Listening Comprehension Activity
on
American Fast Food
Rove McManus, an Australian comedian, visits the County Fair in Los Angeles to explore
some fast food items. Watch the video twice and answer the questions.
1. Questions on the video.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Name four fast food items on Chicken Charlie’s menu and five that Rove tastes.
How does Rove make fun of Chicken Charlie’s habit of deep-frying several types of food?
Explain how Chicken Charlie argues to conceal the fact that his fried food is unhealthy.
True or false? Read the following statements and correct them if necessary:
1. One of the women prefers deep-fried onion rings over deep-fried zucchinis.
2. One of the women wants to eat, shop and gamble at the fair.
3. Generally, Kool-Aid is a kind of beverage.
4. Rove seems to like the idea of deep-frying slices of watermelon.
5. The girl with red hair has eaten too many corn dogs.
6. Rove thinks the donut with the chicken breast is a bad idea.
Now prepare the questions beneath and discuss them for 5 minutes.
2. Opinion questions.
a) How do you like the idea of deep-frying sweets, vegetables or fruits? Argue.
b) What role does fast food play in your life in general? Explain.
c) Explain in what ways you agree/disagree with these quotes:
 “I don’t eat fast food - and neither should you!” (Kendall Schmidt)
 “Anything is good if it’s made of chocolate.” (Jo Brand)
 “Stop being a vegan and start enjoying what you eat.” (Jamie Oliver)
 “Food should be fun.” (Thomas Keller)
 “Our lives are not in the lap of the gods, but in the lap of our cooks.” (Lin Yutang)
Solutions
a) 5 items Rove tries:





deep-fried Kool-Aid
deep-fried Oreo
chocolate-covered bacon
chocolate-covered pickle
chicken breast donut sandwich
4 items on Charlie’s menu:




deep-fried Kool-Aid
deep-fried Oreos
deep-fried twinkies
chicken breast donut sandwich
b) He deep-fries a sun visor, an iPod and a soft toy.
c) He claims that the calories remain in the oil through the process of deep-frying and that the
items on his menu are free of calories and of fat as a result.
d)
1. False. It’s exactly the other way around. She prefers the zucchini over the onion rings.
2. False. She only wants to eat and shop.
3. True. cf. “Normally people drink Kool-Aid…”
4. False. He doesn’t seem to like the idea per se as he emphasises how typically American it is
to deep-fry food that is by nature healthy, thus implying how unhealthy it is fried. However,
since he’s a comedian, we can take for granted that at least he finds the idea funny.
5. False. She has only eaten the tip of her corn dog and is already “full”.
6. False. Although Rove ironically claims that the donut with the chicken breast “tastes like a
bad idea”, he continues to remark that it actually works for him and that the combination of
donut bread and chicken is “genius”. However, his overall experience of the County Fair
dishes is quite negative (cf. 05:17-05:27).