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

Trashy fashion

Trashy fashion
Ms. Judd spends her days in a studio making clothing from plastic bags, electrical wire and old cassette tapes. Now, environmental activists plan to showcase her work in Washington.
The star piece of her collection is a man's coat made from Mr. Obama's campaign fliers which took her 200 hours to make. She has already made three items from Obama’s campaign: A sun dress stitched from plastic signs; a suit from strips of posters; and the man's coat, made from door hangers. The outfits have their limitations. An evening gown sparkling with 12,000 bits of glass; a fitted jacket cut from the vinyl top of a convertible car. "You can't sit down in any of them," says Ms. Judd.
Ms. Judd, who used to work for the Santa Fe trash department, began to wonder whether she could spark interest in solid waste by making garbage glamorous. Two years ago, Ms. Judd decided to try to turn her hobby into a full-time job. She doesn't sell her work; she markets it as an educational tool. She wants to use her clothes to illustrate talks and to raise awareness through art exhibits. The concept intrigued Pittsburgh International Airport, who organized a show. Ms. Judd also spoke to several youth groups there. "The children were amazed to see that something so beautiful could be created out of something we would normally throw away," says Pat Bluett, assistant executive director of a Boys and Girls Club. “The club's recycling volume has since doubled,” she says.
The educational theme also appealed to Jenna Mack, co-producer of Saturday's Green Inaugural Ball. The all-organic, $500-a-ticket event is expected to draw 1,000 environmentalists. Models will show off Ms. Judd's fashions on platforms in the lobby. "Maybe the mental image of that dress made from glass might make people think twice before they throw out a bottle next time," Ms. Mack says.

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) Ms Judd has made several pieces of clothing using materials from Obama’s campaign.
b) Judd’s clothes are comfortable and practical.
c) Ms Judd has been making clothes as a hobby for the past two years.
d) All tickets for Saturday’s ball cost five hundred dollars.

Question 2 (2 points)
Answer the following questions in your own words.
a) What does Ms Judd do with the clothes she makes?
b) What does Ms Mack hope will happen when people see the dress made from glass?

Question 3 (1.5 points)
Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.
a) long, thin pieces (paragraph 2)
b) increase (paragraph 3)
c) attract (paragraph 4)
Question 4 (1.5 points)
Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.
a) The man’s coat took Ms Judd 200 hours to make.
Ms Judd spent …
b) Pittsburgh International Airport showed interest in the idea and organized an exhibition.
Interest …….. and an exhibition ……….
c) Ms Judd said “I wondered whether I could spark interest in recycling and tried to make garbage glamorous.”
Ms Judd said she…….

Question 5 (5 points)
Write a short essay (about 120-150 words) on the following topic:
People nowadays are recycling more than before. Do you agree?

Self-Access Group. CEP Santander

How to say 2010

With the new year and the new decade, English speakers are discussing how to pronounce 2010. Here’s an article about it. You can read it and decide...... it’s up to you!

BBC stars discuss how to pronounce 2010

The BBC has tackled the topic of how to pronounce 2010 with David Tennant suggesting 'twenty-ten' is preferred.

While some say ‘twenty-ten’, others are referring to ‘two thousand and ten’ and even ‘two-o-one-o’.

The subject was raised in a programme on Radio 2 on Boxing Day – which was hosted the Doctor Who actors David Tennant and Catherine Tate Tennant, 38, referred to the year as ‘twenty ten’, when telling a listener to have a “wonderful new year”.

Tate said: “Oh twenty-ten – get you! Who’s been reading the compliance rules!’?”

Tennant told their guest, Bernard Cribbins: “We’re supposed to say twenty-ten.”

But Cribbins said he believed most elderly people would prefer to say two thousand and ten.

Miss Tate added: “You’re not allowed to say two thousand and ten…The people in there are exploding!”

The BBC has a unit which decides on uniform pronunciation. However, the BBC said there had been no ruling on 2010.

A spokesman said: “Prior to the show, it was decided “twenty ten” was the easiest way to pronounce the year. It was not breaking any rules to say it in an alternative way.”
28 Dec 2009

Worried about how to say numbers in English? Have a look below if you want to do some numbers practice.

How to say numbers

Cardinal numbers

379 = three hundred and seventy nine
2,860 = two thousand eight hundred and sixty
5,084 = five thousand and eighty-four
470,000 = four hundred and seventy thousand
2,550,000 = two million, five hundred and fifty thousand
3,000,000,000 = three billion
Note: There is no plural’s’ after hundred, thousand, million and billion when they part of a number. On their own, they can be plural, e.g. thousands of people; millions of insects.

Ordinal numbers and dates

One of the problems with dates is that we write them and say them in a different way
We write 4 January (or 4th January), but say the fourth of January or January the fourth
We write 21 May (or 21st May), but say the twenty-first of May or May the twenty- first
1997 = nineteen ninety seven
1905 = nineteen hundred and five or nineteen oh five

Fractions and decimals

1 ¼ = one and a quarter
1 ½ = one and a half
1 ¾ = one and three quarters
1 1/3 = one and a third
1.25 = one point two five
1.5 = one point five
1.75 = one point seven five
1.33 = one point three

Arithmetic

There are four basic processes for working out (= calculating) a problem:
+ = addition e.g. 6 + 4 = 10 (six plus/and four equals/is ten)
- = subtraction e.g. 6 - 4 = 2 (six minus four equals/is two)
x = multiplication e.g. 6 x 4 = 24 (six times / multiplied by four equals/is twenty¬ four
: = division e.g. 4 + 2 = 2 (four divided by two equals/is two)

Percentages

26% = twenty-six per cent.
More than 50% is the majority; less than 50% is the minority.

Saying '0'

This can be spoken in different ways in different contexts.
telephone number: 603 724 = six oh three, seven two four (Am Eng = six zero three)
mathematics: 0.7 = nought point seven, 6.02 = six point oh two
temperature: -10 degrees = ten degrees below zero / minus ten degrees
football: 2-0 = two nil tennis: 40-0 = forty love

Talking numbers

Here are several useful words and expressions connected with numbers:
The streets have got odd numbers (e.g. 3, 5, 7) on the left and even numbers (e.g. 4, 6, 8) on the right.
I got 16 out of 20 in our last test. 16/20

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