Why read this: This short article gives students an easy first look at Italian food and family life. It uses simple sentences and everyday words. The topic is fun and clear: food in Italy is about family, love, and where you come from. Students can talk about their own family meals after they read it.
What to notice: Notice how the writer uses short sentences and simple words. Notice the two big ideas: food means family, and food is different in each part of Italy. Watch how the writer uses compare words like the north and the south. The phrase al fresco is the only Italian word. Help students see it and learn it.
Skills practised: Students practise reading short, clear sentences. They practise finding facts in the text, like the number of regions in Italy and what people eat in the north and the south. They learn one new phrase, al fresco. They also practise telling other people about what they read in their own words.
Italian Food Is About Family
Stanley Tucci tells us why food in Italy is more than just pizza and pasta.
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
Stanley Tucci is an actor, and he has a TV show about food in Italy. In the show, he visits many placesplace: To put something in a particular position carefully. — 放置；安放 and talks to families and chefschef: A professional cook who works in a restaurant or hotel. — 厨师；大厨. He eats with them, and he tries food from the north and the south of Italy. He shows that Italian food is very different in each part of the country.
For Italians, food is about family. Tucci says his grandmother always wants him to eat more, and she puts pastapasta: An Italian food made from flour and water, shaped into strips, tubes or other forms — 意大利面 and bread on the table. She is happy when he eats a lot. This happens in many Italian homes. Food means love, and food means family time. It is much more than just food on a plateplate: A flat round dish used for eating food. — 盘子；碟子.
Italy has 20 different regionsregion: A large area of a country or the world — 地区；区域, and people love their own city or region. They often say, I am from Tuscany, or I am from Florence, before they say, I am from Italy. Food is a big part of this, and each region has its own dishes. In Sicily, chefs cook outside in the warm sun. They make meals al fresco: outside, in the open air — 户外. This means in the open air.
Italy has two main parts: the north and the south. The food in these two parts is very different. In the south, people eat freshfresh: (of food) Not cooked, dried, frozen, or spoiled — （食物）新鲜的 tomatoestomato: The savory fruit of this plant, red when ripe, treated as a vegetable in horticulture and cooking — 番茄 in the summer, and they cook with oliveolive: Of a grayish green color, that of an unripe olive — 橄榄绿的 oiloil: A thick liquid used for cooking or as fuel. — 油；石油. In the north, it is colder, so people eat corncorn: Maize, a grain crop of the species Zea mays — 玉米, potatoes, and hot stewstew: A dish of meat and vegetables cooked slowly in liquid; informally, a state of confusion or trouble — 炖菜；困境. Many people in the world think Italian food is only pizzapizza: A baked Italian dish of a thinly rolled bread dough crust typically topped before baking with tomato sauce, cheese and other ingredients such as meat, vegetables or fruit — 比萨饼 and pasta. But Tucci says this is not true.
Tucci is 65 years old, and he loves food. He thinks people today worryworry: To feel anxious or troubled about a problem or possible event. — 担心；烦恼 too much about food. They worry about how they look. He says we should enjoy food, and we should not be afraid of it. For Tucci, food should make us happy and bring people together.
Stanley Tucci is an actor, and he has a TV show about food in Italy. In the show, he visits many placesplace: To put something in a particular position carefully. — 放置；安放 and talks to families and chefschef: A professional cook who works in a restaurant or hotel. — 厨师；大厨. He eats with them, and he tries food from the north and the south of Italy. He shows that Italian food is very different in each part of the country.
For Italians, food is about family. Tucci says his grandmother always wants him to eat more, and she puts pastapasta: An Italian food made from flour and water, shaped into strips, tubes or other forms — 意大利面 and bread on the table. She is happy when he eats a lot. This happens in many Italian homes. Food means love, and food means family time. It is much more than just food on a plateplate: A flat round dish used for eating food. — 盘子；碟子.
Italy has 20 different regionsregion: A large area of a country or the world — 地区；区域, and people love their own city or region. They often say, I am from Tuscany, or I am from Florence, before they say, I am from Italy. Food is a big part of this, and each region has its own dishes. In Sicily, chefs cook outside in the warm sun. They make meals al fresco: outside, in the open air — 户外. This means in the open air.
Italy has two main parts: the north and the south. The food in these two parts is very different. In the south, people eat freshfresh: (of food) Not cooked, dried, frozen, or spoiled — （食物）新鲜的 tomatoestomato: The savory fruit of this plant, red when ripe, treated as a vegetable in horticulture and cooking — 番茄 in the summer, and they cook with oliveolive: Of a grayish green color, that of an unripe olive — 橄榄绿的 oiloil: A thick liquid used for cooking or as fuel. — 油；石油. In the north, it is colder, so people eat corncorn: Maize, a grain crop of the species Zea mays — 玉米, potatoes, and hot stewstew: A dish of meat and vegetables cooked slowly in liquid; informally, a state of confusion or trouble — 炖菜；困境. Many people in the world think Italian food is only pizzapizza: A baked Italian dish of a thinly rolled bread dough crust typically topped before baking with tomato sauce, cheese and other ingredients such as meat, vegetables or fruit — 比萨饼 and pasta. But Tucci says this is not true.
Tucci is 65 years old, and he loves food. He thinks people today worryworry: To feel anxious or troubled about a problem or possible event. — 担心；烦恼 too much about food. They worry about how they look. He says we should enjoy food, and we should not be afraid of it. For Tucci, food should make us happy and bring people together.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What is Stanley Tucci's TV show about?
- 02
Where do people eat fresh tomatoes in the summer?
- 03
What does Tucci think we should do with food?
- 04
Name three things you learned about food in Italy from this article.
Suggested length: ~50 words
- 05
Describe what food means for Italian families. Use details from the article.
Suggested length: ~50 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What is Stanley Tucci's TV show about?
- 02
Where do people eat fresh tomatoes in the summer?
- 03
What does Tucci think we should do with food?
- 04
Name three things you learned about food in Italy from this article.
Suggested length: ~50 words
- 05
Describe what food means for Italian families. Use details from the article.
Suggested length: ~50 words