Unit 3 · Workbook

3A. Street food stories — Workbook

Extra practice for home study · with answer keys

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Workbook illustration

How to use this workbook

  • Try each exercise on paper first — don't peek!
  • Tap Show answer on a single item, or use the big button above to reveal everything.
  • Re-do anything you got wrong the next day.

1. Vocabulary — taste & texture

Choose the option that best fits each sentence.

  1. The lamb was so soft it almost melted — really ___.

  2. These chips have lost their crunch. They're not ___ anymore.

  3. After a whole plate of cheese fondue, I felt completely ___.

  4. Lemons, vinegar and limes all have a ___ flavour.

  5. Soy sauce, parmesan and miso are typical ___ flavours.

2. Vocabulary — cooking methods (gap-fill)

Complete each sentence with ONE word from the box.

Word bank — drag or tap, then tap a gap
  1.  drop  the chicken in yoghurt and spices for at least three hours.
  2. Let the sauce  drop  gently for forty minutes — never boil it.
  3. We always  drop  a whole chicken on Sundays.
  4. Heat the wok until smoking, then  drop  the vegetables for 90 seconds.
  5. Just  drop  a little olive oil over the burrata at the end.
  6. Always taste before you serve — and  drop  generously.

3. Grammar — past simple vs. past continuous

Choose the better tense for each gap.

  1. While I ___ the soup, the doorbell rang.

  2. It ___ heavily when we finally found the restaurant.

  3. He ___ his coffee and left without saying goodbye.

  4. She cut her finger while she ___ onions.

  5. We ___ in a tiny café when the lights suddenly ___ off.

4. Grammar — past perfect simple vs. past perfect continuous

Put the verb in CAPITALS into had + past participle OR had been + -ing.

  1. He was exhausted; he (QUEUE) for two hours.

  2. By the time we arrived, they (SELL OUT) of dumplings.

  3. Her fingers smelled of garlic — she (CHOP) it all morning.

  4. I (NEVER / EAT) anything so spicy before that night.

  5. She finally tasted the dish she (DREAM OF) all year.

  6. When I opened the pot, I realised someone (ALREADY / TAKE) the last piece.

5. Grammar — so / such …that

Join each pair into ONE sentence using so or such …that.

  1. The chilli was very spicy. My eyes watered.

  2. It was a long queue. We almost gave up.

  3. The chef cooked very fast. I couldn't see her hands.

  4. There was a wonderful smell. We had to stop and eat.

  5. The portions were huge. We took half home.

  6. It was a memorable meal. We still talk about it.

6. Grammar — find and fix the mistake

Each sentence has ONE mistake. Rewrite it correctly.

  1. I had been ate three plates before I felt full.

  2. While I was finishing my plate when he arrived.

  3. It was so a hot soup that I burned my tongue.

  4. By the time we got there, they were selling out.

  5. She had been chop onions for an hour when the knife slipped.

7. Reading — true / false / not given

Read the short text, then mark each statement T (true), F (false) or NG (not given).

On the corner of Rue Mouffetard in Paris, an old man called Henri had been selling crêpes from the same tiny stall since 1972. He didn't talk much. He didn't smile much either. But the queue was always there, sometimes three streets long, and tourists who'd been waiting for an hour would still leave saying it had been worth every minute. Henri's secret, he once told a journalist, was that he never changed the recipe and he never rushed. "A crêpe is a conversation between butter, sugar and time," he said. "If you rush, you've already lost." He retired last spring. His granddaughter, who'd been training quietly beside him for six years, opened the same stall on the same corner the following Monday. The queue, people say, is still three streets long.

  1. Henri had been selling crêpes from the same spot for over 50 years.T  /  F  /  NG
  2. Henri was famous for being friendly with customers.T  /  F  /  NG
  3. Tourists complained about the long waiting time.T  /  F  /  NG
  4. Henri said the secret was using more expensive ingredients.T  /  F  /  NG
  5. His granddaughter had been working with him for several years before he retired.T  /  F  /  NG
  6. Henri's granddaughter studied cooking at a famous Paris school.T  /  F  /  NG

8. Writing — guided task

Write 70–90 words about a meal you'll never forget. Include: (a) ONE past continuous, (b) ONE past perfect or past perfect continuous, (c) ONE so/such …that, (d) TWO vocabulary items from this lesson.

Check your writing

  • 70–90 words
  • ONE past continuous (was/were + -ing)
  • ONE past perfect simple OR continuous
  • ONE so/such …that
  • TWO vocabulary items from Lesson 3A

9. 🎧 Listening — gist & detail

Play the kitchen scene once for gist, then again for detail. (Aunt Mei is teaching her nephew Leo to cook.)

🎧 Aunt Mei & Leo · a cooking lesson
  1. How long had Aunt Mei been chopping garlic when Leo arrived?
  2. What does Leo notice about the broth?
  3. What two things does Aunt Mei say the broth needs?
  4. Where did she buy the chillies?
  5. What had she been doing for an hour before she saw the chillies?
  6. Why was the broth out of balance?

10. 🎧 Listening — gap-fill (dictation)

Listen again and write the missing word in each line.

🎧 Aunt Mei & Leo — key lines
  1. I've been garlic since seven.
  2. The last time you 'helped' you the rice.
  3. It's rich. Smoky. But a little at the end?
  4. I was so excited about the new chillies that I forgot the .
  5. I'd been walking for an hour when I this old woman.
  6. It will be a memorable meal that your grandchildren will hear about it.
  7. The fish is , and once we drizzle the sauce over it, we cannot wait.

11. 🔥 Challenge — sentence transformation

Rewrite the second sentence so it means the same as the first, using 3–6 words including the KEYWORD.

  1. 1. The soup was very hot, so my tongue burned. → The soup was ___ my tongue burned. (KEYWORD: SO)

  2. 2. It was a long queue and we left. → It was ___ we left. (KEYWORD: SUCH)

  3. 3. He waited two hours before he got a table. → He ___ for two hours before he got a table. (KEYWORD: BEEN)

  4. 4. The chef finished before we arrived. → The chef ___ before we arrived. (KEYWORD: HAD)

  5. 5. While I was eating, the lights went out. → I ___ when the lights went out. (KEYWORD: EATING)

12. 🔥 Challenge — irregular pasts

Write the past simple AND past participle of each verb.

  1. 1. eat

  2. 2. spit

  3. 3. bite

  4. 4. catch

  5. 5. break

  6. 6. feed

  7. 7. drink

  8. 8. burn

13. 🔥 Challenge — odd one out

Three of the four share a meaning. Pick the ODD ONE OUT.

  1. 1. Soft texture:

  2. 2. Cooking methods:

  3. 3. Strong / intense flavour:

  4. 4. Past forms of regular verbs:

14. 🔥 Challenge — extended writing

Write a 130–160 word food story titled "The meal that changed me". Use AT LEAST: 2 different past tenses (continuous and perfect/perfect continuous), 1 so/such …that, and 4 vocabulary items from Lesson 3A.

Check your writing

  • 130–160 words
  • At least 2 different past tenses (continuous + perfect/perfect continuous)
  • At least one so/such …that construction
  • At least 4 vocabulary items from Lesson 3A
  • A clear, personal story arc

15. Self-check

Tick the things you can now do confidently.

  • I can tell a short story using past simple AND past continuous correctly.
  • I can use past perfect simple to jump back in time.
  • I can use past perfect continuous to show duration before another past moment.
  • I can use so/such …that for dramatic effect.
  • I can describe flavours and textures with at least 6 new adjectives.
  • I can name and use at least 5 cooking methods.
  • I can pronounce common irregular past forms correctly.