Thousands of chip shops have closed in the last twenty-five years. Some have been turned into Chinese or Indian take-aways, others have just closed. They have survived best in seaside towns, where the fish is really fresh, and people visit them more as a tradition than for any other reason.
Yet nothing, perhaps, can save the classic fish’n’chip shop from disappearance. Fish’n’chips wrapped in newspaper is already just a memory. European hygiene rules don’t allow food to be wrapped in old newspapers, so today’s chip shops use cardboard boxes. Of course, you can still eat fish and chips with your fingers if you want, but there are now plastic throw-away forks for people who do not want to get greasy fingers!
In spite of these changes, the classic fish’n’chip shop could disappear in a few years’ time for another reason – lack of fish. For over ten years European agriculture ministers have been trying to solve the fish problem but with little success. As a result of industrial fishing, some types of fish are disappearing. Limits on the number of fish that can be caught have been introduced, but fishermen in Britain and other countries protest against them because jobs are lost. At some point, thousands of European fishermen could lose their jobs anyway, as there will be few fish left to catch. Soon sea fish will become rarer and, as a result, more expensive.
The traditional fish’n’chip shops will certainly continue to reduce in number. Soon cheap fish’n’chip shops will be gone completely. Fish and chips, however, will survive as a high-priced specialty in some expensive restaurants. In the years to come, they may become the only place where you can try this traditional English dish.
13. Fish’n’chips became popular much earlier than Big Macs.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
Ответ: _______
14. Traditionally only fish with white meat were used to make fish’n’chips.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
Ответ: _______
15. In the 19th century, in Britain, fish was more expensive than meat.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
Ответ: _______
16. According to Lizzie, today’s young people prefer burgers to fish’n’chips.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
Ответ: _______
17. The number of fish’n’chip shops in Britain is rising steadily.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated