2. 1-3. Answers will vary.

4. 1 and 2. Answers will vary. However, nutritionists recommend eating a balanced diet of foods from all four groups pictured.

5. All except the last response, What is the most popular kind of pizza?

6. Lesson 2A Click here to enlarge the passage

7. Vocabulary Lesson 2A

8. ingredient (n.) something used to make something else, usually food

9. cover (v.) to place something over something else

10. various (adj.) different types of the thing mentioned

11. develop (v.) to grow or change over time

12. standard (adj.) usual or normal

13. learn (v.) to obtain knowledge or a skill through studying or experience

14. tradition (n.) a custom or belief that has existed for a long time

15. poor (adj.) having little or no money

16. step (n.) the next in a series of actions

17. serve (v.) to give people food and drinks

18. entire passage lines 7-8 lines 16-17

19. line 17 lines 19-20

20. Stoneexplorers200 Naples restaurant350

21. various learned

22. traditional serving ingredient developed

26. Naga Jolokia

27. Lesson 2B Click here to enlarge the passage

28. Vocabulary Lesson 2B

29. experience (v.) to sense, feel, or be affected by something

30. cause (v.) to make something happen

31. plant (n.) a living thing that is green and grows in the ground

32. health (n.) the condition of a person’s body

33. measure (v.) to find out what quantity or value you have of something

34. unit (n.) a fixed measurement

35. produce (v.) to make or create

36. recent (adj.) something that happened only a short while ago

37. broke (v.) to do better

38. stay (v.) to continue to be in a particular state or situation

39. entire passage lines 1-2 lines 17-18

40. line 21 lines 26-27

43. break cause experience produce plant

44. recent

45. health measure units stay

46. beans, corn, chilies, tacos, tortillas, cheese

48. experience poor traditional recent learning

49. stay step various standard served

50. Answer will vary, but complexity may depend on the number of ingredients and steps of preparation. Answer will vary.

51. For More Information http://www.foodtimeline.org/ http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food

52. Key Words for Internet Research chocolatesugar production history of hamburgerspices Mexican food pizza

53. Reading Skills

54. Understanding the Main Idea Once we've determined the text type of a passage, and what it's generally about, we usually then read on to understand the main idea of the passage. In other words: What is the writer basically telling us? Or, What is the writer's main message? Understanding the main idea of a text means being able to identify the most important point or information in the passage.

55. Identifying Details Identifying details in a text to answer specific questions (eg: who, what, when, where, why) is often achieved through a strategy known as ‘Scanning’ for details. This is actually a technique often used in daily life when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. Also when you read a newspaper, you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text for important information of interest.

56. Paraphrasing Paraphrasing involves the skill of identifying a restatement of a section in a passage that retains the basic meaning while changing the words, often explained in a more simplified form. A paraphrase often clarifies a more ambiguous original statement in the text by putting it into alternative words that are often more easily understood.

57. Defining Vocabulary Often a reading passage contains definitions or explanations of new words related to the topic. The definitions in the text may be given through different clues to help you identify how the author has explained its meaning. It is important to understand synonyms or parallel expressions are often used to define target vocabulary items.

58. Making Inferences When we read a text, the author does not tell us everything. Therefore, we must be able to guess some things and make clear assumptions from the information, facts, opinions and author’s feelings presented in the passage. Such a process of guessing and critical thinking is called ‘Making inferences’

59. Reading for Gist Reading for gist is reading to get a general sense of what a reading passage is basically about. In other words, we read to understand the main topic, or theme of the passage. For example, a reading passage might basically be about a new type of technology, or a tourist's vacation trip, or a story about a fictional character.

60. Understanding Reference Understanding reference in a text is an important reading skill which involves focusing on specific meaning of ‘pronoun references’ used throughout a passage (eg: this, those, their, it). This is an important skill to help develop full comprehension of significant details of a section of a passage which refer back to previous statements made.