Why Vanilla Is So Expensive
I
Lead-in.
a)
How would you translate the word ‘vanilla’
into your language? What are the associations with the word ‘vanilla’ in your
country?
b)
Do you like the taste of vanilla? Where
can you find vanilla?
II Study the active vocabulary and focus on
Ukrainian equivalents of English words.
basic простий
boring нудний
average пересічний
run of the mill звичайний
price tag цінник
mature дозрівати
bloom цвітіння
bean
біб
pollinate запилювати
capable of здатний
deforestation вирубка лісів
reduce скорочувати
natural habitat природнє середовище існування
cure відновлюватись
harvest збирати урожай
time-consuming що вимагає багато
часу
labour-intensive
трудомісткий
artificial штучний
overtake охоплювати
cut back скоротити
demand попит
pledge ручатися
eliminate ліквідувати
flavouring ароматизатор
volatile нестійкий
target мішень
theft крадіжка
cultivate вирощувати
supply chain ланцюг
постачання
purchase купувати
prevent запобігти
ripe дозрілий
unripe незрілий
brand таврувати
prong протикати
run the risk ризикувати
cyclone циклон
artificial
штучний
increase збільшувати
frequency повторюваність
wipe out знищувати
crop
врожай
wind up завершувати
sought-after бажаний
delicacy делікатес
III Watch the video and fill in the gaps with the words
from the list. There are some words you don’t need to use.
Beans; birds; basic; timely; prices; nature; mean; produced; mature; bloom;
vanilla; flowers; expensive; changes; native; deforestation; villa; perfumes; yogurt;
beam; pollinated; months; silver; time-consuming
You might think of vanilla as 1)_____. The word is even
used to 2)_____ “boring, average, or basic”.
Why do we have to go all vanilla on
this song? See what we need is my chocolate thunder.
But 3)_____may not always be so run of the mill.
Vanilla 4)_____have climbed so high
it's worth more by weight than 5)_____, and that high price tag could be bad
news for lovers of ice cream, 6)_____, chocolate, and even 7)_____.
One reason vanilla has gotten so 8)_____is, it's hard to
grow. Vanilla vines take two to four years to fully 9)_____, and their flowers only 10)_____for one day of the
year. In order for the plants to produce 11)_____, they have to be pollinated that day.
In most places where vanilla is grown, it isn't a 12)_____plant, and there aren't bugs or 13)_____capable of
pollinating the 14)_____. Vanilla is native
to Mexico, but 15)_____
there has greatly reduced its natural habitat. In Madagascar, where over
80% of vanilla is 16)_____, the flowers have to
be 17)_____by hand. The pods
need several 18)_____to cure after
harvesting. The whole process is 19)_____and labour-intensive. But the record
high price of vanilla also has to do with 20)_____in the vanilla market.
IV Match the words with their meanings.
1.
market
2.
run-of-the-mill
3.
bug
4.
boring
5.
basic
6.
labour-intensive
7.
harvest
8.
bloom
9.
deforestation
10.time-consuming
11.pollinate
12.price tag
13.perfume
c)
not outstanding in quality, not special
f) to produce flowers
l) needing a lot of workers
V
Match the words from two columns to make collocations used in the text. Use
four collocations in your sentences.
1.
|
be used
|
a)
|
news
|
2.
|
by
|
b)
|
of
|
3.
|
price
|
c)
|
beans
|
4.
|
bad
|
d)
|
natural habitat
|
5.
|
in
|
e)
|
order to
|
6.
|
produce
|
f)
|
hand
|
7.
|
native
|
g)
|
weight
|
8.
|
capable
|
h)
|
native to
|
9.
|
be
|
i)
|
plant
|
10.
|
reduce
|
j)
|
to mean
|
11.
|
by
|
k)
|
high price
|
12.
|
record
|
l)
|
tag
|
VI Fill in the gaps
with the prepositions.
for; in; to; in; for;
by; of; by; of; to; of
1.
People often think ____ vanilla as basic.
2.
The record high price of vanilla is the result of the changes ____ the
vanilla market.
3.
Vanilla is native ____ Mexico.
4.
____ order for the plants to produce beans, they have to be pollinated
that day.
5.
In Madagascar vanilla flowers are pollinated ____ hand.
6.
Vanilla vines take two ____ four years to fully mature.
7.
In most places where vanilla is grown, there are no bugs or birds
capable ____ pollinating the flowers.
8.
Vanilla is worth more ____ weight than silver.
9.
High vanilla prices are bad news ____ lovers of ice cream, yogurt, and
chocolate.
10.Vanilla flowers only bloom ____ one day
____ the year.
VII Watch the
video and fill in the gaps in the text.
In the 1980s, cheaper 1)____ vanilla overtook the 2)____ . Vanilla farmers cut back 3)____ because they weren't making enough money. But
around 2011, 4)____ for real vanilla
rose again. Big companies were joining the all-natural 5)____ , pledging to eliminate artificial 6)____ from their products, but it's taken a while
for the vanilla 7)____ to get back in
the game and they don't all want to.
Growing vanilla is a 8)____ and volatile business because there is such
high 9)____ , vanilla beans are a target
for 10)____ . After working hard to
cultivate their crops some farmers have their 11)____ stolen. As the stolen beans move up the
supply chain, they get 12)__ __ in with legally purchased beans making it
difficult for 13)____ to know which are
which. To prevent theft, farmers pick the beans before they're 14)____ and unripe beans means lower 15)____ vanilla. Farmers also try to prevent theft by
branding their vanilla crops with a metal pronged brand. That way buyers can 16)____ what farm the vanilla came from.
Farmers also run the 17)____ of having their crops destroyed by extreme 18)____ events. Cyclones are common in Madagascar and
19)____ change is increasing the
frequency and intensity of those 20)____
. If a cyclone were to wipe out vanilla crops next year, it would take
until at least 2022 for new 21)____ to
start producing beans, and farmers might not want to take that risk. So the
supply could continue to 22)____ even
further. The once basic, boring vanilla may wind up becoming a rare
sought-after 23)____ .
VIII Match the words with their meanings. There are some words you don’t
need to use.
1.
theft
2.
farmer
3.
frequency
4.
volatile
5.
ripe
6.
wind up
7.
cut back
8.
eliminate
9.
crop
10.sought-after
11.artificial
12.delicacy
13.stressful
14.purchase
15.demand
16.overtake
b)
to use
something in smaller amounts
c) willingness and ability to buy something
d) causing
mental or emotional stress
k)
to find yourself in an unexpected and usually unpleasant
situation
IX Fill in the gaps with the
prepositions.
with; by; for; for; of;
in; from; back; from; up; in; out; in
1.
____ the 1980s, cheaper artificial
vanilla overtook the market.
2.
Vanilla farmers cut ____production
because they weren't making enough money.
3.
Not all vanilla farmers wanted to get
back ____the game.
4.
Vanilla beans are often a target
____theft.
5.
Cyclones often wipe ____vanilla crops.
6.
But in 2011, demand ____real vanilla
rose again.
7.
Farmers also run the risk ____having
their crops destroyed ____extreme weather events.
8.
Big companies wanted to eliminate
artificial flavourings ____their products.
9.
Nowadays buyers can identify what farm
the vanilla came ____.
10.The stolen beans get mixed ____
____legally purchased beans.
11.Vanilla may wind ____becoming a rare sought-after delicacy.
X
Match the words from two columns to make collocations used in the text. Use
four collocations in your sentences.
1.
|
artificial
|
a)
|
money
|
2.
|
overtake
|
b)
|
crops
|
3.
|
cut back
|
c)
|
theft
|
4.
|
make
|
d)
|
in the game
|
5.
|
demand
|
e)
|
beans
|
6.
|
all-natural
|
f)
|
purchased beans
|
7.
|
artificial
|
g)
|
business
|
8.
|
to get back
|
h)
|
weather events
|
9.
|
stressful and volatile
|
i)
|
out
|
10.
|
high
|
j)
|
the market
|
11.
|
target for
|
k)
|
delicacy
|
12.
|
cultivate
|
l)
|
risk
|
13.
|
supply
|
m)
|
for
|
14.
|
legally
|
n)
|
change
|
15.
|
unripe
|
o)
|
vanilla
|
16.
|
prevent
|
p)
|
demand
|
17.
|
run the
|
q)
|
trend
|
18.
|
extreme
|
r)
|
theft
|
19.
|
climate
|
s)
|
flavouring
|
20.
|
wipe
|
t)
|
chain
|
21.
|
sought-after
|
u)
|
production
|
XI
Watch all the parts of the video and answer the questions.
1
What are the associations with the word ‘vanilla’ in English?
2
How much does vanilla cost today? What is the price of vanilla compared to?
3
In what products can people find vanilla?
4
What makes vanilla so difficult to grow?
5
In what countries do farmers grow vanilla?
6
What countries is vanilla native do? Does it grow in those countries in large
quantities? Why or why not?
7
In what countries do farmers produce most of vanilla? What difficulties do they
have?
8
Why don’t companies want to use artificial vanilla?
9
What is unusual about vanilla bloom and pollination?
10
Is it easy to grow vanilla?
11
Why do people steal vanilla beans? How can farmers protect their crops?
12
How does weather influence vanilla crops? What weather conditions can affect
vanilla crops?
XII
OVER TO YOU.
A) Think about the ways to change the situation in
which vanilla is becoming extremely expensive and rare, what could people do to
preserve this plant and still use natural vanilla in their products?
B) Invent a luxury product that contains vanilla and
which only super rich can afford. What is this product like? What makes it so
special?
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