Хлебная тема в английском языке
Автор фото, bbx
В разделе <link type="page"><caption> Learning English</caption><url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/learning_english/" platform="highweb"/></link> мы публикуем видео- и аудиоуроки английского языка, истории о культуре и традициях англоязычных стран.
Half a loaf is better than none и the upper crust of society: распространенные русские эквиваленты этих и других английских словосочетаний со словами из хлебной тематики не имеют отношения к хлебу. О чем может идти речь?
Ответ на вопрос вы найдете в этом аудиоуроке. Слушайте, читайте, изучайте новую лексику.
<hr>Can you imagine what 680,000 tonnes of food looks like? That's the amount wasted in Britain each year, and at the top of the list of wasted foods is... bread.
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One of the staples in the British diet, bread is toasted for breakfast, used for sandwiches for lunch and dipped in soups at dinner. Almost everyone in Britain buys bread – from people in the upper crust of society to regular breadwinners who don't have much dough.
Bread is so important to Brits that we use the slang word 'bread' to mean 'money' and the word 'loaf' to mean 'head'. So let's use our loaves to understand why so much bread is wasted!
Even though bread is still selling like hot cakes, the packets are opened but not finished. We often say that half a loaf is still better than none, but it seems people are simply buying much more than they need.
Baker Chris Young suggests that the British aren't using every last crumb because bread is no longer respected: "None of the bread that is thrown away is 'real' bread, homemade or artisan bread."
Eco-campaigner Mark Boyle agrees. "If you make something yourself (…) you don't waste that bread because you know how much energy you've put into it." But although home baking is a nice idea, for many it's biting off more than they can chew. People work such long hours to put bread on the table and simply don't have the time.
Perhaps we British should just invest a little more of our hard-earned bread in buying better loaves. These would make our diet healthier and our bins lighter: healthy, artisan loaves might just be the best thing since sliced bread.
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NOTES (слова и словосочетания в контексте)
- staples - основных продуктов питания
- the upper crust of society - верхушки общества
- breadwinners - кормильцев
- dough - разг. денег
- loaf - буханка
- is selling like hot cakes - идет или раскупается нарасхват
- half a loaf is better than none: дословно - полбуханки лучше, чем ничего; распространенные русские эквиваленты - на безрыбье и рак рыба / с паршивой овцы хоть шерсти клок
- every last crumb - все до последней крошки
- еco-campaigner - активист экологического движения
- baking - выпечка или выпекание
- the best thing since sliced bread - самыми лучшими с тех пор, как хлеб стали резать на ломти (распространенный русский эквивалент - лучше не бывает)
<br>Другие истории о жизни Британии - <link type="page"><caption> здесь</caption><url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/learning_english/2009/08/090819_uknews_archive.shtml" platform="highweb"/></link>
Также в разделе Learning English:
<link type="page"><caption> увлекательное учебное видео, аудио и тесты</caption><url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/learning_english/2009/04/090414_le_archive_new.shtml" platform="highweb"/></link>
