Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. a confection
    • ex. Maria made a sweet strawberry confection for the party.
  2. a chocolatier
    • ex. George works at a large chocolatier that makes thousands of chocolates daily.
  3. concoct
    • ex. She often concocts new drinks by mixing different fruits and juices.
  4. hopeful
    • ex. The coach is hopeful that our team will win the next match.
  5. fusion
    • ex. This restaurant offers a tasty fusion of Italian and Japanese food.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Swiss chocolate company Lindt has attracted many people with a new confection called “Dubai chocolate.” It’s a mix of chocolate, pistachio cream, and knafeh, which is a traditional Arabic dessert. The nearly 180-year-old Swiss chocolatier wants to show it can concoct exciting new products using ingredients like the confection from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The original “Dubai chocolate” came from a company in the United Arab Emirates in 2021. It became more popular because of social media. And in November, Lindt started selling a limited number of “Dubai chocolate” bars in Germany, priced at 14.99 euros (about ¥2400) each. At a shop in Aachen, Germany, people excitedly waited to try the confection. Many of these customers want to join the trend. The confection was later released in Switzerland too.

Lindt introduced “Dubai chocolate” to reach new customers and grow its chocolate business. ChocoSuisse, a group of Swiss chocolate businesses including Lindt, is hopeful that this fusion of Middle Eastern confection and Swiss chocolate will attract more fans outside Europe. ChocoSuisse Director Roger Wehrli said, “It’s a good thing if more people start to like chocolate. […]It expands the market in places like Asia and the Middle East.” 

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Chocolatier

  • What is a famous chocolatier in your country? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, is a chocolate business a good business? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you are a chocolatier. What new chocolate ideas would you introduce (ex. chocolate-covered vegetables)? Discuss.

Fusion Food

  • Do you like the idea of fusion food (ex. sushi pizza, taco salad)? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, what popular foods from your culture could be mixed with other foods? Discuss.
  • Do you think fusion food can help bring people from different cultures together? Why do you say so? Discuss.