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The Sandwich Celebrates 250th Birthday (13th May, 2012)

The sandwich is 250 years old this weekend and residents in the English town of Sandwich, where the bread meal was first eaten, are celebrating their culinary history. According to the town’s records the English nobleman Earl, John Montague first ordered a sandwich in 1762. It is reported he was playing cards with friends and wanted something he could eat without a knife and fork. He requested slices of beef between two pieces of bread, and so the sandwich was born. Montague chose to live in Sandwich over another port town, Portsmouth. Had he chosen the latter, we would be eating portsmouths today. It is perhaps a coincidence Sandwich is just a few kilometres from the town of Ham.

The 11th Earl of Sandwich, also named John Montagu, hosted a celebratory lunch in honour of his ancestor and his contribution to the global fast food industry. He told reporters: “My ancestor…could never have imagined that his simple invention would spawn a multi-billion dollar industry, employing hundreds of thousands of people." He added: "My favourite sandwich is a traditional one - roast beef and hot horseradish on freshly baked bread.” Organisers of the celebrations are equally excited about the historic event. Mandy Wilkins said: “The sandwich is a global food and Sandwich, our town, is just a little town full of medieval buildings. It's bizarre that such an important food item should be named after us.”

WARM-UPS

1. SANDWICHES: Walk around the class and talk to other students about sandwiches. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

 

sandwich / residents / celebrating / culinary history / playing cards / port town / ancestor / contribution / fast food / roast beef / historic event / global food / bizarre

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. CULINARY HISTORY: Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

History of…

What we know

How to celebrate its birthday

pizza

 

 

French fries

 

 

pasta

 

 

kebabs

 

 

hamburgers

 

 

chocolate

 

 

4. QUALITY: Students A strongly believe the sandwich is a quality food; Students B strongly believe it isn’t.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. FAST FOOD: What’s the best? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

  • sandwiches
  • French fries
  • fried chicken
  • tacos
  • kebabs
  • hamburgers
  • falafel
  • pizza

6. BREAD: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘bread’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.


 
 

BEFORE READING / LISTENING


1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.

The sandwich is originally from an English town called Sandwich.

T / F

b.

The sandwich was invented by the personal chef of a king.

T / F

c.

The inventor of the sandwich wanted to eat it with a knife and fork.

T / F

d.

There is a town near Sandwich called Ham.

T / F

e.

A descendant of the sandwich inventor said his ancestor knew the sandwich would become a global phenomenon.

T / F

f.

The current Earl of Sandwich’s favourite filling is roast beef.

T / F

g.

The town of Sandwich has been rebuilt and is full of new buildings.

T / F

h.

A celebration organizer thinks its strange her town has such a history.

T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.

residents

a.

last-mentioned

2.

history

b.

generate

3.

ordered

c.

momentous

4.

latter

d.

background

5.

coincidence

e.

strange

6.

hosted

f.

locals

7.

ancestor

g.

gave

8.

spawn

h.

fluke

9.

historic

i.

forefather

10.

bizarre

j.

requested

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.

residents in the

a.

history

2.

celebrating their culinary

b.

two pieces of bread

3.

he was playing

c.

excited

4.

slices of beef between

d.

coincidence

5.

It is perhaps a

e.

of his ancestor

6.

hosted a celebratory

f.

English town of Sandwich

7.

in honour

g.

after us

8.

spawn a multi-

h.

cards with friends

9.

equally

i.

billion dollar industry

10.

be named

j.

lunch



 
 

WHILE READING / LISTENING


GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.


The sandwich is 250 years old this weekend and (1) ____________ in the English town of Sandwich, where the bread meal was first eaten, are celebrating their (2) ____________ history. According to the town’s records the English nobleman Earl, John Montague (3) ____________ ordered a sandwich in 1762. It is reported he was playing cards with friends and wanted something he could eat without a knife and fork. He (4) ____________ slices of beef between two (5) ____________ of bread, and so the sandwich was born. Montague chose to live in Sandwich over another (6) ____________ town, Portsmouth. Had he chosen the (7) ____________, we would be eating portsmouths today. It is perhaps a (8) ____________ Sandwich is just a few kilometres from the town of Ham.

 

 

pieces
first
culinary
coincidence
port
residents
latter
requested

The 11th Earl of Sandwich, also (9) ____________ John Montagu, hosted a celebratory lunch in honour of his ancestor and his (10) ____________ to the global fast food industry. He told reporters: “My ancestor…could never have (11) ____________ that his simple invention would spawn a (12) ____________ -billion dollar industry, employing hundreds of thousands of people." He added: "My favourite sandwich is a traditional one - roast beef and hot horseradish on (13) ____________ baked bread.” Organisers of the celebrations are (14) ____________ excited about the historic event. Mandy Wilkins said: “The sandwich is a global food and Sandwich, our town, is just a little town full of medieval buildings. It's (15) ____________ that such an important food item should be named (16) ____________ us.”

 

 

equally
imagined
after
multi
named
bizarre
contribution
freshly

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps


The sandwich is 250 years old this weekend _____________________ English town of Sandwich, where the bread meal was first eaten, are celebrating _____________________. According to the town’s records the English nobleman Earl, John Montague first ordered a sandwich in 1762. It is _____________________ cards with friends and wanted something he could eat without a knife and fork. He _____________________ beef between two pieces of bread, and so the sandwich was born. Montague chose to live in Sandwich over _____________________, Portsmouth. Had he chosen the latter, we would be eating portsmouths today. It is _____________________ Sandwich is just a few kilometres from the town of Ham.

The 11th Earl of Sandwich, also named John Montagu, _____________________ lunch in honour of his ancestor and his contribution to the global fast food industry. He told reporters: “My ancestor…could _____________________ that his simple invention would spawn a multi-billion dollar industry, employing hundreds of thousands of people." He added: "My favourite sandwich _____________________ - roast beef and hot horseradish on _____________________.” Organisers of the celebrations are _____________________ the historic event. Mandy Wilkins said: “The sandwich is a global food and Sandwich, our town, is just a little town full of medieval buildings. It's _____________________ an important food item should be named after us.”


 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING


1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘bread’ and ‘meal’.

bread

meal
 
 
 

  • Share your findings with your partners.
  • Make questions using the words you found.
  • Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

  • Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
  • Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?
4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.
5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

  • residents
  • records
  • cards
  • fork
  • latter
  • Ham
  • lunch
  • fast
  • simple
  • hundreds
  • excited
  • named

SANDWICHES SURVEY


Write five GOOD questions about sandwiches in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.
When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

 

STUDENT 1
_____________

STUDENT 2
_____________

STUDENT 3
_____________

Q.1.
 

 

 

 

Q.2.
 

 

 

 

Q.3.
 

 

 

 

Q.4.
 

 

 

 

Q.5.
 

 

 

 

  • Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
  • Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.


 
 

SANDWICHES DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)

What did you think when you read the headline?

b)

What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘sandwich’?

c)

What do you think of the sandwich being 250 years old?

d)

How much do you like sandwiches?

e)

How important are sandwiches in your life?

f)

What do you think of the history of how the sandwich got its name?

g)

Do you think the Earl of Sandwich was really the person who invented the sandwich?

h)

Is having the sandwich as part of a country’s culinary history something to be proud of?

i)

Many British people eat sandwiches every day. Could you?

j)

What do you think of the towns Ham and Sandwich being so close together?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)

Did you like reading this article?

b)

What three adjectives best describe this article?

c)

How much of a contribution is the sandwich to the global fast food industry?

d)

Is the sandwich more successful than the hamburger?

e)

What are your favourite sandwich fillings and why?

f)

Does your town have any famous food?

g)

What occasions are best to eat sandwiches?

h)

Do you prefer sandwiches with white or brown bread?

i)

Do you think there’s also a town somewhere called Hamburger or Pizza?

j)

What questions would you like to ask the 11th Earl of Sandwich?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

The sandwich is 250 years old this weekend and (1) ____ in the English town of Sandwich, where the bread meal was first eaten, are celebrating their (2) ____ history. According to the town’s (3) ____ the English nobleman Earl, John Montague first ordered a sandwich in 1762. It is reported he was playing cards with friends and wanted something he could eat without a knife and fork. He (4) ____ slices of beef between two pieces of bread, and so the sandwich was born. Montague chose to live in Sandwich (5) ____ another port town, Portsmouth. Had he chosen the (6) ____, we would be eating portsmouths today. It is perhaps a coincidence Sandwich is just a few kilometres from the town of Ham.

The 11th Earl of Sandwich, also named John Montagu, (7) ____ a celebratory lunch in honour of his ancestor and his contribution to the global fast food industry. He told reporters: “My ancestor…could never have imagined that his simple invention would (8) ____ a multi-billion dollar industry, employing hundreds of thousands of people." He added: "My favourite sandwich is a traditional one - roast beef and hot horseradish on (9) ____ baked bread.” Organisers of the celebrations are (10) ____ excited about the historic event. Mandy Wilkins said: “The sandwich is a global food and Sandwich, our town, is just a little town full of medieval buildings. It's         (11) ____ that such an important food item should be named (12) ____ us.”
Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.

(a)

residents

(b)

residences

(c)

resides

(d)

resists

2.

(a)

military

(b)

culinary

(c)

equestrian

(d)

radical

3.

(a)

CDs

(b)

marks

(c)

records

(d)

bread

4.

(a)

reasoned

(b)

resonated

(c)

requited

(d)

requested

5.

(a)

in

(b)

under

(c)

on top of

(d)

over

6.

(a)

natter

(b)

batter

(c)

latter

(d)

hatter

7.

(a)

hosted

(b)

basted

(c)

fasted

(d)

roasted

8.

(a)

tadpole

(b)

spawn

(c)

embryo

(d)

egg

9.

(a)

freshness

(b)

refresher

(c)

freshly

(d)

freshen

10.

(a)

equally

(b)

equality

(c)

equaled

(d)

equals

11.

(a)

bazaar

(b)

souk

(c)

marketed

(d)

bizarre

12.

(a)

along

(b)

after

(c)

next

(d)

post


 
 

WRITING

Write about sandwiches for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about sandwiches. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. SANDWICHES: Make a poster about sandwiches. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. BIRTHDAY: Write a magazine article about the 250th birthday of the sandwich. Include imaginary interviews with someone who loves sandwiches and someone who doesn’t.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to a sandwich expert. Ask him/her three questions about sandwiches. Give him/her three of your opinions on them. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.


 


 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

T

b.

F

c.

F

d.

T

e.

F

f.

T

g.

F

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.

residents

a.

locals

2.

history

b.

background

3.

ordered

c.

requested

4.

latter

d.

last-mentioned

5.

coincidence

e.

fluke

6.

hosted

f.

gave

7.

ancestor

g.

forefather

8.

spawn

h.

generate

9.

historic

i.

momentous

10.

bizarre

j.

strange

PHRASE MATCH:

1.

residents in the

a.

English town of Sandwich

2.

celebrating their culinary

b.

history

3.

he was playing

c.

cards with friends

4.

slices of beef between

d.

two pieces of bread

5.

It is perhaps a

e.

coincidence

6.

hosted a celebratory

f.

lunch

7.

in honour

g.

of his ancestor

8.

spawn a multi-

h.

billion dollar industry

9.

equally

i.

excited

10.

be named

j.

after us

GAP FILL:

The sandwich celebrates 250th birthday

The sandwich is 250 years old this weekend and (1) residents in the English town of Sandwich, where the bread meal was first eaten, are celebrating their (2) culinary history. According to the town’s records the English nobleman Earl, John Montague (3) first ordered a sandwich in 1762. It is reported he was playing cards with friends and wanted something he could eat without a knife and fork. He (4) requested slices of beef between two (5) pieces of bread, and so the sandwich was born. Montague chose to live in Sandwich over another (6) port town, Portsmouth. Had he chosen the (7) latter, we would be eating portsmouths today. It is perhaps a (8) coincidence Sandwich is just a few kilometres from the town of Ham.

The 11th Earl of Sandwich, also (9) named John Montagu, hosted a celebratory lunch in honour of his ancestor and his (10) contribution to the global fast food industry. He told reporters: “My ancestor…could never have (11) imagined that his simple invention would spawn a (12) multi-billion dollar industry, employing hundreds of thousands of people." He added: "My favourite sandwich is a traditional one - roast beef and hot horseradish on (13) freshly baked bread.” Organisers of the celebrations are (14) equally excited about the historic event. Mandy Wilkins said: “The sandwich is a global food and Sandwich, our town, is just a little town full of medieval buildings. It's (15) bizarre that such an important food item should be named (16) after us.”
LANGUAGE WORK

1 - a

2 - b

3 - c

4 - d

5 - d

6 - c

7 - a

8 - b

9 - c

10 - a

11 - d

12 - b

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