Skill Up! (9)

Picture this!

Download the contents and checklist for Skill Up! (9)

Enjoy your meal!

Even though the English know how to cook — if you don’t believe me, just look at the success of Jamie Oliver in France, of all places — we also like to eat out. And we’re not the only ones. It’s relaxing, it’s fun and it’s a great way to get to know your colleagues or business partners better. But what’s the key to a successful meal in a restaurant? To start with, it certainly helps to be able to understand the menu and to describe the dishes correctly to someone who doesn’t. With this issue of Skill Up!, we believe you will be able to enjoy your next international meal out even more.  

Don’t ever book a table in the restaurant in Picture This! (pages 4–5). Our image, however, may help you to remember some of the items you will need in a restaurant — and what to ask for if the waiters aren’t as careful with the wine as they should be. In Word Bank (pages 6–9), you can learn about various kinds of meat, fish and vegetables, while in False Friends (pages 10–11), we show you which words to avoid. Our In Focus section (pages 12–15) presents useful adjectives and the language of special diets.

Once you’ve learned the key vocabulary and booked a good table, don’t forget to chat with your guests. Turn to our dialogue in Small Talk (pages 20–21) for ideas on how to talk about your food likes and dislikes. Bon appétit! 

The sections:

• Picture This! Use illustrations to help you to visualize the meanings of words.
• Word Bank Study key expressions and translations in our vocabulary list.
  
• False Friends Use visual memory aids for tricky translations.
  
• In Focus Memorize common word partnerships to become more fluent.
  
• Essential Idioms Learn idiomatic language through dialogues.
  
• Close Relations Focus on words and word families.
  
• Small Talk Learn common idioms and expressions for socializing.
  
• Your Profile Personalize our guide with your own example sentences.

We hope you enjoy our new guide and look forward to your comments.

Deborah Capras