Shopping for Food
Useful Expressions
I. Shopper
1. How much is the turkey?
2. What’s the price for the chicken legs?
3. How much do I owe you?
4. How much are these all together?
5. Do u have any veal
6. I wonder if u have any Chinese cabbages.
7. Are lobsters in season at this moment?
8. Do Chinese cabbages taste very different from regular cabbages?
9. Do squashes taste very different from pumpkins?
10. Could u cut it into pieces for me?
11. I’d like 4 pieces of chicken breasts.
12. Well, I’d like 3 boxes of ground beef.
13. Can I have a bag of peas?
14. Could u give me a discount?
15. What part of the lamb do we use for making lamb stew?
16. What part of the chicken do we use for making chicken kebobs
17. What part of the cow is this?
18. What should I do with them? What can I make with them?
19. Could u take off the skin for me pls?
20. Those grapes look a bit dry.
II. Vendor
1. This is the season for blueberry.
2. These oranges are 1.99 pounds.
3. You can get a bag of cherries for 4.99.
4. It’s 7.99 all together.
5. That’s 5 dollars in total.
6. Sorry, all the kiwis are sold out.
7. These tangerines are sweet, would like to try a piece?
8. I’ll give u a discount.
9. What else would u like, some chicken wings?
10. 3.81 is your change.
（2:42）
11. How many green peppers would u like?
12. Those are sirloin steaks, you can grill them.
13. We don’t have green onions today, but we do have shallots.
14. That’s exactly by pounds.
Conversations
I. Buying Food and Vegetables
1. At the Fruit Stand
- Hello, Mrs. White, how are you today?
- Not too bad, bob. How’s business?
- Pretty good, I just sold out of all the strawberries 5 mins ago.
- I should have come earlier. So, what’s good at this moment?
- It’s been sunny in the last weeks, which is good for the blueberries. The cherries are nice too.
- Emu, I don’t know Bob. The blueberries I bought from you last week were kind of mushy, and not very sweet. These cherries look good though.
- Really? U should try these blueberries. The cultivated ones are nice and juicy.
- Yes, there’re better. How much are they?
- They are 1.29 a pound, or you can get a box for 2.99.
- I’ll take 2 boxes. Can I also have 2 pounds of cherries?
- Sure, would like some homemade strawberry jam? My wife made it yesterday.
- No, thanks. I still have plenty at home. I’d like to get a couple of peaches though.
- They are 69 cents each. I’ll give you a half dozen for 4 bucks.
- That’s very nice of u. I think that would be all for today. How much do I owe u.
- Let me see. 2 boxes of blueberries, 2 pounds of cherries, plus peaches, that’ll be 14.68. Just give me 14 dollars.
- Here you go. Thanks a lot Bob. See u next week.
- Have a good day Mrs. White.
A Veal is meat from a calf.
2. At the Veggie stand
- Good morning, Mrs. White. How can I help you?
- Hello, John. Where’s Mrs. Rogers?
- My mum went down to Florida to see my grandmother. She’ll be back next week.
- I see. It’s just that I asked her to save some red peppers for me. Last week they were all gone when I got here.
- Don’t worry. I’ve got tones of them here today. How many do you need?
- About 6. How much are the cabbages?
- They’re 1.59 each.
- I just walked by Rolters. The cabbages over there are only a dollar and 29 each. You know, I’m a good customer. I come to you every week.
- Sure, I’ll give you the same price. How many would you like?
- I’ll take 3 heads of cabbages and a bag of string beans.
- Would you like some broad beans too? A Chinese chef told me they taste good in stew.
- Well, I prefer peas in stew. There are nice in the salad too. Anyway I just can’t get enough peas.
- The peas are 2 dollars a pound. They are almost gone. How about I give the rest of them for 3 dollars?
- All right. How much is it in total?
- The total is 12.87. 17 dollars and 13 is your change. Thank you very much and have a nice day.
- You too, bye.
3. Buying Meat
- I really have no idea, what I should do for dinner on Saturday night. We can’t feed your parents frozen dinner. You’ve got to help me with this, what do they like.
- Don’t be so anxious. My parents are quite easy to please. My mum likes potatoes and my dad loves greasy food. And they are both meat eaters. We’ll think something together.
- We remember we had beef tenderloin at Nancy’s Christmas party. I could get the recipe from her. How is that sound?
- I don’t think it’s a good idea to have beef round this time. I’m concerned about mad cow diseases. U never know where the beef came from. We’d better play it safe.
4. At the Meat Stand
- How about barbecue the ribs? We only need to cook them on the grill or choke them in the oven. It’s easy and quick.
- Now, u’re talking.
- Can I help u?
- How much are those ribs?
- 5.99 a pound. How much do you need?
- It’s for 4 people. I guess 3 pounds should be enough.
- Is there anything else I can get for you? How about some lamb chops?
- I’ve never cooked lambs. What should I do with it?
- These are shoulder chops. They are good for making lamb stew.
- What part of the lamb is this?
- Oh, those are lamb shanks. A good way of cooking them is to grill them. And then serve the dish with grapy.
- Sounds great. Please cut 4 pieces for me.
- No problem.
5. At the Poultry Stand
- We’ve got ribs and lambs. But I think they are both a little heavy. Should we have sth. light, like chicken salad?
- You’re right! Ribs and are a bit heavy. Chicken salad would be nice. I know my mum likes chicken.
- I’d like some chicken breasts about 2 pieces. Could u take the skin off for me.
- We’ve got skinless and boneless chicken breasts over there. Would u prefer those?
- Yeah, even better. These look smaller. How much are they?
- 2.50 a pound. Let’s make it seven dollars with one smaller piece. Is that alright with u?
- That’s fine. Here’re seven dollars. Thank u.
- Explanation
6. A Veal is meat from a calf.
7. A kebab is pieces of meat or vegetables grilled on a long thin stick, or slices of grilled meat served in bread.
kebap, kabab, kebob, kabob, kibob, kebhav, kephav
8. A sirloin is a piece of beef which is cut from the bottom and side parts of a cow's back.
9. Shallots have a mild onion-like flavor. 青葱
10. A buck is a piece of paper money worth one dollar
11. String beans are long, very narrow green vegetables. 长豆角
12. Greasy foods contain grease, especially too much grease. (Grease is animal fat that is produced by cooking meat.)
13. cow diseases 疯牛病
14. The rib can also mean the meat cut form the rib.
15. Shanks are the lower parts of the legs.
16. Poultry = chickens, ducks and GEESE, kept for their meat or eggs
17. Skinless meat has had its skin removed.
18. Boneless meat or fish has had the bones taken out. |