WHAT ARE

WE HUNGRY
FOR?

1 Warm up

In pairs, look at the pictures and discuss the following questions.

pomegranate quinoa kale fennel

lobster steak pizza burrito

1. How often do you eat the following?

2. What is your favourite food?
3. Which food, if any, do you eat more of than you should?
4. Have you been on any kind of diet before? If so, which kind? What was the result?
5. Why do you think some people eat more than they should?

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WHAT ARE WE HUNGRY FOR?

2 Understanding the introduction

Read the following extracts from the introduction of the script and number them from 1 - 9 in the
correct order. The first one has been done for you.

But this is entirely to misunderstand why we start eating excessive amounts.

Could sir or madam be tempted by lobster thermidor? Or a selection of regional vegetables drizzled
with olive oil sourced from a tiny farm in the Pyrenees?

iconic temples of consumer society. Our restaurants spare no effort trying to satisfy us.

It has nothing to do with food, and therefore trying to change our diet isn’t the most logical place to
focus our efforts.

It’s clear that a great many of us eat too much. And in response, a huge industry has grown up 1

It sounds nice, but if we could really choose anything, wouldn’t we want a slightly different menu?

Of course, it looks as if everything we could want should be to hand. Our supermarkets and delis are

We eat too much because what we’re really hungry for isn’t available.

which advises us to consume more quinoa, pomegranate and fennel salad and, as often as we can, kale
and apple soup.

Now watch the video (00:00 - 01:08) and check your answers.

In pairs, answer the following questions about the introduction.

1. In your country, what foods do people usually eat when they want to stay healthy?
2. Do you think there is a problem in your country with people eating "excessive amounts"? Why do
people do this, in your opinion?
3. What is the difference between a "supermarket" and a "deli"?
4. What does the video mean when it uses the words "iconic temples of consumer society"?
5. What do you think is going to be on the "different menu" that the narrator mentions at the end of
the introduction?

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3 Talking about food

In pairs, answer the following questions.

What type of food can be marinaded? And why would you do it?

1.

What kind of food can be tenderised? And why would you do it?

2.

What kind of food can be ripe? What does this mean?

3.

What might you sprinkle on to food?

4.

What kind of food comes with all the trimmings? What does this mean?

5.

What does a sommelier do?

6.

What kind of food or drink might be described as full-bodied?

7.

What food might be served in a scoop?

8.

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4 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the vocabulary to the definitions.

1. banter (n) a. a friendly conversation, usually with each person making fun of
the other
2. chic (adj.) b. fashionable and stylish

3. redemption (n) c. not limited in any way

4. cathartic (adj.) d. releasing strong feelings of pain or anger

5. unconstrained (adj.) e. the ability to think in new ways to solve problems

6. latch on (phr. v.) f. the act of being saved from an evil force or a negative future
situation
7. ingenuity (n) g. the act of ending a disagreement

8. reconciliation (n) h. to recognise or begin to understand something

Part B: Now put the correct word from Part A into the gaps in the following sentences.

1. I had a student last year who demonstrated his by solving the Maths equation
in a way that even I hadn’t thought of before.
2. Following his divorce, he felt entirely by the demands of his wife or her parents
and found a great degree of contentment.
3. My youngest still believes in Santa, but my eldest, Sarah, is starting to to the idea
that it’s really us giving her the presents.
4. After lockdown was over, it was so much fun meeting my friends again and being able to have a
bit of over a drink.
5. I haven’t spoken to my sister in years since the incident, but I hear she’s not been well, so it’s
probably time for .
6. This new collection of dresses is so . I may well be tempted to buy one or two.
7. We had a massive argument and I really screamed at him. But it was actually quite
and I think we’re going to be a lot better together now.
8. He felt enormous guilt over the houses he had robbed as a boy, but found in
working to provide food for the homeless.

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5 Comprehension

Complete the following sentences with one, two or three words according to what you hear.

1. Overeating hides our desires to have an uncritical conversation with our mothers, or to have a
conversation based on with our fathers.
2. What is not actually food at all, but friendships which can reassure us
and calm us down.
3. Even when we’re with our families, we can find we feel as we feel
judged and unable to express our emotions.
4. Although we know that food doesn’t provide the answers that we need, it does at least provide
some .
5. It’s not that we genuinely have large appetites; it’s that we need emotional and psychological
support to our spiritual side.
6. The offers solutions to our problems, but they can only be temporary
as they don’t address the real issues.
7. Merely a few , there was not the delicious range of food options that
there are now.
8. We think we are because we desire all of the food we can buy, but it’s
really because we haven’t found a way of filling ourselves with the understanding and love that
we really need.

6 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Which points made in the video do you agree with, if any? Which points made in the video do
you disagree with, if any?
2. What kind of clothes do you think of as chic? Do you enjoy dressing like this, or do you not think
that fashion is too important? Why?
3. In which situations in your life have you felt completely unconstrained by the demands or pressures
from others?
4. Reflecting on times when you have eaten more than you needed to, why do you think this was?
5. Do you know anyone personally who has, or has had, problems with over-eating? What do you
think is the cause of it?
6. Do you think society in your country puts pressure on people to be a certain weight or size?
7. Do you believe that, in the future, people will have fewer problems with psychological and emotional
needs, or do you believe it is getting worse? Why?