GRADE 10 11
Listening Comprehension Test
Chocolate
Christopher Columbus was probably the first to take cacao beans from the New World to Europe in around 1502. But the history of chocolate goes back at least 4,000 years! The Aztecs, who lived in America, thought that their bitter cacao drink was a divine gift from heaven. So, the scientist Carolus Linnaeus named the plant Theobroma, which means "food of the gods."
The Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez went to America in 1519. He visited the Mexican emperor Montezuma. He saw that Montezuma drank cacao mixed with vanilla and spices. Cortez took some cacao home as a gift to the king of Spain, Charles. In Spain, people began to use Cortez's chocolate as a drink adding chili peppers. However, the natural taste of cacao was too bitter for most people. To sweeten the drink, Europeans added sugar to the cacao drink. As a sweet drink, it became more popular. And in the 17th century rich people in Europe were drinking it.
Later, people started using chocolate in pastries, like pies and cakes. In 1828, Dutch chocolate makers started using a new process for removing the fat from cacao beans, and getting to the center of a cacao bean. The Dutch chocolate maker Conrad J. van Houten made a machine that pressed the fat from the bean. The resulting powder mixed better with water than cacao did. Now, some people call van Houten's chocolate "Dutch chocolate."
It was easy to mix Dutch chocolate powder with sugar. So, other chocolate makers started trying new recipes that used powdered chocolate. People started mixing sweetened chocolate with cocoa butter to make solid chocolate bars. In 1849, an English chocolate maker made the first chocolate bar. In the 19th century, the Swiss started making milk chocolate by mixing powdered milk with sweetened chocolate. Milk chocolate has not changed much since this process was invented.
Today, two countries - Brazil and Ivory Coast - account for almost half the world's chocolate. The United States imports most of the chocolate in the world, but the Swiss eat the most chocolate per person. The most chocolate eaten today is sweet milk chocolate, but people also eat white chocolate and dark chocolate.
Cocoa and dark chocolate are believed to help prevent heart attacks, or help keep them from happening. They are supposed to be good for the circulatory system. On the other hand, the high fat content of chocolate can cause weight gain, which is not good for people's health. Other health claims for chocolate have not been proven, but some researches show that chocolate could be good for our brain.
Chocolate is toxic to some animals. A certain ingredient in chocolate is poisonous to dogs, cats, parrots, small rodents, and some livestock. Their bodies cannot process some of the chemicals found in chocolate. Therefore, they should never be fed chocolate.
GRADE 10 - 11 Listening comprehension test
1. Put down + if the statement is true, - if it is false (2 points each).
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1. The origin of chocolate is still unknown.
2. The Mexicans added some aromatic herbs in chocolate.
3. Spanish people enjoyed sweet taste of chocolate.
4. Chocolate was available for everybody in the 17th century.
5. A special machine for making chocolate was invented in 1828.
6. To get a bar of chocolate, you should add cocoa butter to chocolate.
7. A Swiss chocolate maker made the first chocolate bar.
8. Milk chocolate is a mixture of milk and cocoa butter.
9. The health-giving aspect of chocolate is an arguable question.
10. Chocolate stimulates the digestive system of animals.
2. Choose the correct letter (a, b or c) (2 points each)
11. How did people first consume chocolate?
a) As a sweet drink. b) As a bitter drink. c) In cakes and pastries.
12. Why did Linnaeus name the plant Theobroma?
a) Because chocolate was so rare.
b) Because he believed it was a present from heaven.
c) Because he believed it was food of the gods.
13. Who was Montezuma?
a) He was the king from Mexico.b) He was the emperor of Mexico. c) He was the explorer from Mexico.
14. Pastries are
a) chocolate candy bars. b) bitter-tasting drinks. c) sweet baked goods.
15. Who made the first powdered chocolate?
a) Linnaeus. b) Montezuma. c) van Houten.
16. In the 19th century to make milk chocolate they..
a) mixed powdered milk with sweetened chocolate.
b) added the fat from cacao beans to powdered milk.
c) added sugar to the cacao drink.
17. Which people eat the most chocolate per person?
a) The Dutch. b) The Swiss. c) The Mexicans.
18. Almost half of the worlds chocolate belongs to..
a) Brazil and Switzerland. b) Holland and the United States c) Brazil and Ivory Coast
19. The high fat content of chocolate
a) could be good for our brain. b) can cause weight gain. c) is believed to cause heart attacks.
20. Chocolate is toxic to animals. It means that
a) they dont eat chocolate because its disgusting.
b) it is poisonous and they may die of it.
c) it is harmless and you may feed animals chocolate to make them healthier.
GRADE 10 11
