Global Pizza

So you thought the hamburger was the world's most popular fast food? After all, McDonald's Golden Arches span the globe. But no, there is another truly universal fast food, the ultimate fast food. It's easy to make, easy to serve, much more varied than the hamburger, can be eaten with the hands, and it's delivered to your front door or served in fancy restaurants. It's been one of America's favourite foods for over 50 years. It is, of course, the pizza.

A brief history of pizza

It's kind of silly to talk about the moment when pizza was 'invented'. It gradually evolved over the years, but one thing's for certain ─ it's been around for a very long time. The idea of using pieces of flat, round bread as plates came from the Greeks. They called them 'plakuntos' and ate them with various simple toppings such as oil, garlic, onions, and herbs. The Romans enjoyed eating something similar and called it 'picea'. By about 1000 A.D. in the city of Naples, 'picea' had become 'pizza' and people were experimenting with more toppings: cheese, ham, anchovies, and finally the tomato, brought to Italy from Mexico and Peru in the sixteenth century. Naples became the pizza capital of the world. In 1889, King Umberto I and Queen Margherita heard about pizza and asked to try it. They invited pizza maker, Raffaele Esposito, to make it for them. He decided to make the pizza like the Italian flag, so he used red tomatoes, white mozzarella cheese, and green basil leaves. The Queen loved it and the new pizza was named 'Pizza Margherita' in her honour.

Pizza migrated to America with the Italians at the end of the nineteenth century. The first pizzeria in the United States was opened in 1905 at 53½ Spring Street, New York City, by Gennaro Lombardi. But the popularity of pizza really exploded when American soldiers returned from Italy after World War II and raved about 'that great Italian dish'. Americans are now the greatest producers and consumers of pizza in the world.

Pizza Trivia

1. Americans eat 350 slices of pizza per second.
2. There are 61,269 pizzerias in the United States.
3. Pizza is a $30 billion per year industry.
4. October is national pizza month in the United States.
5. The world's first pizzeria, the Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba, which opened in Naples in 1830, is still there.
6. Pizza Hut has over 12,000 restaurants and takeaway outlets in over 90 countries.
7. In America, pepperoni is the favourite topping. Anchovies is the least favourite.
8. In Japan, eel and squid are favourites. In Russia it's red herring, salmon, and onions.
9. In Brazil, they like green peas on their pizza. In Australia the favourites are shrimp and pineapple.
10. The French love bacon and crème fraîche on theirs. The English love tuna and sweetcorn.

Level: Intermediate

Book: New Headway (the NEW edition)

Year: 2003
Author: Connie Odone

The History of Amusement Parks

 The amusement park industry started in medieval Europe with pleasure gardens. These gardens were outside the big cities and had live entertainment, dancing, games, fireworks and a few rides. These gardens were very popular until the 1700s, but the political difficulties of that time caused them to close.

In the late 1800s, the industry moved to America. At the time, people in many cities used electric trolley cars for transport. The trolley companies wanted more people to use their cars at the weekend, so they built amusement parks at the end of the lines. Even though they were simple parks with picnic areas, restaurants, games and only a few rides, people loved them.

Then in 1893, things changed. The World's Fair opened in Chicago. The fair introduced the Ferris Wheel and other popular rides and was an amazing success.

From then on the amusement park industry grew. As the industry grew, there were more kinds of rides. They became scarier and more daring! By 1919, there were over 1500 amusement parks in America. Today, millions of people all over the world enjoy amusement parks.

Level: Beginner

Book: Changes for ESO 4

Year: 2002

The Internet

Its history

The Internet started in the 1960s. The United States Department of Defense started it because they wanted a computer network to help the American military. In the 1970s scientists worked on it. Then in the 1980s telephone companies made it possible to communicate on the computer network in many more countries. An international computer language was born, and the Net went worldwide.

 What can it do?

You can use the Internet for many things. You can buy a car or a house; you can book a holiday; you can watch a video; you can read an Australian newspaper or a Japanese magazine; you can buy books and CDs from North and South America; you can play chess with a partner in Moscow; or you can just chat to people from all over the world. The list is endless!

Level: Beginner

Book: New Headway

Year: 2000