INTRODUCTORY READING AND TALK. Living in Russia one cannot butstick to a Russian diet

Living in Russia one cannot butstick to a Russian diet. Keeping this diet for an Englishman is fatal. The Russianshave meals four times a day and theircuisine is quite intricate.

Every person starts his or her day withbreakfast. Poor English­men are sentenced to either acontinentalor anEnglish breakfast.From the Russian point of view, when one has it continental it ac­tually means that one has no breakfast at all, because it means drinking a cup of coffee andeating a bun. A month of continental breakfasts for some Russians would meanstarving. The English breakfast is a bit better, as it consists of one or twofried eggs, grilled sausages, bacon, tomatoes andmushrooms. The Englishhave tea with milk andtoast with butter and marmalade. As a choice one may havecorn flakes with milk and sugarorporridge.

In Russia people mayhave anythingfor breakfast. Some good-humoured individuals even prefer soup, but, of course,sandwichesandcoffee are very popular. One can easily understand that in Great Britain by one o'clock people are very muchready for lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. That would be music for a Russian's ears until he or she learns what lunch really consists of. It may be a meatorfish course withsoft drinks followed by asweet course.

The heart of a Russian person fills with joy when the hands of the clock approach three o'clock. His or her dinnerincludes three courses. A Russian will have astarter (salad, herring, cheese, etc.), soup, steaks, chops,orfish fillets withgarnish, a lot ofbread, of course, andsomething to drink. The more the better. At four or five the Russians mayhave a bite: waffles, cakes withjuice, tea, cocoa,or something of the kind.

In Great Britain theyhave dinner at five or six.Soup may be served then, but one should not be misled by the word "soup". British soup is justthin pasteand aportion is three times smaller than in Russia. A lot of British prefer toeat out. "Fish and Chips" shops are very popular with theirtake-away food. The more sophisticated publicgoes to Chinese, Italian, seafood or other restaurants and ex­periments withshrimp, inedible vegetables andhot drinks.

Supper in Russia means one more big meal at seven.The table groans with food again. In England it is just asmall snack —aglass of milk withbiscuits at ten.

Most Russians have nevercounted calories and they are deeply convinced that their food ishealthy. Some housewives may admit that it takes some time to prepare all the stuff, includingpickles, home-made preserves and traditional Russianpies andpancakes.But they don't seem to mind too much andboil, fry, roast, grill, broil, bake andmake. Paraphrasing a famous proverb one can say:

'What is a Russian man's meat is a British man's poison'*.

* What is one man's meat is another man's poison — Что русскому хорошо, то немцу — смерть (поcл.).

1. Say when you have meals and what you like to eat and drink for breakfast, dinner and supper.

2. Say what you dislike for breakfast, dinner and supper.

3. Say what they serve in the refectory at your university and what you usually choose.

4. Say what you can cook in five minutes.

5. Look of the pictures and say what food is typically English and typically Russian.

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