Comprehension

ACTIVITY 32: You are to read the following newspaper article carefully. When answering the questions 1-7 below, you are allowed to refer back to the article. The questions are based on what is stated or implied in the text. Finally check the correct answers.

A DINNER PARTY It was the dinner party from hell. Not because of the guests, who were all lovely people. The problem was the knowledge they possessed. Seated around my kitchen table were a Michelin-starred restaurant chef, a restaurant critic, and a public relations expert for the restaurant business. And they were all waiting for pudding; the pudding I had cooked for them. I lifted my spoon high above the poached peach and readied myself for it to sink easily into the flesh as if it were softened butter. Instead the spoon bent at the neck. The fruit was as hard as a cannonball, despite an hour in a raging oven. It was all my own stupid fault. Over the past two years or so as a restaurant critic, I have passed judgment on the cooking skills of over 100 chefs. I thought it could now be fun to get a chef to pass judgment on me. Little did I know what I was letting myself in for. The starter I decided to cook was a French onion tart. There were three reasons for this. First, it's a classic dish. Second, it would be a test of my pastry skills. And third - and most important - it's the only cooked starter I know how to do. Next, the main course. My wife said, 'Why don't you do the lamb thing? You're good at the lamb thing.' I agreed. It's a good dinner party dish because even if you overcook the meat, it's still a pleasure. A boned saddle of lamb is stuffed with a mixture of ciabatta breadcrumbs, sun blushed tomatoes, black olives, and garlic. The only problem was that on this occasion the meat had to come out pink, which fortunately it did. As to the pudding I would do peaches roasted in Muscat wine with a lemon mascarpone cream. There was only one problem with this brilliant wheeze: I had forgotten that peaches were out of season and therefore much like rocks. What was the guest chef's verdict on my culinary ability? 'With all good dinner parties, as with the best restaurants, the food is by no means the only important factor and it was the intoxicating blend of charming fellow diners and my hosts' generosity which led for a splendid evening. And the food? As it happens, it was really rather good - should have had a cheese course though. And the plates could have been hotter.'

Questions 1-7

1.

Tick the thing that went wrong at the dinner party.

A. The dinner guests didn't get on with each other.
B. The starter was stone cold.
C. The main course was overcooked.
D. The dessert was inedible.

2.

The writer describes the meal as 'the dinner party from hell' because...

A. he had underestimated the number of guests.
B. he hadn't made a dessert.
C. he had invited people who were cooking experts.
D. he hadn't prepared enough food.

3.

The peaches were inedible because...

A. they didn't taste right.
B. they were unripe, so didn't cook.
C. they were raw.
D. they'd been overcooked.

4.

The writer organized the dinner party...

A. to prove to his friends he could cook.
B. to try out some new dishes he'd discovered.
C. to celebrate his 100th restaurant review.
D. to find out how it felt to be criticized.

5.

Which of these does he not mention as a reason for choosing to cook a French onion tart?

A. It was a dish he knew how to cook.
B. It provided an element of challenge.
C. It was relatively easy to prepare.
D. It's a famous and popular dish.

6.

The key to the success of the lamb dish was...

A. to get the cooking time right.
B. to obtain the right ingredients.
C. to mix the stuffing correctly.
D. to season the lamb sufficiently.

7.

The guest chef's main criticism of the writer was...

A. he had served the food on hot plates.
B. he had missed out an important stage in the meal.
C. he had purchased fruit out of season.
D. he hadn't presented the meal properly.