Department of English

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University


 


2202217  English Reading Skills 


Reading Passage Discussion


 

Ryan McLendon, "Live Octopus? Goat Kidneys? It's What's for Dinner," Boston (2010)

 

Notes


¶1  offal:


¶9  old hat:





Questions for Comprehension and Discussion

 

1.  What is the main purpose of the article?

Student A: To introduce the reader to the trending activities of food adventurers.



2.    The first paragraph describes a live octopus being eaten. Why? What effect does this description have on you as a reader?

Student A: The description of Raisher eating wriggling octopus arms that look “like a pile of bisected earthworms” is meant to shock readers and illustrate the “exotic and bizarre” foods that eating explorers like Raisher enjoy trying.



3.    Why might club members, in paragraph 2, have chosen to call themselves Gastronauts?

Student A: Because, like astronauts, the food adventure club members explore the strange and unknown frontiers, but in this case, it is in the area of food rather than space.



4.    What does Calleo mean when he says, in paragraph 2: “Nothing’s off the table”?

Student A: He means that there is no limit to the strange things they will eat.



5.    How does the article illustrate Calleo’s claim, in paragraph 2, that “[t]here’s a food renaissance going on” in the US?

Student A: Response



6.    Explain this sentence from paragraph 3: “Offal is old hat…”

Student A: Response



7.    Supply the missing transitional from the blank in paragraph 4.

Student A: Response



8.    In paragraph 5, the writer notes: “But that’s hardly the point.” What does “that” refer to? And what is the point?

Student A: Response



9.    How many reasons does the article offer for the growing popularity of ‘adventure eating’ in the US?

Student A: Response



10.    To what kind of audience might Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern appeal (¶7)? How do you know?

Student A: Response



11.    Explain the idiom “push the envelope” used in paragraph 8.

Student A: Response



12.    Explain what restaurant owner Jon Emanuel means when he says: “Sometimes opportunities land in your lap” (¶9).

Student A: Response



13.    “This is a responsible way to eat” (¶9). What does “This” refer to? And why does Emanuel believe “This” way of eating is “responsible”?

Student A: Response



14.    Explain the message Emanuel received: “You had me at embryo” (¶9).

Student A: Response



15.    What are “the ethics of eating” (¶10)? Give an example.

Student A: Response



16.    What is the “yuck factor” (¶13)?

Student A: Response



17.    Would you be interested in joining a club like the Gastronauts? Why or why not?

Student A: Response



18.    Using context clues, infer the meaning of the following:
a.    writhing (1)  wriggling; moving in a gruesome way
b.    deft (1)  practiced; quick
c.    vivisected (5)  dissected; opened
d.    wanderlust (6)  enjoyment of extensive traveling; desire to travel
e.    concocting (12)  creating

 




More Ideas for Further Discussion


      



 


 

 

 


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Last updated December 1, 2015