture and an industry,” said Cristina Garmendia at the ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the new university. “It is also a technology and a science.”
Question 1 (2 points)
Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.
a) Courses at the university will last between 1 and 4 years.
b) 16 restaurants in San Sebastian have been given a Michelin star.
c) Ferran Adriá’s restaurant is very popular with both customers and cooks.
d) Cristina Garmendia thinks that it is right to teach gastronomy at university level.

Question 2 (2 points)
Answer the following questions in your own words.
a) What will the Basque Culinary Centre look like?
b) Who will teach at the university?

Question 3 (1.5 points)
Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.
a) the people accepted on a school or university course (Paragraph 1)
b promise (Paragraph 3)
c) large numbers (Paragraph 4)

Question 4 (1.5 points)
Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.
a) Adria’s restaurant has been voted the best in the world for the fourth consecutive year.
Judges ………………………..
b) Local chefs will make attractive teachers but it is Ferran Adria who will be a star guest lecturer.
Although…………………………..
c) The private university is located in San Sebastian, as it already has a reputation for the best gastronomy in Spain.
If San Sebastian ………………………………………..

Question 5 (5 points)
Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:
‘Our universities and schools do not teach the things we need to know.’ Do you agree?
Self-Access Group. CEP Santander

Eat up or you will be fined

Eat up or you will be fined

Hong Kong restaurants have come up with a novel way to cut down on waste from food leftovers, threatening to fine diners who don't eat up.
A number of restaurants in the Chinese city alert customers that they will charge them between HK$5 and HK$20 if they leave any food on their plates, the South China Morning Post reported.
It said a handful of restaurants serving do-it-yourself hotpots, sushi and buffets had set up the system.
However, a restaurant industry group said the move was merely put in place to warn customers and that few eateries, if any, had actually fined anyone.
"The penalties listed on the menus are just for warning," Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades spokesperson Simon Wong was quoted as saying. "Who can afford to lose customers?"
Hong Kong is facing a landfill crisis as space runs out for dumping the increasing amount of rubbish produced by the city's seven million people.
The government is reportedly looking into a scheme that will reprocess into compost some of the 700 tons of food thrown out each day by the city's huge hospitality industry.

Question 1 Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text:
a) All restaurants in Hong Kong have adopted the measure.
b) A new industry group said that almost any restaurant has asked to pay the penalty.
c) The new law is compulsory for all restaurants in Hong Kong.
d) The government processes about 700 tons of food thrown every day.
Question 2 Answer these questions in your own words:
a) What would the consequences of the implement of the new law be?
b) What reasons do they give for adopting this new measure?
Question 3 Find a word or phrase in the text that means the same as:
a) Uneaten food. par. 1
b) The amount you can hold in your hand. par. 3
c) Hole where rubbish is disposed of. par. 6
Question 4 Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning
a) It said a handful of restaurants serving do-it-yourself hotpots, sushi and buffets had set up the system.
A handful of restaurants serving do-it-yourself hotpots, sushi and buffets are said ……. ………………………………………………………………………..
b) Hong Kong is facing a landfill crisis.
A landfill crisis ……………………………………………………..
c) Although they have set up the system, very few customers have actually been fined.
Despite……………………………………………………………………

Question 5 Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:
Do people follow the rules for recycling rubbish?

Self-Access Group. CEP Santander 2009-2010

Eat up or you will be fined

Eat up or you will be fined

Hong Kong restaurants have come up with a novel way to cut down on waste from food leftovers, threatening to fine diners who don't eat up.
A number of restaurants in the Chinese city alert customers that they will charge them between HK$5 and HK$20 if they leave any food on their plates, the South China Morning Post reported.
It said a handful of restaurants serving do-it-yourself hotpots, sushi and buffets had set up the system.
However, a restaurant industry group said the move was merely put in place to warn customers and that few eateries, if any, had actually fined anyone.
"The penalties listed on the menus are just for warning," Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades spokesperson Simon Wong was quoted as saying. "Who can afford to lose customers?"
Hong Kong is facing a landfill crisis as space runs out for dumping the increasing amount of rubbish produced by the city's seven million people.
The government is reportedly looking into a scheme that will reprocess into compost some of the 700 tons of food thrown out each day by the city's huge hospitality industry.

Question 1 Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text:
a) All restaurants in Hong Kong have adopted the measure.
b) A new industry group said that almost any restaurant has asked to pay the penalty.
c) The new law is compulsory for all restaurants in Hong Kong.
d) The government processes about 700 tons of food thrown every day.
Question 2 Answer these questions in your own words:
a) What would the consequences of the implement of the new law be?
b) What reasons do they give for adopting this new measure?
Question 3 Find a word or phrase in the text that means the same as:
a) Uneaten food. par. 1
b) The amount you can hold in your hand. par. 3
c) Hole where rubbish is disposed of. par. 6
Question 4 Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning
a) It said a handful of restaurants serving do-it-yourself hotpots, sushi and buffets had set up the system.
A handful of restaurants serving do-it-yourself hotpots, sushi and buffets are said ……. ………………………………………………………………………..
b) Hong Kong is facing a landfill crisis.
A landfill crisis ……………………………………………………..
c) Although they have set up the system, very few customers have actually been fined.
Despite……………………………………………………………………

Question 5 Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:
Do people follow the rules for recycling rubbish?

Self-Access Group. CEP Santander 2009-2010

Eating chocolate is good for maths

Scientists reveal how eating chocolate can help improve your maths
Eating chocolate could improve the brain's ability to do maths, a new study suggests. Mental arithmetic became easier after volunteers had been given large amounts of compounds found in chocolate, called flavanols, in a hot cocoa drink. They were also less likely to feel tired or mentally drained, the findings, presented at the British Psychological Society annual conference in Brighton show.
Prof David Kennedy, director of the brain, performance and nutrition research centre at Northumbria University, and a co-author of the study, said that chocolate could be beneficial for mentally challenging tasks. The findings suggest students who binge on chocolate when revising for exams may gain a real benefit from doing so. The flavanols, part of a group of chemicals called polyphenols, work by increasing the flow of blood into the brain.
For the study 30 volunteers were asked to count backwards in groups of three from a random number between 800 and 999 generated by a computer. The findings show that they could do the calculations more quickly and more accurately after they had been given the drink. However, the same was not true when the group was asked to count backwards in groups of seven, which the researchers described as a more complex task, requiring a slightly different part of the brain. The findings also show that the volunteers did not get as tired doing the calculations if they had been given the cocoa drink, despite being asked to do them over and over for an hour.
The researchers gave the volunteers a total of 500mg of flavanol. Although the amount was too great to be found naturally in the diet, researchers said that people should ensure that they have lots of flavanols, also found in fruit and vegetables, on a regular basis. Dark chocolate contains higher quantities of the chemical than plain or milk chocolate.
Prof Kennedy said: "The amount that we are giving is more than in the diet but there is quite a lot of evidence that general amounts are protective. The more fruit and vegetables and things that are high in polyphenols the better that is for your brain in the long run.”

Question 1 (2 points) Indicate whether these statements are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.
a. The study took place at a conference in Brighton.
b. Chocolate contains a substance which makes blood flow more easily.
c. People normally eat around 500mg of flavenol every day.
d. There is more flavenol in dark chocolate than there is in milk chocolate.
Question 2. (2 points) Answer these questions in your own words.
a. Why is it more difficult to count backwards in groups of seven than in groups of three?
b. Which foods does Professor Kennedy suggest that we should eat to help us perform mental activities and why?
Question 3 (1.5 points) Find words or phrases in the text that mean the same as:
a. to eat a lot of something (p.2) b. repeatedly (p.3) c. contain a lot of (p.5)
Question 4 (1.5 points) Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.
a. Eating chocolate could improve the brain’s ability to do maths.
The brain’s ability ..........................
b. Students who eat a large amount of chocolate when revising for exams may gain a real benefit from doing so.
If ............................................
c. Professor Kennedy said “The amount that we are giving is more than in the diet but there is quite a lot of evidence that general amounts are protective. “
Professor Kennedy said that ..................................................
Question 5 (3 points) Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic.
So many different people tell us what to eat and what not to eat. Should we listen to their advice?

Eating chocolate is good for maths

Scientists reveal how eating chocolate can help improve your maths
Eating chocolate could improve the brain's ability to do maths, a new study suggests. Mental arithmetic became easier after volunteers had been given large amounts of compounds found in chocolate, called flavanols, in a hot cocoa drink. They were also less likely to feel tired or mentally drained, the findings, presented at the British Psychological Society annual conference in Brighton show.
Prof David Kennedy, director of the brain, performance and nutrition research centre at Northumbria University, and a co-author of the study, said that chocolate could be beneficial for mentally challenging tasks. The findings suggest students who binge on chocolate when revising for exams may gain a real benefit from doing so. The flavanols, part of a group of chemicals called polyphenols, work by increasing the flow of blood into the brain.
For the study 30 volunteers were asked to count backwards in groups of three from a random number between 800 and 999 generated by a computer. The findings show that they could do the calculations more quickly and more accurately after they had been given the drink. However, the same was not true when the group was asked to count backwards in groups of seven, which the researchers described as a more complex task, requiring a slightly different part of the brain. The findings also show that the volunteers did not get as tired doing the calculations if they had been given the cocoa drink, despite being asked to do them over and over for an hour.
The researchers gave the volunteers a total of 500mg of flavanol. Although the amount was too great to be found naturally in the diet, researchers said that people should ensure that they have lots of flavanols, also found in fruit and vegetables, on a regular basis. Dark chocolate contains higher quantities of the chemical than plain or milk chocolate.
Prof Kennedy said: "The amount that we are giving is more than in the diet but there is quite a lot of evidence that general amounts are protective. The more fruit and vegetables and things that are high in polyphenols the better that is for your brain in the long run.”

Question 1 (2 points) Indicate whether these statements are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.
a. The study took place at a conference in Brighton.
b. Chocolate contains a substance which makes blood flow more easily.
c. People normally eat around 500mg of flavenol every day.
d. There is more flavenol in dark chocolate than there is in milk chocolate.
Question 2. (2 points) Answer these questions in your own words.
a. Why is it more difficult to count backwards in groups of seven than in groups of three?
b. Which foods does Professor Kennedy suggest that we should eat to help us perform mental activities and why?
Question 3 (1.5 points) Find words or phrases in the text that mean the same as:
a. to eat a lot of something (p.2) b. repeatedly (p.3) c. contain a lot of (p.5)
Question 4 (1.5 points) Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.
a. Eating chocolate could improve the brain’s ability to do maths.
The brain’s ability ..........................
b. Students who eat a large amount of chocolate when revising for exams may gain a real benefit from doing so.
If ............................................
c. Professor Kennedy said “The amount that we are giving is more than in the diet but there is quite a lot of evidence that general amounts are protective. “
Professor Kennedy said that ..................................................
Question 5 (3 points) Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic.
So many different people tell us what to eat and what not to eat. Should we listen to their advice?

British dishes

Is it true that a lot of British dishes are named after places?
The rich variety of British regional cooking is reflected in the names of our favourite dishes. Many regions have their own particular speciality of sweet or savoury fare, or are famed for their local produce.
Cheeses are produced in many regions, although Cheddar, a hard cheese with a strong, nutty taste, is the most popular variety. It originates from a village in Somerset in Western England, also famous for its gorge. Other types of cheeses include Cheshire, Lancashire, Stilton and Wensleydale.
Cornwall in south-west England is famous for its Cornish Pasties – a pastry case filled with meat, potatoes and vegetables, which was the traditional midday meal of workers in the region.
The town of Bakewell in Derbyshire has a rich pastry tart named after it. The Bakewell pudding or the Bakewell tart was said to have been invented by accident, when a cook forgot to put jam over the custard filling of a pudding – instead she apread it straight onto the pastry case and poured the custard on top. Thus a new dish was born!
Welsh cakes, a kind of sweet cake cooked on a griddle, were originally served to hungry travellers when they arrived at an inn for the night while they waited for their supper to be cooked.
Many other dishes are named after plates – from Lancashire hotpot (a casserole of meat and vegetables topped with sliced potatoes) and Dundee cake (a rich fruit cake) to Anglessey eggs A dish of leeks, mashed potato, hard boiled eggs and cheese sauce) baked Ulster ham, and Bath buns ( a sweet bun containing species and dried fruit, originally made in Bath, western England). Indeed, dedicated gourmets could happily munch their way from one county to another!

Decide whether these statements are true or false.
1. All the cheeses come from Somerset.
2. Cornish Pasties were usually eaten for lunch.
3. A Derbyshire cook was trying to bake a new dish when she created the Bakewell Pudding.
4. Travellers used to eat Welsh cakes as a dessert.
5. Both Lancashire hot pot and Anglessey eggs have vegetables as ingredients.
6. People who are fond of eating will find good local specialities in very few regions.


Self-Access Group Ciefp Santander





KEY
1. False
2. True
3. False
4. False
5. True
6. False

British dishes

Is it true that a lot of British dishes are named after places?
The rich variety of British regional cooking is reflected in the names of our favourite dishes. Many regions have their own particular speciality of sweet or savoury fare, or are famed for their local produce.
Cheeses are produced in many regions, although Cheddar, a hard cheese with a strong, nutty taste, is the most popular variety. It originates from a village in Somerset in Western England, also famous for its gorge. Other types of cheeses include Cheshire, Lancashire, Stilton and Wensleydale.
Cornwall in south-west England is famous for its Cornish Pasties – a pastry case filled with meat, potatoes and vegetables, which was the traditional midday meal of workers in the region.
The town of Bakewell in Derbyshire has a rich pastry tart named after it. The Bakewell pudding or the Bakewell tart was said to have been invented by accident, when a cook forgot to put jam over the custard filling of a pudding – instead she apread it straight onto the pastry case and poured the custard on top. Thus a new dish was born!
Welsh cakes, a kind of sweet cake cooked on a griddle, were originally served to hungry travellers when they arrived at an inn for the night while they waited for their supper to be cooked.
Many other dishes are named after plates – from Lancashire hotpot (a casserole of meat and vegetables topped with sliced potatoes) and Dundee cake (a rich fruit cake) to Anglessey eggs A dish of leeks, mashed potato, hard boiled eggs and cheese sauce) baked Ulster ham, and Bath buns ( a sweet bun containing species and dried fruit, originally made in Bath, western England). Indeed, dedicated gourmets could happily munch their way from one county to another!

Decide whether these statements are true or false.
1. All the cheeses come from Somerset.
2. Cornish Pasties were usually eaten for lunch.
3. A Derbyshire cook was trying to bake a new dish when she created the Bakewell Pudding.
4. Travellers used to eat Welsh cakes as a dessert.
5. Both Lancashire hot pot and Anglessey eggs have vegetables as ingredients.
6. People who are fond of eating will find good local specialities in very few regions.


Self-Access Group Ciefp Santander





KEY
1. False
2. True
3. False
4. False
5. True
6. False