| Level | Topic | Speakers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Difficult | Restaurants | Man – Man | 01:59 |
Pre-Listening Exercise
What kinds of items would you expect to find at a fast food restaurant? Also, name three possible problems that could occur at such a restaurant in terms of service and food preparation.
- Hamburgers taste better at local restaurants than at big fast-food chains.
- Every culture can create its own version of a hamburger.
- A hamburger isn’t a real hamburger without beef.
- Vegetarian or vegan burgers are just as tasty as meat burgers.
- Hamburgers are too unhealthy to eat regularly.
- Adding local spices or ingredients makes a hamburger more interesting.
- People should eat hamburgers with a fork and knife in formal settings.
- The best burgers are homemade, not from a restaurant.
- Traditional foods are being replaced by hamburgers in many countries.
- A good hamburger depends more on the sauce than on the meat.
Idioms
“fill up on” = become full
“Hey, don’t fill up on potato chips before lunch. You still need to eat your vegetables.”
“whip up” = quickly prepare
“Could you whip up a simple salad for the barbecue?“
Listening Exercise
Listen to the recording and answer the questions. (See transcript)
Vocabulary and Sample Sentences
Here are some words and expressions that appear in the recording:
- deluxe (adjective): of higher quality than similar products
– She ordered a deluxe shake from the menu. - to go: takeout
– We ordered the food to go because we didn’t have time to sit down and eat. - down something (verb): eat quickly
– No one could believe that the woman downed fifteen hotdogs in twelve minutes. - grow on someone (verb): develop a liking for someone or something over time
– Eating raw fish is something that will grow on you if you eat it enough. - not agree with someone (verb): become sick from something you eat
– Boy, I feel really sick. That soup didn’t agree with me at all, and I feel like I’m going to throw up. - hearty eater (noun): someone who enjoys eating a lot
– That baby is a real hearty eater and eats constantly.
Post-Listening Exercise
Discuss your favorite fast food restaurant and why you choose to eat there. Include details about price, food selection, quality, customer service, atmosphere, and convenience. Compare two fast two restaurants in your city using the points above.
Online Investigation
Although there are many fast food restaurants, their menus are not the same. In fact, the nutritional value of their items can be quite different. Use the internet to compare the ingredients of hamburgers from two or more restaurants including (1) the serving size, (2) number of calories, and (3) total amount of fat, sodium, and carbohydrates. Finally, make a recommendation on which hamburger provides the best money and nutritional value.