2008年ESL之餐饮 07 Dietary Restrictions and Preferences

07 Dietary Restrictions 1 and Preferences

GLOSSARY 2

to invite (someone) over – to ask someone to come to one’s home for a shortperiod of time as a visitor* Troy invited us over for pizza and a movie at his apartment last night.

vegan – a strict vegetarian 3 who does not eat any meat, eggs, milk, or anythingelse that comes from an animal* This bakery makes a great vegan chocolate cake that tastes great even thoughit doesn’t have eggs.

organic – grown naturally without any chemicals* Do you think that organic foods taste better than normal foods do?

lactose intolerant – unable to eat milk and foods made from milk without gettingsick* Vicky always feels sick after eating ice cream and yogurt, so she might belactose intolerant.

low-salt diet – a combination of foods that one should eat that have very littlesalt, usually because one has high blood pressure* After Grandpa had a heart attack, his doctor put him on a low-salt diet.

health nut – a person who is very interested in having a healthy lifestyle, eatingonly healthy foods and getting a lot of exercise* He’s such a health nut that he hasn’t had a cookie in more than six years!

saturated 4 fat – a type of fat (grease 5 or oil) that is very bad for one’s heart andhealth, usually found in foods made from animals* Some fast food hamburgers have more than 10 grams of saturated fat!

added – additional; put in with something else; put onto something else* Many children like to eat foods with added sugar and colors.

artificial flavor – something that is used to change the taste of foods, made withchemicals instead of natural foods* Are these candies made with real lemon juice or an artificial flavor?

red meat – meat that is a dark color before cooking, such as beef and lamb;meat from animals such as a cow or lamb* Red meat has more cholesterol 6 than chicken or fish.

gluten-free – food made without a certain type of substance that is found inwheat, oatmeal, and other grains* When Yolanda had a lot of stomach problems, her doctor said that she shouldtry to eat gluten-free foods.

kosher – food that is prepared in a special way, following Jewish laws* When Zeke became Jewish, he began to eat only kosher foods.

beats me – a phrase used to show that one does not understand something ordoes not have an explanation for something* - How are you going to pay for your apartment now that you aren’t working?   * - Beats me!

potluck – a meal where every person brings a dish of food to share witheveryone else* That church organizes a potluck for its members every Sunday.

beggars can’t be choosers – a phrase used to show that one cannot alwaysget or have what one wants when one is in the position of asking, and that oneneeds to take what one gets without complaining* When Mindy’s parents gave her a car for her birthday, she started complainingabout the color, but then stopped and said, “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

desperate times call for desperate measures – a phrase used when one is ina difficult situation and is ready and able to do whatever is necessary, even if it is difficult or unusual* They didn’t want to sell their car, but desperate times call for desperatemeasures and they needed the money.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1.  Which of these foods is gluten-free?

a) orangesb) breadc) pasta2.  Which of these foods could a vegan eat?

a) red meatb) cheesec) peanuts______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

nutThe phrase “health nut,” in this podcast, means a person who is very interestedin having a healthy lifestyle, eating only healthy foods and getting a lot ofexercise: “She’s such a health nut that she’ll probably live until she’s 100 yearsold!”  A “nut” is a person who is very excited and enthusiastic about something,or who likes something very much: “He’s a nut for skiing.”  A “nut” is also a crazy or insane 7 person, or a person who behaves in strange ways: “A nut is standingon the street corner, shouting about the end of the world.”  The phrase “a toughnut to crack” is used to talk about a problem that is very difficult to solve, or asituation that is very difficult to deal with: “Figuring out this computer password is going to be a tough nut to crack!” beatIn this podcast, the phrase “beats me” is used to show that one does notunderstand something or does not have an explanation for something: “Do youknow how to solve this algebra 8 problem?  It beats me!” “To beat (someone)”

usually means to win a game or contest against someone else: “Did you beatyour dad at chess, or did he beat you?”  That same phrase can also mean to hitsomeone violently: “The woman was sent to jail for beating her children.”  A thirdmeaning of “to beat (someone)” is to do something before someone else can doit: “Craig beat us to the theater and had to wait for us to get there.”  Finally, theverb “to beat” can mean to be better than something else: “Fishing beatsworking!”  Or, “Nothing beats a long, hot bath for relaxing!”

CULTURE NOTESome U.S. airlines offer “meals” (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) to their“passengers” (the people who fly on an airplane) on long flights.  Usually thepassengers may choose one “entree” (the main part of a meal).  For example,they may be asked to choose between chicken and fish, or beef and pasta. Airplane meals have a “reputation” (the way that people think about something)for not being very “tasty” (pleasant to eat).

Some people request specialty 9 meals that meet their “dietary restrictions” (rulesabout what one can and cannot eat).  For example, many vegetarians 10 andvegans request the vegetarian meal.  This is made without meat, milk, or eggs. Other people request a “fruit-and-cheese plate” instead of a meal.

You don’t have to be a vegetarian to “request” (ask for) a vegetarian specialty meal.  In fact, many meat-eating people request a vegetarian meal because theybelieve the food is healthier.  Also, since few vegetarian meals are requested,they are not “mass-produced” (made for many people) and therefore may havebetter quality.

Other passengers request a “diabetic” specialty meal.  A person with diabetes 11 has a medical problem and has to be very careful about how much sugar he orshe eats, and when.  A diabetic meal has very little sugar, so people withdiabetes can eat it.

If you would like to have a specialty meal the next time you fly, you need to“request” (ask for) it when you purchase your ticket.  You cannot request thesemeals on the plane, because the airline packs enough specialty meals only forthe people who have requested them ahead of time.

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers:  1 – a; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 390: Dietary Restrictions and Preferences.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 13 390.  I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com.  Go there and download a Learning Guide for this episode, which will help you improve your English even faster.

This episode is called “Dietary Restrictions and Preferences.”  It’s a dialoguebetween Tony and Carmela.  “Dietary” refers to what you eat, so theconversation will be about different types of food – different things that peoplecan’t eat because of their particular preferences or medical restrictions.  Let’s getstarted.

[start of dialogue]

Tony:  Who did you invite over for dinner Saturday?

Carmela:  I invited Keith, Sung, Stephanie, and Luis.

Tony:  You didn’t! Carmela:  I did.  Why?

Tony:  You’re going to have a hard time cooking for them.  Keith is a vegan andonly eats food that’s organic.  Sung is lactose intolerant and his doctor put him ona low-salt diet.

Carmela:  Really?  I didn’t know.  How do you know so much about their diets? Tony:  I went on a trip with them and I’ll never do it again.  We could never agreeon a restaurant. Carmela:  What about Stephanie and Luis?

Tony:  Stephanie is a health nut, and doesn’t eat anything with saturated fat,added sugar, or artificial flavors.  She also doesn’t eat red meat.  And Luis, hecan only eat gluten-free kosher foods.  

Carmela:  This is a disaster.  How am I going to cook for all four of them?

Tony:  Beats me.  Maybe you can turn it into a potluck.  At least each of yourguests will have one dish they can eat.

Carmela:  I can’t invite my friends over for dinner and then tell them to bring theirown food! Tony:  Well, you wanted a solution and beggars can’t be choosers. Carmela:  You’re right.  Desperate times call for desperate measures!

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with Tony asking Carmela, “Who did you invite over fordinner Saturday (or on Saturday)?”  To “invite someone over” is a phrasal verbmeaning to ask someone to come to your house for a short period of time as avisitor – as a guest.  “I’m inviting 14 you over for coffee,” that means I want youcome to my home and have some coffee with me. In this case, Carmela invited some people over for dinner.  She says she invitedKeith, Sung, Stephanie, and Luis.  Tony says, “You didn’t!”  He obviously doesn’tlike this idea.  Carmela says, “I did.  Why?”  Tony says, “You’re going to have ahard time cooking for them.  Keith is a vegan and only eats food that’s organic.” A “vegan” (vegan) is a vegetarian, a very what we might call “strict” vegetarian,who doesn’t eat any meat, eggs, milk, or anything that comes from an animal. We call that a “vegan.”  Here in Los Angeles, you can go to vegan restaurants where all the food is of this very strict vegetarian kind.  “Keith is a vegan and only eats food that is organic.”  “Organic” means grown naturally without any chemicals, so the corn, or the potatoes, or the tomatoes – the food that grows is not grown by the farmers using chemicals.  Organic has become very popular inthe U.S. in the last couple of the years.  You can go the grocery store now andsee food that is labeled – that says organic; many people think it is healthier.

Tony says, “Sung is lactose intolerant.”  To be “lactose intolerant” means that youcan’t eat milk or foods that are made from milk.  “Lactose” refers to milk;“intolerant” means that you cannot put up with it; you cannot eat it without havingproblems – without feeling sick.  So, “Sung is lactose intolerant, and his doctorput him on a low-salt diet.”  This isn’t related to being lactose intolerant; inaddition, he’s also on a low-salt diet.  A “low-salt diet” is a combination of foods that has, you can guess, very little salt.  Usually this happens because someone has high blood pressure, a medical condition that could cause problems, so they put them on a low-salt diet.

Carmela says, “Really?  I didn’t know.  How do you know so much about theirdiets?”  Tony says, “I went on a trip with them and I’ll never do it again.  We couldnever agree on a restaurant,” meaning they went on this trip, but becauseeveryone had a special diet they had to find a place that could accommodate 15 allof them – that would have food for all of them: a vegan, lactose intolerant,organic, and low-salt diet.

Carmela says, “What about Stephanie and Luis?”  Tony says, “Stephanie is ahealth nut.”  A “nut,” in general, can be used to describe a person who’s a littlecrazy, who’s a little too fanatical – too interested in something.  A “health nut”

would be someone who is very interested in their health, maybe too interested. The word “nut” has a couple of different meanings; take a look at our LearningGuide for some additional explanations.

So, “Stephanie is a health nut, and she doesn’t eat anything with saturated fat,added sugar, or artificial flavors.”  “Saturated fat” is a type of fat, like grease oroil, that is considered by most doctors to be bad for your heart.  It’s often found infoods – or usually found in food made from animals.  Saturated fat is what somedoctors call a “bad fat,” at least in terms of your heart.  The problem is thatsaturated fat often makes food taste better, and so the good food often has saturated fat – at least the food that I like to eat!  “Added sugar” means additionalsugar, when companies make a food product and they put additional sugar in it,like cereal 16, for example, for children.  Stephanie doesn’t eat anything with“artificial flavors.”  “Flavor” is another word, here, for taste.  “Artificial” is theopposite of natural, things that are made by humans to change the taste ofsomething – not the real taste of the food or the ingredients that make the food. Usually, artificial flavors are made with some sort of chemical that is produced by the company.

Tony says that Stephanie also doesn’t eat red meat.  “Red meat” is meat that is dark in color such as beef, which is meat from a cow, or lamb.  Those areconsidered red meat.  Chicken is not considered red meat, even though it’s akind of meat; we call that “poultry” to distinguish 17 it between the meat that you getfrom a cow or a lamb, say.

He continues, “And Luis, he can only eat gluten-free kosher foods.”  “Gluten” is akind of substance that is found in wheat, in oatmeal, in other what we would call“grains.”  Some people can’t eat food with gluten in it, it makes them sick, so they need food that is gluten-free.  “Kosher food” is food that is prepared in a special way, following Jewish laws.  So, someone who is of the Jewish religious faithmay only want to eat food that is kosher – that is prepared according to certainrules and regulations that are traditional in the Jewish community.

Carmela says, “This is a disaster.  How am I going to cook for all four of them?” Tony says, “Beats me.”  This expression, “beats me,” means that you don’t know;you don’t understand something or you don’t have an explanation for something. The word “beat” has a couple of different meanings in English; take a look at theLearning Guide for some more explanations.

Tony says, “Beats me (I don’t know).  Maybe you can turn it into a potluck.”  To“turn something into something” means to change something.  So, Tony is sayingmaybe you can change the meal to a potluck meal.  A “potluck” (potluck – oneword) is a meal where every person brings something to share with someoneelse – or everyone else.  So, I may bring a salad, you may bring dessert,someone else may bring some meat, and so forth 12.  Everyone brings some food,that’s called a “potluck dinner” or a “potluck meal.”

Carmela says, “I can’t invite my friends over for dinner and then tell them to bringtheir own food!”  Tony says, “Well, you wanted a solution and beggars can’t bechoosers.”  This is an old expression: “Beggars can’t be choosers.”  It means thatyou can’t always have a choice about what your options are, especially if youhave a difficult situation.  Sometimes you are not in the position of asking for aparticular solution; you just need to take the option available to you and notcomplain about it.  A “beggar” is someone who stands in the street and asks formoney as people walk by; the verb is “to beg.”  So, the idea is that if you areasking other people for a solution, and you don’t have any other options, thenyou can’t choose the option – you don’t have a lot of choice, you can’t be a“chooser,” so “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

Carmela says, “You’re right,” and then she uses another common expression:

“Desperate times call for desperate measures!”  To be “desperate” means to bein a situation where it is very difficult, where you don’t have a lot of hope, so“Desperate times (desperate situations) call for desperate measures.”  To “callfor,” here, means to require – to need, so if you’re in a difficult situation, you needto use desperate measures.  “Desperate measures” would be desperate means,desperate methods – ways of solving the problem.  You need to use extreme orunusual measures in order to get out of this difficult situation: “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Tony:  Who did you invite over for dinner Saturday?

Carmela:  I invited Keith, Sung, Stephanie, and Luis.

Tony:  You didn’t! Carmela:  I did.  Why?

Tony:  You’re going to have a hard time cooking for them.  Keith is a vegan andonly eats food that’s organic.  Sung is lactose intolerant and his doctor put him ona low-salt diet.

Carmela:  Really?  I didn’t know.  How do you know so much about their diets? Tony:  I went on a trip with them and I’ll never do it again.  We could never agreeon a restaurant. Carmela:  What about Stephanie and Luis?

Tony:  Stephanie is a health nut, and doesn’t eat anything with saturated fat,added sugar, or artificial flavors.  She also doesn’t eat red meat.  And Luis, hecan only eat gluten-free kosher foods. Carmela:  This is a disaster.  How am I going to cook for all four of them?

Tony:  Beats me.  Maybe you can turn it into a potluck.  At least each of yourguests will have one dish they can eat.

Carmela:  I can’t invite my friends over for dinner and then tell them to bring theirown food! Tony:  Well, you wanted a solution and beggars can’t be choosers. Carmela:  You’re right.  Desperate times call for desperate measures!

[end of dialogue]

The script for this episode was made with added sugar, by Dr. Lucy Tse.  

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan.  Thanks for listening.  Comeback and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan.  This podcast is copyright 2008.