Exploring the World of Food: Listening Unit 5A

Choose the correct word to complete each sentence. 

Sharing Food and Making Friends

Dr. Wade Davis is an anthropologist. Anthropologists study people and cultures around the world. In each place he travels to, Dr. Davis likes to share meals with the (1) _________________ people. One food that made a big impression on him is the durian fruit. You might not have durian where you live. Southeast Asia is the (2) _______________ part of the world where it grows.

Sometimes it’s hard to (3) _________________ why people eat the things they do. But everybody likes different things. In Malaysia, the durian is the “king of the fruits.” Malaysians love it! They think it’s (4) _________________. Some people say durian has a (5) _________________ that’s like vanilla ice cream with a little bit of onion.

The durian is a huge fruit–as big as a man’s head. It’s also heavy. You can only eat this fruit after it falls from the tree. But you can’t just run up and (6) _________________ it with your hands. A durian has sharp spines growing on it, and they can hurt you. Inside, though, the durian is soft. Some people like to cook it. Others prefer to eat it (7) _________________. There’s something else that’s (8) _________________ about the durian. It has a very strong smell. Some people say it smells like dirty feet! Some people won’t (9) _________________ a durian inside their house.

People know that the durian is a healthy, (10) _________________ food for the body. So people who don’t really like the fruit hold their noses and eat it. For Dr. Davis, eating durian and other unusual foods shows respect for people and their customs. He also says that durian is good in pies.