Designed by Bartosz Michałowski for Pearson Longman
Adapted from the The Museum of Hoaxes (

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/

)

Definitions from Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

PHOTOCOPIABLE

1957 – The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest

In 1957 the respected BBC news show Panorama
broadcast a ……

segment

…… on Swiss farmers

enjoying a ………………………… spaghetti crop.
The audience heard Richard Dimbleby, the show’s
…………………………, discussing the details of
the spaghetti crop. At the same time they could watch
a …………………………… Swiss family pulling
pasta off spaghetti trees and placing it into baskets.

The audience learnt that such a bumper year was
possible thanks to a very mild winter and because of
“the ………………………… disappearance of the
spaghetti …………………………, the tiny creature
whose ………………………… have caused much
concern in the past.” In a tone of absolute
seriousness, the narrator explained that although
spaghetti grows on trees, it always comes in
………………………… lengths as “the result of
many years of patient ………………………… by past
………………………… who succeeded in producing
the perfect spaghetti.” He also expressed the worries
of a spaghetti farmer: “The last two weeks of March
are an anxious time for the spaghetti farmer. There's
always the chance of a late frost which, while not
entirely ruining the crop, generally
………………………… the flavour and makes it
difficult for him to obtain top prices in world
markets.”

Finally, the narrator concluded, "For those who love
this dish, there's nothing like real, home-grown
spaghetti."

for from in of on to

Huge numbers _

of

_ viewers were taken _____, and

soon after the broadcast the BBC received hundreds
______ calls _____ their viewers who were eager to
learn how they could grow their own spaghetti trees.
_____ this question, the BBC diplomatically replied
that they should "place a sprig _____ spaghetti in a
tin _____ tomato sauce and hope _____ the best."

To be fair _____ the viewers, _____ the 1950s
spaghetti was very exotic _____ Britain, so for many
people its origin must have been a mystery. Charles
de Jaeger, one _____ the cameramen, later revealed
that the idea _____ this segment occurred _____ him
when he remembered his school days. One _____ his
teachers often chided him _____ being “so stupid he
would believe spaghetti grew _____ trees.”

GLOSSARY

anchor noun [C] esp AmE

sb who reads the news on TV and introduces
news reports
BrE newsreader
He was the anchor for the BBC’s nine o’clock
news for over 10 years.

breeder noun [C]

sb who breeds animals or plants as a job
a dog breeder

bumper adj [only before noun]

unusually large
a bumper crop/harvest
a bumper edition of a magazine

depredation noun [C, usu plural] formal

an act of taking and destroying sth

endeavour noun [C, U] formal

an attempt to do sth new or difficult
AmE endeavor

impair verb [T]

to damage sth or make it not as good as it
should be
The illness had impaired his ability to think and
concentrate.

rural adj W2

happening in or relating to the countryside, not
the city
a peaceful rural setting / rural bus routes
opposite urban

segment noun [C]

a part of sth that is different from or affected
differently from the whole in some way
The program included a short segment about
pet owners.

uniform adj

being the same in all its parts or among all its
members
Grade A eggs must be of uniform size.

virtual adj

very nearly a particular thing
Finding a cheap place to rent is a virtual
impossibility in this area.

weevil noun [C]

a small insect that feeds on grain, flour etc and
spoils it

be taken in

to be completely deceived by sb who lies to you
Don't be taken in by products claiming to help
you lose weight in a week.

chide verb [chide–chided–chid] [I, T] written

to tell sb that you do not approve of sth they
have done or said
[chide sb for (doing) sth] She chided him for not
responding to her Christmas cards.

sprig noun [C]

a small stem or part of a branch with leaves or
flowers on it
[+ of]: a sprig of parsley

B