• how a simple meat salad brings luck, family, and tradition together in Laos
  

Listen, as often as is necessary,
then do exercises below –
use paper and pencil,
write down your answers

Some useful vocabulary

Word	Definition
to recognize	to know or say who or what someone or something is.
to protect	to keep someone or something safe.
herbs	green plants that people use to give food more taste.
an ingredient	one of the things you use to make food.
to fry	to cook food in hot oil or fat.
to crush	to press something hard until it breaks into small pieces.
to taste nutty	to have a taste like nuts.
a nice crunch	a pleasant, hard sound when you eat something crispy.

Match the words with the definitions

Words

1. to recognize
2. to protect
3. herbs
4. an ingredient
5. to fry
6. to crush
7. to taste nutty
8. a nice crunch

Definitions

A. to cook food in hot oil or fat

B. a pleasant, hard sound when you eat something crispy

C. one of the things you use to make food

D. to keep someone or something safe

E. to have a taste like nuts

F. green plants that people use to give food more taste

G. to press something hard until it breaks into small pieces

H. to know or say who or what someone or something is

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Answer key: 1H, 2D, 3F, 4C, 5A, 6G, 7E, 8B

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Exercise 1 – choose the correct answer

1. What is larb?

A) A sweet fruit dish from Thailand
B) A rice soup from Vietnam
C) A meat salad from Laos

2. What does Laos want UNESCO to do?

A) Recognize larb as cultural heritage
B) Teach people to prepare traditional food
C) Help Lao restaurants around the world

3. What kind of food is larb?

A) A sweet dish with fresh fruit
B) A spicy meat salad
C) A warm soup with vegetables

4. What does the word laap sound like in Lao?

A) The word for family
B) The word for luck
C) The word for celebration

5. When do people serve larb?

A) During normal working days
B) At school and sports events
C) At happy celebrations

6. Which celebration is mentioned in the text?

A) The Lao New Year
B) The Chinese New Year festival
C) The Cambodian Independence Day

7. What do people wish their family and friends?

A) Long holidays and new jobs
B) Success in school and business
C) Good health and money

8. Which meat can cooks use for larb?

A) Lamb
B) Chicken
C) Turkey

9. What do cooks mix with the meat?

A) Lime juice and fish sauce
B) Milk, butter and fresh cream
C) Sugar, honey and lemon juice

10. Which fresh herb is mentioned?

A) Mint
B) Rosemary
C) Parsley

11. What is the most special ingredient?

A) Fresh red chili
B) Green vegetables
C) Khao khua

12. What do cooks fry to make khao khua?

A) Fresh green herbs
B) Dry sticky rice
C) Small pieces of meat

13. What do cooks do after frying the rice?

A) Add water and cook it again
B) Mix it with fresh vegetables
C) Crush it into small pieces

14. What taste does khao khua give the food?

A) A nutty taste and a nice crunch
B) A sweet taste with a soft texture
C) A fresh taste with a little sourness

15. How do people eat larb?

A) With chopsticks
B) With their hands
C) With a large spoon

16. What do people roll into small balls?

A) Cooked meat
B) Fresh vegetables
C) Warm sticky rice

17. What do people use the rice balls for?

A) To pick up meat and herbs
B) To cool down the hot food
C) To mix the different ingredients

18. Which raw vegetables are mentioned?

A) Carrots and tomatoes
B) Cucumbers and cabbage
C) Onions and green peppers

19. What does eating larb bring together?

A) Family and friends
B) Teachers and students
C) Visitors and restaurant workers

20. Why do people travel to Laos today?

A) To learn how to cook different dishes
B) To visit traditional food markets
C) To taste this famous Lao dish

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Exercise 2 – true or false

1. Larb is a traditional dish from Laos.
2. UNESCO has already recognized larb as world cultural heritage.
3. Larb is a spicy salad with meat and fresh herbs.
4. The word laap sounds like the Lao word for money.
5. People serve larb at weddings and the Lao New Year.
6. People eat larb only on special occasions.
7. Larb can contain chicken, pork, beef or fish.
8. Cooks use lemon juice instead of lime juice.
9. Mint is one of the fresh herbs in larb.
10. Khao khua is made from fried sticky rice.
11. Cooks boil the rice before crushing it.
12. Khao khua gives the dish a nutty taste.
13. People usually eat larb with a spoon.
14. People roll warm sticky rice into small balls.
15. Raw vegetables help reduce the spicy taste.

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Exercsie 3 – fill in the missing word

1. Larb is a famous traditional _____ from Laos.

2. Laos wants UNESCO to recognize this dish to protect its traditional _____.

3. Larb is a spicy meat salad with many fresh green _____.

4. In the Lao language, the word laap sounds like the word for _____.

5. Because of this, people always _____ larb at happy celebrations.

6. You can eat it at weddings, new house parties and the Lao _____.

7. People serve this dish to wish their family and friends good health and _____.

8. Cooks make larb with small pieces of _____.

9. They can use chicken, pork, beef or _____.

10. They mix the meat with lime juice, fish sauce, red chili and fresh leaves like _____.

11. The most special ingredient is called _____.

12. Cooks make this by frying dry sticky rice in a hot _____.

13. They then _____ it into small pieces.

14. It makes the food taste _____ and gives it a nice crunch.

15. People eat larb with their _____.

16. They roll warm sticky rice into small _____.

17. Then, they use the rice ball to pick up the meat and _____.

18. People also eat raw vegetables like cucumbers and _____.

19. Eating larb brings family and friends together around the _____.

20. Today, people all over the world travel to Laos to taste this delicious _____.

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Answer key

Exercise 1:

1C, 2A, 3B, 4B, 5C, 6A, 7C, 8B, 9A, 10A, 11C, 1
2B, 13C, 14A, 15B, 16C, 17A, 18B, 19A, 20C

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Exercise 2:

1T, 2F, 3T, 4F, 5T, 6T, 7T, 8F, 9T, 10T,
11F, 12T, 13F, 14T, 15T

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Full version:

1. Larb is a traditional dish from Laos.

2. UNESCO has already recognized larb as world cultural heritage. True is: Laos wants UNESCO to recognize larb to protect its traditional culture.

3. Larb is a spicy salad with meat and fresh herbs.

4. The word laap sounds like the Lao word for money. True is: The word laap sounds like the Lao word for luck.

5. People serve larb at weddings and the Lao New Year.

6. People eat larb only on special occasions. True is: Larb is an important part of daily life in Laos.

7. Larb can contain chicken, pork, beef or fish.

8. Cooks use lemon juice instead of lime juice. True is: Cooks use lime juice in larb.

9. Mint is one of the fresh herbs in larb.

10. Khao khua is made from fried sticky rice.

11. Cooks boil the rice before crushing it. True is: Cooks fry dry sticky rice and then crush it into small pieces.

12. Khao khua gives the dish a nutty taste.

13. People usually eat larb with a spoon. True is: People eat larb with their hands.

14. People roll warm sticky rice into small balls.

15. Raw vegetables help reduce the spicy taste.

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Exercise 3:

1 food · 2 culture · 3 herbs · 4 luck · 5 serve ·
6 New Year · 7 money · 8 meat · 9 fish · 10 mint · 11 khao khua ·
12 pan · 13 crush · 14 nutty · 15 hands · 16 balls · 17 herbs ·
18 cabbage · 19 table · 20 food

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Larb (also called laap) is a famous traditional food from Laos. Laos wants UNESCO to recognize this dish to protect its traditional culture. Larb is a spicy meat salad with many fresh green herbs.

In the Lao language, the word laap sounds like the word for „luck.“ Because of this, people always serve larb at happy celebrations. You can eat it at weddings, new house parties, and the Lao New Year. People serve this dish to wish their family and friends good health and money.

Cooks make larb with small pieces of meat, like chicken, pork, beef, or fish. They mix the meat with lime juice, fish sauce, red chili, and fresh leaves like mint. The most special ingredient is khao khua. Cooks make this by frying dry sticky rice in a hot pan and crushing it into small pieces. It makes the food taste nutty and gives it a nice crunch.

People eat larb with their hands. They roll warm sticky rice into small balls. Then, they use the rice ball to pick up the meat and herbs. People also eat raw vegetables like cucumbers and cabbage with the dish to cool down the spicy taste.

Larb is more than just lunch or dinner. It is a very important part of daily life in Laos. Eating larb brings family and friends together around the table. Today, people all over the world travel to Laos to taste this delicious food.

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Remember how babies
learn a language:

Babies learn a language by listening.
They use their ears to hear sounds.
Their brain remembers these sounds.
Babies connect sounds with people and things.
They listen to their parents.
Then they copy the sounds they hear. They imitate words.
Slowly, babies learn to speak.

So,
LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN………………

SMFrockZ@gmx.at