Ex.2. Read and translate the text.

The English had long been famous for their appetites, and foreigners, especially those from warmer countries, were astonished at the vast quantities of meat they ate. Even the poor man fed far better than peasants abroad, enjoying his bacon and rabbit when he could not get beef, and only falling back on vegetable broth when times were hard.

In Elizabethan England the main meals were dinner, taken at about II o'clock (because the working day started very early, "before five o'clock in the morning" and continued until seven or eight at night, with only half an hour for breakfast and up to one and a half hours for dinner), and the supper. The servants had their dinner at noon.

Although breakfast was not considered a meal, a snack of meat, bread and ale was usual. On the Queen's breakfast table there were chickens, rabbits, mutton, veal and beef, ale and wine, served early in the morning.

At dinner, as much food as possible was put on the table at once, to show the master's wealth. Helpings of mutton, beef, pork and venison, not in slices but in lumps, were followed by fish, game and poultry, and then by elaborate sweets and puddings, often shaped like animals and castles. That was in the past...

What is peculiar about the British food nowadays?

Today the best British food is supposed to be surprisingly regional. It is greatly influenced by local agricultural conditions and depends on geography and climate. For instance, in Scotland, where oats grow better than wheat, local dishes use oatmeal rather than wheat flour. Scottish national dish, porridge, using oats, is eaten only with a pinch of salt.

In Wales, too, oatmeal is the chief cereal, and in both places scones, oatcakes and pancakes are traditionally cooked.

England is famous for the hard cheeses the names of which derive from the rich dairy farming areas,, such as Cheddar, Cheshire, Leicester, Derby, etc. Many of them are still made in local farm dairies.

Hams also have a regional character and are cured in different ways in Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Cumberland and Suffolk.

Cornwall is famous for meat pies. The pork, veal, ham and egg pies are associated with Midland England. Pigeon and game pies are connected with sporting estates. Steak and kidney pies and puddings are everywhere, but Black Pudding, made from pig's blood, is a speciality of North England. Sausages too, depending on where they are made, are different in flavour.

A characteristic feature of British food is the high quality of the ingredients and the simplicity of the way in which they are used. Fish is usually poached or fried, meat is roasted on a spit over a fire, or boiled. Both are accompanied by traditional sauces.

Parsley sauce accompanies cod, gooseberry sauce goes with mackerel, apple sauce with roast pork, bread sauce with chicken and game, horseradish sauce with beef. Fried fish is served with chips, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding.

Puddings are the most prominent produce of Britain's kitchen. Some of them, like plum pudding, have beef fat as a base and are boiled or steamed, others, like apple pies and fruit tart, for instance, use pastry. Summer puddings and bread puddings are made from stale bread.

The forerunner of today's Christmas pudding was plum porridge. It was made with raisins, currants, plums, breadcrumbs and spices, and was eaten with a spoon. Poorer people were more likely to prepare a simple dish - wheat grains boiled up with milk and sugar.

Alongside with puddings Britain can boast of a wide variety of cakes which are also part of the British tradition. Again they often have a regional emphasis or are connected with special occasions. For instance, Yorkshire Pastry is gingerbread eaten on 5th November to commemorate Guy Fawkes.

The potato, which was brought to England in 1585 by Sir Walter Raleigh, is so popular today that it is eaten, in a variety of ways, at almost every meal. Perhaps, the second most common vegetable is cabbage.

The British people are great liquid milk lovers. Milk consumption per head is almost the highest in the world (over 130 litres a year). But over the last twenty-five years many of them have changed from full fat to skimmed milk. Figures for skimmed milk went up from almost zero before 1980 to 12 per cent at the beginning of the 1990s.

A special place in the life of the British is occupied by tea. They are the world's greatest tea drinkers. They drink a quarter of all the tea grown in the world each year. Many of them drink it on at least eight different occasions during the day. They drink it at meals and between meals. They even drink early morning tea in bed.

Among stronger traditional drinks in Britain are beer, whisky, gin, wine and cider. Most pubs, besides beer, sell all kinds of alcohol, from whisky to wine. No alcoholic drinks may be served to young people under eighteen, and no children under sixteen are allowed inside the bar.

The six most popular drinks in Britain, in order of priority, are tea, milk, beer, coffee, soda water and juice.

The usual meals peculiar to Britain are the English breakfast (early morning), lunch (midday), afternoon tea (4.00-5.00 p.m.) and dinner (7.00-9.00 p.m.); or, in simpler homes, breakfast, dinner, tea and supper.

BREAKFAST is generally a bigger meal than they have on the Continent, though some English people like a continental breakfast of rolls and butter and coffee. But the usual English breakfast is porridge or cereals with milk or cream and sugar, bacon and eggs, jam or marmalade with buttered toast, and tea or coffee. For a change one can have a boiled egg, cold ham or fish.

LUNCH is generally eaten about one o'clock. The people usually find it impossible to come home for lunch, and so they go to a cafe or a restaurant. But when at home they have cold meat (left over probably from yesterday's dinner), potatoes, salad and pickles, with a pudding or fruit to follow. Sometimes they may have a mutton chop, or steak and chips, followed by biscuits and cheese. Some people like a glass of light beer with lunch.

AFTERNOON TEA is a sociable sort of thing. It first became popular with the upper and middle classes after the discovery of the Indian plant in Assam in the 1820s and is now a national institution. The classic afternoon tea consists of small sandwiches (the sandwich is also a British invention), bread, butter and jam, scones, sponge cakes, biscuits and sometimes buttered crumpets. In more common families they may serve simply a cup of tea, cake or biscuit. HIGH TEA, on the other hand, is the main meal in Scotland and the north of England. It is eaten at 6 o'clock and includes meat or fish as well as bread and cakes.

DINNER (7.00-9.00 p.m.) is the ordinary evening meal for some middle-class people. Lower class people call it supper. But when the latter invite people to a three-course evening meal, and put on their smartest clothes, they usually call the meal dinner. In hotels and restaurants it is always dinner.

Dinner usually begins with soup, which is followed by fish, roast chicken, potatoes and vegetables, a sweet, fruit and nuts. Coffee and cigarettes are served in the sitting-room.

SUPPER (9.00-10.00 p.m.) is usually a light snack and may include an omelette or sausages, sometimes bacon and eggs and sometimes just bread and cheese, a cup of coffee or cocoa and fruit.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 2569