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Scanning

To scan is to read a passage quickly from top to bottom. The aim is not to understand the entire passage, but to look for key words or ideas.

Look for the answers to the following questions while you read the article.

  1. What foods are a part of Japanese culture?
  2. What can we say about American food culture?
  3. What do British people usually eat to celebrate Christmas?
 
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What we eat is both personally1 and culturally meaningful2. It tells who we are and where we come from.

Japanese eat rice and soba noodles*, while the French prefer3 bread and beans4. If what we eat is what we are, what are Americans? They are likely5 a meat culture: a boneless chicken breast* or steak is what is usually served6 on a dinner plate.

Every culture uses food as part of their celebrations7. Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day, Chinese eat mooncakes to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, and you can’t have a real8 British Christmas experience without having a mince pie*.

Today, eating is a major9 social event for families and friends. People eat, exchange10 food, take pictures of food, post11 them online, and look at other people’s pictures of food—food brings12 people across cultures together.
food

Choose the best answer to each question.

Reading for the
main idea		 1. What’s the topic of the article?
  1. Food from around the world.
  2. What we can learn from American food culture.
  3. What we can learn from traveling.
  4. What we can learn from food cultures.
Reading for specific
information		 2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
  1. You might be able to tell where someone is from by the food they eat.
  2. Most Americans don’t like meat.
  3. People eat different foods to celebrate holidays.
  4. Eating is a social event in many cultures.
Making inferences 3. If Portia usually eats mince pies to celebrate Christmas, where is she most likely from?
  1. The US.
  2. The UK.
  3. India.
  4. Japan
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