Unit 6: Let's Eat!

Listening: A Discussion about Food Psychology

Abbie: This is really nice. We should go out to (1)_____________ together more often.
Patrick: Yes, it's good to see you two, and we've never been here before. This menu looks great; the
(2)_____________ of the food sound delicious!
Lydia: I agree, Patrick! This place knows how to (3)___________ to hungry people.
Abbie: You're right, Lydia, the descriptions and photos of the food on the menu would certainly
(4)______________your appetite if you weren't hungry already. And look, there's a survey card on the table
where we can leave (5)______________ and rate the food.
Paul: That's a good strategy, actually. If you give customers a chance to give (6)___________ about the
food, they feel like they're communicating with the restaurant owners.
Lydia: Right, and communicating with customers is so important nowadays! I mean, look at (7)__________
media. Businesses are using it to market all kinds of products. It's all about communication. If you can
(8)____________ people to see your business as a friend or a business partner—you know, instead of just
someone who is trying to get their money—it can be a very effective strategy.
Patrick: True, communicating with customers is a real (9)_________ of some businesses. And speaking of
communication, it's not just connecting on social media that matters to people. Getting together for a meal
with friends, family, neighbors—those social connections are another element of food (10)____________—
the role our brain plays.
Paul: Right, like the way those (11)____________ photos on the menu made us start to feel hungry.
Lydia: Sorry, but I was hungry before we even got here!
Paul: OK, but Patrick makes a very relevant point. The whole food (12)_____________—from food
manufacturers to grocery stores to restaurants and advertisers—they all know us better than we know
ourselves. At least, they understand the psychology of food.
Abbie: That's true, Paul. One way they target us at the grocery store is by (13)_____________ a huge
variety of foods. We see all of the options in front of us, and what do we do? We find ourselves wanting to
buy at least one of everything!
Paul: Abbie knows what I'm talking about. It's the way food looks, the (14)________ options, the social
element.
Patrick: Can I ask a question? How does this make you feel? I mean, do you think the food industry has
power over us and the food we buy? Or the restaurants we decide to go to?
Lydia: Well, understanding food psychology, and understanding the way it might be used to market food—
it's really (15)____________! You can see all the ads, and you can see the beautiful displays at the grocery
store, and you can say to yourself, "They're using food psychology to (16)____________ me to buy this."
And then you can make a sensible decision and buy what you actually need.
Abbie: Good point, Lydia. Well, you know what they say, (17)____________ is power.
Paul: Exactly. Well, to get back to what I was saying, our psychology, the way we think, is quite powerful. I
heard about one study where they gave people the same (18)____________ to drink, but half of the people
thought it was a low-fat, low-calorie milkshake, and half of the people thought it was super rich and high in
calories.
Abbie: I heard about that (19)____________ as well. The people who thought they'd drunk the high-fat,
high-calorie drink experienced less hunger afterwards than the other group.
Paul: And they felt full and satisfied because of what their minds told their bodies! The researchers did
(20)_____________ tests, and the two groups actually had different blood chemistry after the experiment! If
nothing else, it shows us how much our minds and our (21)____________ influence our bodies.
Patrick: I see your point, and ahhh I think that's our food.
Lydia: Yep, it is. Great! I hope it tastes as good as it looks!