How I Fell In Love With a Fish

This is a long and complex talk by a professional chef. Take your time - maybe watch it in small sections - and don't worry if you don't understand every word. Concentrate on the main ideas.

Before you start listening, do the vocabulary exercises below. They will help you understand a lot of the words and phrases which the speaker uses.

1:    MEASUREMENTS AND WEIGHTS

       Choose the right expression to match each definition. 
       These are all from the video. Answers are below.

      i.      an acre   I'm six foot two   a pound   the tonnage of sth   an inch   a tonne   a foot   a hectare   a yard     = 30 centimetres

      ii.     an acre   I'm six foot two   a pound   the tonnage of sth   an inch   a tonne   a foot   a hectare   a yard     = about 2.5 centimetres  
      iii.    an acre   I'm six foot two   a pound   the tonnage of sth   an inch   a tonne   a foot   a hectare   a yard     = about 91 centimetres (approx. three feet)
      iv.    an acre   I'm six foot two   a pound   the tonnage of sth   an inch   a tonne   a foot   a hectare   a yard     = My height is 185cm (six feet & two inches)
      v.     an acre   I'm six foot two   a pound   the tonnage of sth   an inch   a tonne   a foot   a hectare   a yard     = a measure of area 
                                                       (about 4,000 square metres)
      vi.    an acre   I'm six foot two   a pound   the tonnage of sth   an inch   a tonne   a foot   a hectare   a yard     = another measure of area 
                                                       (about 10,000 square metres)
      vii.   an acre   I'm six foot two   a pound   the tonnage of sth   an inch   a tonne   a foot   a hectare   a yard     = about 450g (2.2 of these = one kilo)
      viii.  an acre   I'm six foot two   a pound   the tonnage of sth   an inch   a tonne   a foot   a hectare   a yard     = 1,000 kilos
      ix.    an acre   I'm six foot two   a pound   the tonnage of sth   an inch   a tonne   a foot   a hectare   a yard     = how much a ship or a truck can carry, 
                                                       in tonnes ("What's the ________ 
                                                       of this boat?")


2:    PHRASAL VERBS

       Complete these definitions with a preposition. 

      i.     The opposite of "fall in love" is fall _________ _________ love.  

      ii.    To ask a lot of people about something, because you don't know
             who has the information you need, is to ask _________. 

      iii.   You have a friend who is single, and one day you meet a man 
             who you think is her type. So you organise for them to meet. 
             We say that you've set your friend _________ with this guy.

      iv.   We use this to describe a moment when we learn something 

             a bit surprising after some time.

             Example: Later I found out that my cat was also eating dinner
                           at my neighbour's house every night. 
                           = It turns ________ that my cat was eating dinner at
                              my neighbour's house every night.

      v.    If you take a sponge and put it in water, it will soak ________  

             some of the water.

3:    FOOD, FISH AND FARMING

       Choose the best option to complete the definitions.

       i.    Pellets are   
              ---     a. small fish that eat humans    b. small, dried pieces of processed animal food    c. the teeth at the back of your mouth   .    
     
       ii.   We have two words for a large collection of cows kept on a 
             farm. We call them 
              ---     a. cattle or livestock    b. carriages or rolling stock    c. mad cows or unhappy meals  .    

       iii.  "A foodie" is a colloquial (informal) term, meaning 
              ---     a. a person who eats too much    b. a person who plays with their food    c. a person who is passionate about good food (a 'gourmand')   

       iv.   Monoculture is an agricultural system in which 
              ---     a. you only use one acre of land    b. one person makes all the decisions    c. you only grow one crop     
          
       v.   Economists use the phrase "diminishing supply" to describe
             a situation in which
               ---      a. the available amount of a product is decreasing     b. the people who buy a certain product are getting smaller     c. people don't buy something because they can't see it     
          
       vi.   A sustainable activity is one which can
                   ---       a. only be done for one hour, because it causes so much damage      b. continue for a very long time without damaging the ecosystem      c. make you very sleepy                  
       vii.  Marshlands and wetlands are
                     ---        a. Low areas of land with a lot of water in them, like a swamp       b. Areas of land that are very close to the ocean       c. Areas where there are no public toilets                  
       viii. "Thriving" means 
                       ---         a. Eating dinner while watching TV         b. Achieving great success or living very well        c. Falling over in the street              
     

       ix.    A bird sanctuary is a place where birds  
                         ---          a. fly around making a lot of noise          b. are protected, and you can't hunt them         c. meet and drink beer together   .        

       x.    Farmers often put chemicals called              ---           a. pesticides           b. homicides         c. testocides    on  
              their crops, to protect them from insects. When some of 
              these chemicals enter the local water system (e.g. rivers  
              and lakes), we call this              ---           a. pesticide runaway           b. pesticide rundown          c. pesticide runoff  .         

       xi.    In Soviet times, a lot of grain was grown in Ukraine, and 
               this was used to make bread and other foods for people in 
               Soviet countries. That's why some people called Ukraine
                             ---            a. the bakery of the Soviet Union            b. the breadbasket of the Soviet Union           c. the nut farm of the Soviet Union  .          

       xii.   Subsistence farms are small and often owned by families.
               The farmers usually grow
                              ---            a. enough food for their own needs, plus a little more to sell            b. very large vegetables, which sometimes win prizes          c. very long teeth, and start believing they're vampires     


Check your answers at the bottom of the page.

Questions (specially for you!)

As I said at the top of the page, I think you should watch the video in small parts. Here are some questions for each part. There are also some general questions at the end.


PART 1: DAN'S FIRST LOVE AFFAIR
(0:00 - 4:50)

a.  Dan says that chefs now have "an unimaginable problem". What

     is this problem? Why is it "unimaginable"? 

b.  He also says that "there's almost nothing left" of large fish in the 
     ocean. Just before this, he explains why these fish are almost 
     gone. According to Dan, what's the reason?  

c.  What are the two disadvantages of fish farming?

d.  When Dan says that tuna has "a feed conversion ratio of 15 to 1",

     what does he mean by that?

e.  Why did Dan fall out of love with this fish? 


PART 2: MIGUEL THE "RELATIONSHIP EXPERT"

(4:50 - 9:30)

a.  What is Miguel's profession? What does he do at the Veta    
     la Palma fish farm?

b.  Dan says that, in 1982, "a Spanish company with an
     environmental conscience" purchased the land at Veta la
     Palma, and turned it into a fish farm. What does it mean
     to say that they had "an environmental conscience"?

c.  Does Veta la Palma look like a normal farm?

d.  What kind of "relationships" is Miguel an expert on?

e.  What do they feed the fish on this farm?

f.  What does Dan mean when he says that the Veta la Palma  
     fish farm is "totally self-renewing"?


PART 3: A BIRD SANCTUARY ON A FISH FARM

(9:30 - 14:45)

(Vocabulary note: "feasting" = eating a lot, like we do on 
 some holidays.)

a.  According to Miguel, what's the clearest sign that his farm 
     is successful? Why does Dan think this is so strange?

b.  Miguel says "We farm extensively, not intensively." What 
     does that mean? Why do you think that Miguel is against
     intensive farming?    

c.  Why do the flamingos fly to Veta la Palma every day?   

d.  Dan mentions to Miguel that he usually doesn't like fish skin,  

     but the skin of the fish at Veta la Palma is delicious. Miguel 
     agrees and explains why. What's his explanation?

e.  What's unusual about the water which flows through Veta
     la Palma and out into the Atlantic Ocean? Do you think this
     is typical of water that comes from large farms?


PART 4: CHANGING THE AGROBUSINESS MODEL

(14:45 - 14:45)

(Vocabulary note: "agrobusiness" = the business of farming) 

a.  Dan starts this section by saying that "What we need now is

     a radically new conception of agriculture". Why does he 
     think it's so important to change agricultural methods? 
     Is Veta la Palma a good model, in his opinion?

b.  According to Dan, a lot of people think it's unrealistic to 
     have natural, extensive farms everywhere. Why?

c.  American agriculturalists say that they are feeding more 
     people now than before, and doing it more cheaply. But 
     Dan doesn't think this business model is working. Why?
      
d.  Dan says that we produce enough calories to feed the 
     world's population, but still there are a billion people who
     don't have enough to eat. His explanation for that is that
     there are "gross inequalities in distribution". What does 
     that mean?
      
e.  He doesn't think that the agrobusiness model can solve
     this problem - it can't "feed the world" by having huge,
     intensive farms in a few places. What does he suggest as  
     a better alternative?

Exam questions

This video mentions a few different topics that can appear in the IELTS exam. Let's look at some possible questions:


TECHNOLOGY AND FOOD PRODUCTION
Here's an essay question from a previous exam:
    
The range and quality of food that we can buy has changed because of technological and scientific advances. Some people regard this change as an improvement, while others believe that it is harmful.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

And here's a similar question from Part 3 of the Speaking Module:

What effects has modern technology had on the way food is produced?

To answer these, you need to think of some ideas quickly, and then explain them using some good vocabulary.

So ... think about your own ideas on this subject, as well as some of the issues mentioned in the "How I Fell in Love With A Fish" video. In what ways do you think technology and science has improved the quality of food? In what ways has it been harmful?

Write your answer in the comments box below.

Also, for more ideas on this topic, you can go to this page on the IELTS Simon website. There are some ideas here, and a sample answer to the essay question.



PRODUCING FOOD LOCALLY vs. IMPORTING FOOD

You may get questions like these:

a.  How important is it for a country to be able to grow all the food it needs, without importing any from other countries?

b.  Could you compare methods of food production and distribution today with that of 50 years ago?

In the last section of the video, Dan (the speaker) mentions that modern farms are huge and intensive. This is certainly a significant change from the past, and a lot of the food produced on these farms is exported.

Using Dan's and your own ideas, write your answers in the Comments box below.


"FOOD MILES"

This topic is closely related to the topic above, but not exactly the same. Look at this essay question, and decide how you could answer it:

Nowadays, much of the food we eat travels thousands of miles before it reaches our table. What ar the causes of this trend? Is it a positive or negative development? 

What are Dan's thoughts about this? What are your own thoughts?

Before you answer, read this article about food miles. Then, write any ideas you have in the comments box below.


PROBLEMS IN FOOD PRODUCTION

Questions on this topic may also appear. Here are two examples: 

a.  What are some of the problems that some countries have with food production?

b.  What other problems can you predict happening in terms of food in the next 50 years? Could you suggest any ways to solve these problems?

Dan mentions one problem with food supply that is already happening: the shortage of fish in the oceans. What are some other problems? Could a country's location affect its ability to produce its own food, for example?

Once again, use ideas from the video and your own thoughts to answer these questions. 

ANSWERS TO VOCABULARY EXERCISES

1. Measurements and weights
i. a foot = 30 centimetres     ii. an inch = about 2.5 centimetres     iii.   a yard = about 91 centimetres (approx. three feet)     iv. I'm six foot two = My height is 185cm (six feet & two inches)   v. an acre = a measure of area (about 4,000 square metres)     vi. a hectare = another measure of area (about 10,000 square metres)     vii.  a pound = about 450g (2.2 of these = one kilo)     viii. a tonne = 1,000 kilos     ix. tonnage = how much a ship or a truck can carry, in tonnes ("What's the ________ of this boat?")

2. Phrasal verbs
i.   fall out of love      
ii.  ask around  ( = ask a lot of people)
iii. set someone up ( = arrange for them to go out with another person)     
iv. it turns out that ... ( = after some time it was clear that ...)
v.  soak up water

3. Food, fish and farming   
i.    pellets = very small pieces of processed animal food    
ii.   cows kept on a farm = cattle or livestock
iii.  a foodie = someone passionate about food     
iv.  monoculture = growing only one type of crop (e.g. only rice)
v.   diminishing supply = there is less of a product available than before

vi.  sustainable = the system supports itself, so you can continue for a long time
      (e.g. solar energy is sustainable energy, because the sun will never go away.)

vii. wetlands and marshlands = low areas of land that are very wet (but not
      under water)

viii.thriving = living very well / very successful

ix.  a bird sanctuary = an area where birds are protected by law

x.   pesticides  ;  pesticide runoff

xi.  breadbasket = an area where a lot of grain is produced
xii. subsistence farms = very small farms, growing only as much as they need 
      plus a little more to sell.