📘 Part 3: Food and meals

This episode's vocabulary

Generally speaking (phrase) – in most cases or as a general rule. → Generally speaking, students perform better when they get adequate sleep.

Reinforce (verb) – to strengthen or support something. → Regular practice helps reinforce what you've learned in class.

Detrimental (adjective) – harmful or damaging to something. → Excessive screen time can be detrimental to children's development.

Catastrophic (adjective) – involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering. → The earthquake had catastrophic effects on the city's infrastructure.

Getting up to (phrasal verb) – doing or being involved in an activity. → I've been getting up to all sorts of interesting projects at work lately.

Local gossip (noun phrase) – informal talk or rumors about people in a community. → The local gossip spreads quickly in small villages where everyone knows each other.

Get everything together (phrasal verb) – to organize or assemble all necessary items. → I need to get everything together before we leave for the conference tomorrow.

Clean-up (noun) – the process of cleaning or tidying after an activity. → The clean-up after the party took several hours.

A real pain (idiom) – something very annoying or troublesome. → Commuting during rush hour is a real pain, especially in winter.

Get-together (noun) – an informal social gathering. → We're planning a get-together with colleagues next Friday evening.

In the main (phrase) – for the most part or generally. → In the main, people are supportive of the new environmental policies.

Touch base (phrasal verb) – to make contact or communicate briefly with someone. → Let's touch base next week to discuss the project progress.

Tear into (phrasal verb) – to eat something enthusiastically or attack it vigorously. → After the long hike, we tore into our sandwiches hungrily.

Offal (noun) – internal organs and entrails of animals used as food. → Offal dishes like liver and kidneys are traditional in many cuisines.

By and large (phrase) – on the whole or generally speaking. → By and large, the feedback on the new course has been very positive.

Nutritious (adjective) – containing substances necessary for good health and growth. → It's important to eat nutritious meals rather than relying on fast food.

Gathering (noun) – a meeting or assembly of people for a particular purpose. → Family gatherings during holidays create lasting memories.

Home-cooked (adjective) – prepared and cooked at home rather than bought ready-made. → I prefer home-cooked meals because they're healthier and taste better.

Culinary (adjective) – relating to cooking or the kitchen. → She developed her culinary skills by attending cooking classes.

Bonding experience (noun phrase) – an activity that brings people closer together. → Cooking together can be a wonderful bonding experience for families.

Questions and Answers

Maria: People are spending less and less time having meals with their families these days. Is this good or bad?

Rory: Well, if you don't like your family, it's probably amazing. I'm serious, though. It's a very individual thing. Generally speaking, mealtimes are good opportunities to communicate and reinforce family bonds, so fewer opportunities to do that might be detrimental, though I doubt it's catastrophic. It's not like the only time you see and speak to people you live with, so there will be other times you can do this.

Maria: What do people often talk about during meals?

Rory: Whatever's culturally appropriate, I suppose. Generally, that could include things like the workday and what you've been getting up to at school if you're younger. If you're older, it could also be local gossip and funny stories. People also used to watch the news together, but I don't know how common that is now.

Maria: Is it convenient to prepare a meal at home?

Rory: Well, most people know how to cook these days, so I imagine, in general, it's not a huge issue, though if work hours increase or the availability of goods decreases, then it might become more difficult to get everything together. Then there's the clean-up afterwards. If you don't have a dishwasher, that could be a real pain.

Maria: Why do people like to have meals together during important festivals?

Rory: I wasn't aware that they did, actually, but maybe it's a good excuse to have a get-together with your loved ones. In the main, people travel home for these kinds of events. Holidays around them tend to break up the calendar year, so it makes sense they take advantage of that time to touch base.

Maria: What food do people eat on special occasions in your country?

Rory: Well, that's contingent on the festival or the occasion, I suppose. For most, Christmas is the time of turkey and Brussels sprouts, while in January, on Burns Night, people tend to tear into haggis, a local offal and oat dish, and turnips and potatoes. I think it even has its own name and song and poem, actually. Of course, the food supply is pretty varied, so alternatives for vegetarians and vegans are always available too.

Maria: Do people prefer to eat out at restaurants or eat at home during festivals?

Rory: I don't really know. By and large, I'd say they'd eat things at home, since it's probably cheaper and there's more space and familiarity that allows people to chill out a bit. But that's just a guess.

Discussion

Maria: So, dear listener, these questions are about meals and families eating together. You can read about it, why it's important to eat together, and what to do during meals. The first question could be a topic for an essay, actually. You can say that it's a very individual thing. So, not to say it depends on a person. It's a very individual thing, because people are different, it depends on people, you know. And meal times are good opportunities to communicate. So we talk to each other when we have a meal together and reinforce family bonds. Bonds like connections. And usually we talk about family bonds.

Rory: Well, I hope people talk to each other when they have a meal. Can you imagine if they didn't and they just sat there in silence?

Maria: Yeah, some families do that. But you know, they say that it's not good to talk while you're chewing. But you know, some conversation is nice. And when we reinforce bonds, we make them stronger. So we make family connections stronger.

Rory: Oh, two collocations there. Family bonds and reinforce bonds.

Maria: And that's C2.

Rory: Ooh.

Maria: Actually, a verb, no, a verb to bond is C2. Can we use it in a sentence? So, like to bond, yeah, to make connections, C2. To bond with somebody.

Rory: Eating together is a good chance to bond with your family.

Maria: Yeah, sweet, band 9. Yeah, so eating together with your family is a good way.

Rory: Well, a good way to reinforce family connections.

Maria: Yeah, family connections. Not eating together could be detrimental to family bonds or even catastrophic.

Rory: Well, it might be detrimental, but I doubted it was catastrophic. Other times, you can talk to your family.

Maria: Ah, you doubt it, OK.

Rory: However, other opinions are available. Someone might be more pessimistic than I and say, not only is it detrimental, but it's catastrophic. Oh my God, it's so serious.

Maria: People usually talk about the workday, school. So whatever is culturally appropriate. So it's culturally OK. It's OK in your culture, in your country. Some people enjoy gossiping. So we can talk about local gossip or funny stories. Some people enjoy discussing the news, for example. So it's quite common to discuss the news during meals, during dinner. But generally, we should avoid talking about dangerous topics like religion, politics. Well, maybe people enjoy talking about them. Or football, for example, in different countries. Like if I support one team, you support another team. Oh no. It's just… In Argentina, for example. If you are from Argentina, you know what I mean, right?

Rory: I'm not from Argentina. What do you mean?

Maria: No, because again, like if you support one team and I support another team, there will be a conflict between us. So we just don't discuss it.

Rory: Oh, wow.

Maria: People prepare meals at home, or they cook meals at home. Sometimes it might be difficult to get everything together. So this means like to cook everything, to kind of organise everything, to prepare a meal, and also clean up afterwards. Yeah, the clean up, oof, oof. So like there are so many dishes, it's just everywhere, all over the place. You just cooked, I don't know, fried eggs, and it's just boom, you know, an explosion of dirty dishes everywhere. So yeah, the cleanup afterwards is horrible. And if you don't have a dishwasher, a dishwasher is a machine that helps you to wash your dishes, a dishwasher, and you wash the dishes. So if you don't have a dishwasher, it could be a real pain.

Rory: A real pain in the neck or really annoying.

Maria: Important festivals, like Rory, what is a festival? Like, is it a holiday? Is it like a national holiday? Is it a celebration?

Rory: So an example could be Christmas or Ramadan. I think it's a festival. If you're Muslim and it's not, then feel free to correct me. Diwali, if you're Hindu, and Hanukkah, if you're Jewish. All of these are festivals.

Maria: Oh, Christmas. Did you say Christmas?

Rory: They're religious festivals now that I think about it. Other any secular ones? Well, various music festivals, for example.

Maria: Yeah, festivals is a popular topic in IELTS, in writing as well. So you should know festivals around the world and also festivals in your country. For example, the Chinese New Year, like Rio Carnival, it’s also a festival, right? Yeah, like, as I said, like music festivals, like Oktoberfest, for example, Holi festival in India. St. Patrick's Day is a festival, but it's a day, but it could be a festival. Burning Man in the USA is a festival, but there are some local celebrations, like small local festivals that you might have. And usually people go outside, they cook local food, there's music, like shopping, you know, you just go listen to music, hang out, eat, party, and have a happy life, yeah.

Rory: Always good to have a happy life.

Maria: That's true. It's a good excuse to have a get-together with your loved ones. So it's a good excuse, like good chance to have a get-together, to meet, to meet up with people, to have a get-together with your loved ones. So with people you love.

Rory: People who are close to you.

Maria: And you can say, like, take advantage of that time, so people can take advantage of festivals.

Rory: Well, take advantage is the collocation, but also the calendar year is a collocation for a specific kind of year. The calendar year is from January to December. The academic year in my country is from August until June, I think. And of course, you can break it up. So if you break up these things, it means that they're not one solid thing. There are parts that are dedicated to holidays in the middle.

Maria: To touch base. Oh, Rory, what's touch base? It's an idiom.

Rory: Isn't touch base just to catch up on things briefly?

Maria: Yeah, it's kind of, you know, dear listener, native speakers are like this, you know. We say, oh, it's an idiom, it's an idiom. And Rory goes like, yeah, it's just a phrase, you know, which means talk to someone.

Rory: I forgot what it means, to be honest. I think the closest thing is to, what's the word, to reconnect with each other. It's not like a particularly long period of time, as far as I'm aware.

Maria: So touch base, to talk to someone for a short time, to find out how they are, what they think about something, touch base with. So people can take advantage of local festivals to touch base with each other or touch base with their loved ones. And festivals could be called special occasions. And what food is eaten, that's contingent on the festival. So that depends on the festival or occasion. Occasion, here we mean festivals, holidays, and then examples. For Christmas, like people usually eat turkey and Brussels sprouts, you know, these green balls. I love them, they're actually pretty tasty. While in January, on Burns Night, Burns Night is a celebration in England, people tend to eat haggis, yeah. And this turnips with potatoes.

Rory: It's difficult to have a conversation about Scottish festivals without mentioning haggis.

Maria: Haggis, yeah, haggis is the national dish. Yeah, turnips with potatoes, so if you Google turnip, it's gonna be like a rounded white root. So it's kind of like a vegetable. You see, like very specific. And in your country, also think about specific dishes that are usually eaten during your festivals. And there are different alternatives you can mention. You can say that there are different alternatives for vegetarians, for vegans, which are available. The food is pretty varied, so like different are dishes available. People eat out at restaurants or they eat at home. And Rory says like by and large.

Rory: It's a binomial.

Maria: Binomial, but do this now, we don't care. If it's binomial…

Rory: Yes you do! Binomial is good!

Maria: No, but what is binomial? Come on, it's like…

Rory: Binomial comes in two parts. We say fish and chips, by and large. We don't say large and by or chips and fish. So it's got a fixed pattern to it. And being able to use them is a sign of an advanced grasp of English, which is why it's a C1-level phrase. Yes, very useful to know.

Maria: It's C2, dear listen, 8.5. When everything about the situation is considered together. Yeah, so by and large, that means generally, okay? So by and large, people, blah, blah, blah.

Rory: And Maria talked about that meaning generally, but at the beginning of the episode, I said I was using phrases in every single answer to talk about people and things in general. So by and large is one of them, but did you hear the others? Let's work from the very start, when I said Generally speaking, yes. So, just adding generally and speaking together to show that we are talking about people and things in general. Then in the next one, I just said generally. And in the following question, oh, what did I say in the following question? Oh, I said in general. So there you go, three, and they're very easy to use, and we're just describing things in general. And then next up was in the main. So that just means mainly or generally, or often. And for my next one, what was it? For most, for most people. And the last one, of course, was by and large. There you go. Different ways to talk about things and people in general. You are welcome. Please use them. Don't talk about yourself.

Maria: Do use them, not in every answer, okay? But maybe like two, three phrases in the speaking part three. Okay? Thank you very much for listening.

Rory: Thank you very much for listening. We hope that our episode will help you generally speak about things in general, as well as mealtimes. Bye.

Maria: Bye-bye.

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