大象传媒

May takes a tea break with one of her classmates

Hi everyone. Now this blog comes with a bit of a warning… If you are hungry, don’t read on because you will become ravenous.

If you’ve read my previous blogs you will know that when I first came to Leeds I stayed at a hotel.

It was there I fell in love with the traditional ‘full English breakfast’, which consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, baked beans, mushrooms and even black pudding 黑布丁 (血香肠).

Not many people currently eat this breakfast in their homes because it’s time-consuming but it is still served in hotels around Britain.

Nowadays a typical English breakfast is more likely to be a bowl of cereal with milk, a slice of toast, orange juice and tea or coffee.

Rubbish  My daughter has fallen in love with crisps 薯片 which we think of as a rubbish food.   May

Something interesting here is that in the winter many people eat ‘porridge’ 麦片粥, or boiled oats, just like we do in China.

English Lunch 英式午餐

At university I am always astonished to see the professors and students eating their lunch. Many just have a tiny sandwich, and perhaps some crisps with a cup of tea or coffee. What a poor lunch time they have!

Sandwiches 三明治 here are also called ‘butties’ or ‘sarnies’ in some parts of the UK. There are many different sandwich fillings. My favourite is prawn and mayonnaise. I also love tuna and mayo, and ham and pickle sandwiches.

Snacks 小吃，点心

There is a lot of bad snack food available in the UK which as lead to a crisis in 辞产别蝉颈迟测肥胖 amongst the children here.

You often see kids pigging out 大吃特吃 on junk food 垃圾食品 like hamburgers, fizzy drinks and chocolate bars.

My daughter has fallen in love with crisps 薯片 which we think of as a rubbish food.

Reports have recently shown that half of the children living in the UK ‘drink’ almost five litres of cooking oil a year as a result of their pack-a-day crisp habit. Gosh!

Sweet tooth 爱吃甜食

There are lots of different chocolate bars, desserts 甜点 and cakes on offer here in the UK including ice cream… Ah, a lady’s best friend.

I am going to tell you a secret now. I often tell my daughter not to eat much chocolate to protect her tiny white teeth, while I myself have some upstairs before bed time, (after she has fallen asleep of course!)

I have got a good reason: Chocolate is said to be able to ease your mood, it’s a kind of cheering up 振作起来 food.

Chinese store  There is a big shop in the centre of Leeds that I go along to when I want to stock up Chinese groceries.   May

My daughter is on her school holidays now though so since the sun has at last come out here after a lot of rain I will find some fun things that we can do together and make sure that she has some ice creams as a treat.

Chinese, Indian and Pakistani food 中国，印度和巴基斯坦的食品

There are a couple of good Chinese restaurants in Leeds but the dishes never taste like they do back home.

I also sometimes visit a Pakistani friend who cooks for me. Indian and Pakistani food can be very hot and spicy so yogurt is offered with it to cool it down.

There are many people from Pakistan and India living in Leeds so it’s easy to find curry 咖喱 houses and shops selling traditional sweets and snacks.

Leeds, like London, is a very multicultural society 多元文化的社会. To cater for different tastes many spices 香料 and all types of foods from round the world can be bought here in the stores.

For example there is a big shop in the centre of Leeds that I go along to when I want to stock up Chinese groceries.

So if you ever come here to the UK and you are a bit of a stick in the mud 比较保守的人 when it comes to food and you only want to stick to Chinese food – don’t worry you won’t ever go hungry.

Your comments 你的评论

Dear May, I'm enjoy learning English, but, so far as, my English is very poor. Now, I read English materials on internet everyday. But how to make friends with English learners. I want to improve my spoken English as soon as possible. Thanks for 大象传媒 Learning English Website! Hai_zhi,Yiyang City, Hunan province, China
Hai Zhi, Yiyang City, Hunan province

Dear May, My name is Sam, from Hong Kong. I also have same problem in studying English.Speaking is always embarrassed to me.more reading and listening can not help in speaking.when I face to my client coming from UK or US,my tongue was stuck and my brain dump down.I just can speak simply sentence and listening always in meeting . can you advise me the effective way ? Best Regards!
Sam, Hong Kong

Hello, May, nice to read your diary. What a good web for us to learn updated things in England, your blog is like a window to the UK for us here. Please write more about your dialy life there, and mor about your family life in Uk. It will be attracive for us.
Liang, Hubei province

Hi, may, i have a colleague whose son study in England also, we enjoy reading your diary to learn a lot about studnet life there, my colleague say it's a better way to know about her son's life and study there, better than talk through phone or skype. she want to know how to help overcome studnet's lonliness and get to know english people as you , how should her son try to make friends with local people, thank you.
Fangqin, Henan province

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