English Refresher · CEFR B1 · Unit 5

Food & Cuisine

Describe dishes and how they are made using the passive. Practice, check your answers, study the flashcards, and get ready for your Cooking Video.

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Speaking

Describe a Dish

What to do: Work in pairs. Describe a dish you know how to make. There is no score for this part — just speak and listen.

Audio 1Listen to an example

Listen to someone describe a dish, then describe your own.

Talk about your dish

What is it called? Where is it from?
What is it made with? How is it made? (Use the passive: "First the onions are fried…")
How does it taste? When do people eat it?

Ask your partner

How long is it cooked? · Is it spicy? · What is it served with?

Class Project

Make a Cooking Video

The dish you just described could be your project! You'll film a short video of yourself making it and explaining the steps. The full brief has simple instructions, a sample script, filming tips, and a checklist.

Open the Cooking Video project →

Featured Reading

How the World Eats

Read the full interactive article and do the comprehension quiz.

Read it →

Reading

Food Around the World

What to do: Read the text. Then answer the questions and tap Check Answers.

Food brings people together, and every country has its own special dishes. In Italy, pizza is made with a thin base, tomato sauce, and cheese. It is baked in a very hot oven and is usually eaten with the hands.

In Japan, sushi is prepared with rice, seaweed, and fresh fish. The rice is mixed with a little vinegar, and the fish is sliced very thinly. Sushi is served with soy sauce and a small amount of wasabi.

In Mexico, tacos are filled with meat, beans, vegetables, and spicy sauce. They are folded in a soft or crunchy shell and are often topped with fresh coriander and lime.

These dishes are loved all over the world. They are simple, but they are full of flavor and tradition.

1. What is Italian pizza baked in?

2. What is sushi served with? (name one)

3. What are tacos folded in?

4. How is pizza usually eaten?

with a knife and fork with the hands with chopsticks

5. What is added to the rice for sushi?

soy sauce sugar a little vinegar

Listening

How a Dish Is Made

What to do: Listen two times. Then complete the sentences and answer the questions.

Audio 2Ben explains how goulash is made

Anna: That smells amazing! What are you making?

Ben: It's goulash — a traditional dish from my country. It's made with beef, onions, and lots of paprika.

Anna: How is it cooked?

Ben: Well, first the onions are fried in oil. Then the meat is added and cooked slowly for two hours. A lot of paprika is mixed in, and some potatoes are added near the end.

Anna: It sounds delicious. How is it served?

Ben: It's usually served with bread or dumplings. In winter, it's eaten almost every week!

Anna: I can't wait to try it.

1. Goulash is made with beef, onions, and lots of ______.

2. First, the onions are ______ in oil.

3. The meat is cooked slowly for ______ hours.

4. What is added near the end?

more beef some potatoes fresh fish

5. How is goulash usually served?

with rice with salad with bread or dumplings

Grammar

Present Simple Passive

What to do: Complete the sentence with the passive — is or are + the past participle of the verb in brackets.

1. Pizza ______ in a hot oven. (bake)

2. The onions ______ in oil. (fry)

3. Sushi ______ with soy sauce. (serve)

4. The vegetables ______ and chopped. (wash)

5. This dish ______ all over the world. (eat)

Word Order

Build the Passive Sentence

What to do: Tap the words in the correct order. Tap a word in your answer to put it back. Then tap Check Answers.

Writing

Write Your Recipe

What to do: Write a simple recipe (about 80–100 words) for a dish you know. Use the passive and sequencers. Tip: this is the perfect first draft of your Cooking Video script! There is no automatic score — use the checklist.

Example: "Tomato soup is made with tomatoes, onions, and garlic. First, the onions are chopped and fried in oil. Then the tomatoes are added and the soup is cooked for twenty minutes. After that, it is blended until smooth. Finally, it is served with fresh bread. It tastes warm and a little sweet."

0 words

Did you include…

the name of the dish and its main ingredients
five or more passive verbs (is/are + past participle)
three or more sequencers (first, then, after that, finally)
cooking verbs (chopped, fried, baked, served…)
one sentence about how it tastes

Vocabulary

Flashcards

What to do: Tap a card to reveal the meaning and an example. Tap again to close it. Great for quick review or quizzing a partner.

an ingredientnountap to reveal

one of the foods used to make a dish"Flour is the main ingredient in bread."

a recipenountap to reveal

a set of instructions for cooking a dish"I followed my grandmother's recipe."

to chopverbtap to reveal

to cut food into small pieces"The onions are chopped finely."

to fryverbtap to reveal

to cook food in hot oil or fat"The eggs are fried in a little butter."

to bakeverbtap to reveal

to cook food in an oven"The bread is baked for 30 minutes."

to stirverbtap to reveal

to mix with a spoon in a circular motion"Stir the sauce slowly."

a dishnountap to reveal

food prepared in a particular way"Goulash is a traditional dish."

spicyadjectivetap to reveal

having a strong, hot flavor"The curry was very spicy."

a pinch ofphrasetap to reveal

a very small amount (of salt or spice)"Add a pinch of salt."

to serveverbtap to reveal

to give food to someone to eat"The soup is served hot."

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Score

Your Result

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