“Taste”

by Roald Dhal.

Pages 22, 23, 24. Glossary.

Epicure: somebody who enjoys good food and drink, gourmet.

Sumptuous: very impressive and expensive, luxurious.
Palate: the roof of the mouth.
Droll: amusing.
Diffident: shy and unwilling to make people notice you or talk about you.
Evasive: not willing to answer questions directly.
Prudent: sensible and careful, especially by trying to avoid unnecessary risks.
Oozing: a very slow flow of liquid.
Claret: a red wine from the Bordeaux area of France.
Breed: a particular type of thing.
Grave: looking or sounding quiet and serious, especially because of something important.
Whitebait: very young fish of several types, used as food.
Crisp: pleasantly dry, hard and easily broken.
Output: the amount of goods or work produced by a person, machine, factory, etc.
Amiable: friendly and likeable.
Jobber: somebody who runs slowly and steadily as a way of exercising.
Unctuous: too friendly and praising people too much in a way that seems very insincere.
Aesthetic: connected with beauty and the study of beauty.
Engrossed: if something engrosses you, you are extremely interested in.
Sought: past of seek, look for.
Impinge upon somebody: to have an effect on somebody or something; influence.
Pop: to put something somewhere quickly.
Jab: to push something.
Tip a liquid down: to pour something from one place or container to another.

Is this information TRUE or FALSE?

a- Mike Schofield was a stock broker and a wine taster as well. ……

b- Richard Pratt enjoyed showing off his knowledge of fine wine and food. ……
c- Richard Pratt was a thoroughly unpleasant man. ……
d- Mike Schofield had a strong inner feeling the he would beat the gourmet that time. ……
e- Pressed by the social circle he was moving in, he took up the challenge of developing his knowledge of the arts.
……
f- Pratt pretended not to be aware of what Mike was saying about the wine by showing great interest in what Louise
was saying. ……
g- The gourmet gulped down the food and the drink without savouring it. ……

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Pages 25, 26, 27. Glossary.

Loosen: to become less tight.

Sag: to bend downwards and away from the usual position.
Carve: to cut a large piece of meat into smaller pieces with a large knife.
Supercilious: behaving as if you think that other people are less important.
Condescending: behaving as though you think you are better or more important than other people.
Complementary: expressing admiration, praise or respect.
Drawling: to speak in a slow unclear way with vowel sounds that are longer than normal.
Contempt: a feeling that someone or something is not important and deserves no respect.
Betray: showing feelings that you are trying to hide.
Loll back: to sit or lie in a very lazy and relaxed way.
Go sour: becoming unfriendly, looking bad tempered.
Shrewdness: judgement.
Damn well: used to emphasize a how determined or sure you are about something.
Pages 28, 29, 30. Glossary.

Find words on these pages for the given definitions.

………………: not caring or worrying about the possible bad or dangerous results of your actions.
………………: to shine with a light that is not bright.
......................: a small container for salt.
………………: a post to which a person was tied in former times to be killed.
......................: to move something in short, sudden movements.
………………: the flat cutting part of a tool or weapon.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Pages 31, 32, 33. Glossary.

Shrug: to raise and then lower your shoulders in order to show that you don’t know something or you don’t care about
something.
Rim: the outside edge of something circular.
Morsel: a small piece of food.
Sniff: smell.
Swirl: to turn around quickly.
Bouquet: the smell of wine.
Lounge: to stand or sit in a lazy way.
Prim: very formal and careful and easily shocked by anything rude.
Trickle: if liquid trickles somewhere, it flows slowly in drops or in a stream.
Mingle: feelings, smells, etc. combine with each other but can still be recognized separately.
Spat: past of spit; to blow a small amount of saliva.
Speck: a very small amount of something.
Leap: to jump.
Wistful: feeling rather sad and thoughtful, especially because of something that would like but can no longer have.
Pith: a soft white substance that fills the stems of some plants.
Demure: quiet, serious, and always behaving well, used especially about women in former times.
Bashful: easily embarrassed in social situations.
Naughty: rude, disobedient.
Tannin: preservative.
Blithely: in a way that seems not to care or worry about the effects of what to do.
Mock: to laugh at someone or something and try to make them look stupid by making unkind remarks about them or
by copying them.
Flare: people suddenly become angry, violent, etc.

Unscramble the words of these four sentences that sum up this part of the story.

1) Schofield – bottle – chateau – France – claret –very – tiny – of – a – has – a – from – rare – in .
………………………………………………………………………………………………..

2) two – against – Mike – Louise – to – his – hand – of – offers – of – bet – in – houses – the – marriage
……………………………………………………………………………………………….

3) mother – accept – Schofield – convince – against – Louise – them – manages – to – but – both – are – her – to - ,
- it – and. ………………………………………………………………………………………………

4) proceeds – taste – wine – them – smell – the – to – and – Pratt.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Pages 34, 35, 36, 37, 38. Glossary

Flatter: to praise someone in an insincere way in order to please them or to get something from them.
Sag: to sink or bend downwards and away from the usual position.
Dip: to put something into a liquid and quickly lift it out.
Withdraw: take away.
Slide: to move slowly over a surface while continuing to touch it.
Silt up: become filled with moving sand, mud, soil, etc. that is carried in water and then settles at a bend in a river, an
entrance to a port, etc.
Have a peek: to look quickly at something, especially something that you are not supposed to see.
Bewildered: totally confused.
Puffy: swollen.
Thoroughly: completely.
Retainer: a servant, especially one who has always worked for a particular person or family.
Apprehension: anxiety about the future, especially the worry that you will have to deal with something unpleasant or
bad.
Clasp: to hold something tightly.
Ruffle: to make a smooth surface, uneven.
Nostrils: one of the two openings at the end of your nose.

Fill in the blanks with the words from the box.

No cheated horrified nasty reminds “breathe” eventually evening

previous maid misplaced cabinet spectacles

……………… the gourmet gets the correct answer and Schofield sits there ……………….. Just as Pratt is standing to
get ……………. about the bet, the house ……………. appears at his arm and offers him his ………………,which he
had ……………. earlier. He takes ……………. notice of her, but she stands her ground and ……………. him (rather
loudly) that he left them in Mr. Schofield’s study on top of the ……………. cabinet when he went there that
……………… … which is just where Pratt, on a
……………. visit, had advised Schofield to leave his wines to ………………. . In other words he
………………