2. English Practice Reading, Speaking, Listening

Part 2 ▶️Be Worthy of Trust 1. Angela and Darren have two children. Their son, Kyle, is twenty years old. He helps them take care of his little sister, Rita, who is only six. He loves her very much, and he is happy that he can help his parents to take care of her. But sometimes it can feel like a lot of work.

2. One Friday afternoon, Kyle's parents both have to work late. They ask him to pick Rita up at school in the afternoon. Of course Kyle says yes, because he does not have any plans and he knows it is very important to help his parents when he can. Around 3:00 in the afternoon, Kyle gets a call on his cell phone from his best friend, Peter.

3. "Kyle! Forget about whatever plans you had for today!" his friend exclaims. "Jessica's mother just offered to let us use her country house this weekend!" The only thing their friend Jessica can ever talk about is her mother's enormous, luxurious country house. It has lots of bedrooms, a huge swimming pool, and an well-equipped gym room. They can also listen to very loud music there because there are no neighbors to complain. Kyle and his friends always talk about going there.

4. "Come on, we will leave in fifteen minutes! Get ready!" Peter exclaims. Kyle looks at his watch and thinks about how much fun he could have with his friends in the country. He knows the teachers at Rita's school will call his grandmother if he does not pick her up. He hesitates for a moment, very tempted to go with his friends.

5. But of course he knows he cannot let his parents and sister down and leave Rita alone. He tells his friend thank you for the invitation, but he has made a promise that he really must keep. Realizing he does not have much time left, Kyle rushes to his sister's school. He is five minutes late, and when he gets there, he sees that Rita is very scared and is about to cry. She is the last student at the school, and the teachers are waiting with her.

Vocabulary Questions 1. What does "worthy" mean? a) deserving something b) responsible c) sensible d) a person who is kind to others 2. What does "trust" mean? a) your reputation b) things you have to do c) a belief that someone is reliable, good, or honest d) the ideas you have about other people 3. What does "luxurious" mean? a) complicated b) very comfortable and expensive c) far away d) interesting

Grammar Questions 1. Kyle realizes that he ________ the right thing. a) has do b) is done c) are done d) has done 2. Come on, we will leave ________ fifteen minutes! a) in b) after c) to d) from 3. He loves ________ very much. a) she b) it c) sister d) her

Comprehension Questions 1. What will Kyle's friends do this weekend? _______________________________. 2. Why does Kyle say he cannot go with them? _______________________________. 3. In your opinion, why is it important to be worthy of trust? _______________________________.

Part 3 > “Modern Cooking” 1. We all need to eat to keep fit and healthy. Young children cannot grow tall and strong unless they eat a well-balanced diet. This means a selection of foods that provide protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins and mineral elements. 2. Some foods can be digested raw but other foods are heated and cooked to make digestion faster. Salad leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, vegetables such as carrots, and fruit do not need cooking. However apples are an example of fruit that can be eaten raw and also cooked. Stewed apples, apples baked in the oven and apples in pies and topped with crumble are ways of eating the fruit. When food is cooked, it is heated. 3. Before people had electricity and gas, they cooked on wood and charcoal fires. A fairly recent addition to cooking is the microwave. This speeds up the cooking time. Fan ovens are also more efficient. Barbecue cooking outside in the garden on a warm day in summer, is very popular. In the kitchen, utensils are used to contain the food, and they vary from open pans to pans with lids, frying pans, steamers, pressure cookers and woks. 4. Before supermarkets sold ready cooked meals that just require re-heating, it was the tradition that men left the women in the home to prepare and cook food. Now both men and women share the tasks in well-designed kitchens. In restaurants, the chef, a few years ago, was nearly always male. Today however, there are as many female chefs as men. 5. There has been a great revival in the way food is cooked, mainly in part due to seeing a lot of cooking programmes on television. These are often presented as competitions like Master Chef and the Great British bake-off. Also people travel more to foreign countries and return home with exotic and interesting recipes. The availability of ingredients in the supermarkets also encourages experimentation. 6. The kitchen is now the 'hub' of the house. The family, friends and visitors when waiting for a meal to be prepared all gather in the kitchen and help to prepare the dishes or watch others doing the cooking. The utensils available to aid the food preparation are plentiful. Different types of knives for example. Aprons and oven gloves help to protect us from spills and heat when taking hot dishes from the oven. Some people love cooking, planning the meal, assembling the ingredients and then preparing the food. Others however prefer to open a tin of food and hot up the contents.

Reading comprehension questions: 1) Why do we need to eat a well-balanced diet? A) To keeps us fit and healthy and helps children grow. B) To help us balance on wet surfaces. C) We need a balanced diet to help us live to be 100. D) We can live well without a balanced diet. 2) Which food mentioned in the passage can be eaten raw? A) Dates B) Oranges C) Brazil nuts D) Apples 3) Where do people most often cook using a barbecue? A) Inside the house. B) In the garden C) In the garage. D) In the kitchen. 4) Where can you buy ready prepared meals for heating up at home? A) At airports. B) On the beach. C) In supermarkets. D) Only in London. 5) What is the main reason for using a microwave? A) To shorten cooking time. B) To teach young children how to cook. C) To melt icecream. D) To make food much

Food What is your favorite snack? What unhealthy food do you love? What food did your mother always tell you to eat and not to eat? What food helps with which health problem? What is the future of food in your country? What kinds of food did you eat when you were a child? Do you eat the same things now? What is the best food to eat when you are sick? What is your favorite food that your mother/father cooks? Do you prefer to eat unhealthy or healthy food? How often do you eat out? If you could have any food right now, what would it be? How would you describe your country’s food? What dishes from your country are often confused by tourists or foreigners? (i.e. sushi / sashimi or lo mein / chow mein) What is your favorite food? What is in it? Can you think of any of your country’s cuisine that other countries influenced? What is your favorite foreign food? How is it different from your country’s cuisine? How often do you eat foreign food and how often do you eat your country’s cuisine? Where is the best place to eat in your town? Why is it so good? Do you eat a healthy diet? Why or why not? What could you do to improve your diet? Have you ever gone on a diet to improve your health or lose weight? How well did it work? Describe your favorite food. What ingredients are in it? Why is it your favorite? Do you eat different foods depending on the season or weather? Give some examples. What kinds of food can you cook? Would you like to learn how to cook more types of food?