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?
2. The first paragraph describes
a live octopus being eaten. Why? What effect does this
description have on you as a reader?
3. Why might club members, in
paragraph 2, have chosen to call themselves Gastronauts?
4. What does Calleo mean when he
says, in paragraph 2: “Nothing’s off the table”?
5. How does the article
illustrate Calleo’s claim, in paragraph 2, that “[t]here’s a
food renaissance going on” in the US?
6. Explain this sentence from
paragraph 3: “Offal is old hat…”
7. Supply the missing
transitional from the blank in paragraph 4.
8. In paragraph 5, the writer
notes: “But that’s hardly the point.” What does “that” refer
to? And what is the point?
9. How many reasons does the
article offer for the growing popularity of ‘adventure
eating’ in the US?
10. To what kind of audience
might Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern appeal (¶7)? How
do you know?
11. Explain the idiom “push the
envelope” used in paragraph 8.
12. Explain what restaurant owner
Jon Emanuel means when he says: “Sometimes opportunities
land in your lap” (¶9).
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”?
14. Explain the message Emanuel
received: “You had me at embryo” (¶9).
15. What are “the ethics of
eating” (¶10)? Give an example.
16. What is the “yuck factor”
(¶13)?
17. Would you be interested in
joining a club like the Gastronauts? Why or why not?
18. Using context clues, infer
the meaning of the following: |
More Ideas for Further Discussion
Home | English Reading Skills |
Last
updated
December 1, 2015