English meal

In Great Britain as everywhere else there are no strict rules when we speak about meals, but 0 _ ___ ____the British have some traditions, such as: they usually have breakfast, lunch, and tea at five o’clock and dinner. If the dinner is late enough it is A1________ _supper. Sometimes they have both dinner and supper, if they like. The A2_________ meal of the day for an ordinary Englishman is considered to be breakfast. It is usually held between 7 and 9 o’clock. It must be rather big and nourishing, much bigger than breakfast on the Continent. Traditional British breakfast consists A3_________ bacon, ham or sausages, fried or boiled eggs, some porridge, cornflakes, toasts, jam, a cup of coffee or strong tea. Certainly some people don’t like the idea of A4__________ too much food in the morning and prefer to eat a slice of bread and butter, a boiled egg, some fruit and drink a glass of juice. The English like to eat their boiled eggs with small spoons with some salt. Toasts are usually eaten with butter and some marmalade.

Between 12 and 1.30 p.m. the British have their lunch. It is not as heavy as breakfast and usually consists of some tiny sandwiches or rolls, cold ham, a packet of crisps, some fruit and some drink: a cup of coffee, tea with sugar and milk or cream. Children prefer juice or milk. Mothers usually give their children plastic containers with A5_________ food to be eaten at school or college.

At midday from 1.30 till 2.30 the British have their dinner. Some people eat their dinner rather late: from 6.30 to 8.00 p.m. Then they call it «supper». It depends upon their minds. It is the main meal of the day. It may consist of several courses, such as roast meat, chops, beefsteaks, accompanied with vegetables. In Britain the most common kinds of meat A6_________ beef, chicken, lamb and pork. Meat is traditionally served with hot sauce. The most popular vegetables are potatoes, cabbages, onions, peas, carrots and tomatoes. After the main course a sweet pie or a pudding or stewed fruit may come.

The so-called «five-o’clock tea» is quite a substantial meal. The British have it A7_________ five and six p.m. Traditional «five-o’clock» usually consists of ham, sausages or tongue, tinned salmon, bread, butter, cheese, caviar (it depends upon the budget, of course), buns, cakes, pies, different kinds of pastries with cream or custard, stewed and tinned fruit: apples, apricots, pears, pineapples and so on. Everything is served with terribly strong tea! Of course, «five-o’clock» are not available for everybody and every day. This type of meals is common for people of high rank or, perhaps, for well-to-do families. They invite guests and spend a few hours A8_________ at table and chatting.