Episode 73 B

EPISODE 73
LEVEL B2

 

 

READING COMPREHENSION

 

Chocolate Trivia

Did you know that….

• American and Russian space flights have always included chocolate?
• Aztec emperor Montezuma drank 50 golden goblets (= a drinking vessel, such as a glass, that has a stem and base) of hot chocolate every day. It was thick, dyed (= coloured) red and flavored with chili peppers.
• The average person will consume 10,000 chocolate bars in a lifetime.
• It’s a common myth that chocolate aggravates (=makes worse) Experiments conducted at the University of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Naval Academy found that consumption of chocolate – even frequent daily dietary intake – had no effect on the incidence (=occurrence) of acne. Professional dermatologists today do not link acne with diet.
• One plain milk chocolate candy bar has more protein than a banana.
• The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the human body temperature – which is why it literally (=word for word) melts in your mouth.
• The Swiss consume more chocolate per capita (= per person) than any other nation on earth. That’s 22 pounds each compared to 11 pounds per person in the United States.
• The fruit of the Cacao tree grow directly from the trunk (=the main woody axis of a tree). They look like small melons, and the pulp inside contains 20 to 50 seeds or beans. It takes about 400 beans to make a pound of chocolate.

 

 

More contexts for the new words:

• For most feng shui applications, elephantsare usually shown with the trunk up, as this symbolizes the showering of good luck.

(trunk = ‘the nose’ of the elephant)

• Research shows that most fair-haired women dye their hair; very few are natural blondes.

 

EXERCISE 1

Memory quiz!

Complete the questions with appropriate words and answer them without looking back at the text!

1. How many __________ of hot chocolate did Montezuma drink?
2. Is it true that chocolate __________ acne?
3. Which European nation consumes most chocolate __________?
4. What was used to __________ Montezuma’s chocolate?
5. Why is it true that chocolate __________ melts in your mouth?
6. What does an elephant with its __________up symbolize?

 

ENGLISH IN USE 

 

One of the ways to describe what people say, report, believe, think, consider, know, etc. is to use a special form of Passive Voice – Hearsay Reporting. The report can refer to the present or past, or a time before the time of reporting. Different forms of the infinitive are used to show the relation of the report to the report verb. Today we will concentrate on the present aspect of the structure.

 

Examples:

The patient is said to be as well as can be expected.

Chocolate is believed to improve your mood.

 

EXERCISE 2

Rewrite each sentence so that it begins with the words underlined.

 

1. People say that the company is doing very well this year.

The company __________________________________________________

 

2. Critics believe that the young director deserves an Oscar for her first movie.

The young director __________________________________________________

 

3. People think that the new subway line is the best solution in such a big city.

The new subway line __________________________________________________

 

 

EXERCISE 3

Complete the sentence so that it means the same as the first sentence.

1. It is said that house prices are too high.

House prices_________________________________________________

 

2. It is thought that the hospital is short of money.

The hospital__________________________________________________

 

3. It is reported that the prime minister is resigning.

The prime minister_____________________________________________

 

 

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

 

A: How did you find out about Joe and Kate breaking up? Did they tell you?
B: No, I heard in on the grapevine (=to hear news from someone who heard the news from someone else). Actually everybody is talking about it these days.

Rumour has it (= it is said) that Kate got fed up (= unable or unwilling to tolerate something any longer)with his constant moaning and complaining and simply moved out!

 

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

You should never really believe all the gossip you will hear… most of this stuff is simply made up (=invented), so attaching any importance to it makes simply no sense. And, to make matters worse, you might let a close friend down (= disappoint) by believing unjust rumour, so it’s best to steer clear of  (= avoid) gossip.

 

EXERCISE 4

Match the sentence halves:

1. Rumour has it
2. I love reading fantasy novels;
3. I get really fed up when

 

a)people jam the photocopier and just leave.
b) I always admire the writers who make up whole worlds.
c) that Peter is leaving for Australia.

 

 

NEWS

 

CHOCOLATE… FOR THE LAST TIME

Belgian chocolate is considered to be the gourmet standard by which all other chocolate confections are measured . Even the Swiss, known for their own high quality chocolate, imported the basic recipe from French and Belgian chocolatiers. What makes Belgian chocolate unique is the quality of ingredients (many aspects of its composition are regulated by law) and an adherence to traditional manufacturing techniques. Even in today’s world of automation and mass production, most Belgian chocolate is still made by hand in shops using original equipment. These small chocolate outlets attract tourists visiting Belgium today.

 

GLOSSARY:

Gourmet – a connoisseur of fine food and drink

Confection – a sweet preparation, such as candy

Unique – the only one of its kind

Adherence – faithful attachment; devotion

 

 

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