New markets - shopping for food in the 21st century

1) Who shops for food in your family? How often do they go shopping? Where do they buy the food from?

2) Read the following definitions of the words from the text, make sure you understand them:

To boom – to grow very quickly in season – growing naturally in a particular time of the year

To die out – to disappear completely preserves – preserved fruit and vegetables, jam

Groceries – everyday item of shopping to resurrect – to make alive again

To guarantee – to promise to run – to organize

3) Read the text about food shopping. Which different ways of shopping for food does it mention?

Making a long trip to the supermarket and queuing for hours used to be the normal weekly routine for British and American shoppers. But since the 1990s, there is a better way to get your groceries. Supermarket shopping on the Internet has boomed in the UK and the USA.

The major supermarkets have their own websites, and if you order on-line with them, for a small extra sum such as $8/£5 the supermarkets will do your shopping for you and deliver it to your door. If you shop with them regularly, they'll 'remember' your favourite items so you can order them next time without searching for them!

These days thousands of people in the UK and the States regularly do their supermarket shopping in this way. In contrast, in many rural areas of Britain there has been a return to the traditional outdoor market. Farmers' markets, where farmers sell their products directly to the customer, had practically died out in Britain because of the attraction of the large supermarkets, but they have been resurrected recently, both to help farmers make more profits, and to provide customers with 'real' food again, such as fresh meat, eggs, vegetables and preserves. Organic food has become very popular, and some producers runa 'box service', where they deliver a weekly box of fruit and vegetables to your door. Customers can't select the food - they just receive whatever is in season - but it is guaranteed to be fresh and free from chemicals, and now you can often order these on-line too!

4) Underline the correct alternatives in these sentences about the text.

1. It is cheap/ expensive to order your supermarket shopping on-line and have it delivered.

2. Supermarket websites can/ can't remember what you have ordered in the past.

3. Farmers' markets have always been well-supported/ have recently become popular again.

4. Organic food has a lot of / no chemicals in it.

5. The customer/ producer decides what fruit and vegetables are used in a 'box service'.

5) Look at the websites and answer the questions.

1. From how many different countries do the frozen ready meals come? What do you think a ready meal is?

2. How much does a box from the organic food company cost?

3. What sort of food does it contain?

4. What food is depicted on the delicatessen web page?

5. Imagine you are having a picnic at the weekend. Which of the foods would you like to order?

Vocabulary

6) Which of the foods on the websites can you put under these categories?

Meat and fish:

Vegetables:

Fruit:

Bread and pastry:

Sweets:

Speaking

7) Discuss in pairs.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of getting your food from: a) a supermarket b) a smaller shop or a market c) virtual shopping? Think about:

>price, choice of products, quality of products.

>convenience.

>service, ecological reasons.

>who gets the profit.

WRITING

TASK 1. Write a short article about a similar market in your own country. Think about:

• opening days and times • items sold • specialities • recommendations

Date: 2016-03-03; view: 3931