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Lesson 25 / Cooking
5 phrases · 12 minutes · Look, listen and try.
Prepare dishes, adjust the temperature and clean up after meals.
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A randomly assigned, fixed male or female synthetic voice for each phrase or sentence · Slow playback at 0.7× preserves pitch.
Could you take away these empty plates?
Could you take away these empty plates?
The waiter took the bowls away after lunch.
The waiter took the bowls away after lunch.
In the lesson, it means taking things out of the place they are placed; “take away” can also refer to take away food.
The soup is too hot. Let it cool down first.
The soup is too hot. Let it cool down first.
I opened the lid to cool the food down.
I opened the lid to cool the food down.
Here this means reducing the temperature of something hot, rather than heating it.
Cambridge Dictionary · cool down
I will warm up the rice before we eat.
I will warm up the rice before we eat.
This soup is cold. Can you warm it up?
This soup is cold. Can you warm it up?
The meaning of food is close to “heat up”. Different from "warm up" before exercising.
Cambridge Dictionary · warm up
Cut out a star from the dough for each biscuit.
Cut out a star from the dough for each biscuit.
We cut the shapes out and put them on the tray.
We cut the shapes out and put them on the tray.
You cut to separate a shape from a large piece of paper or dough. Not all meanings of “cut out” mean cutting material.
There is one slice left. Who wants to finish it off?
There is one slice left. Who wants to finish it off?
We finished off the salad before dessert.
We finished off the salad before dessert.
With food, it means eating the last remaining portion. Phrases are also used for completing jobs.
The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 127, 28, 137, 31, 45. A2–B1 is the course’s intended level.
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Drag a wire from the dot beside a phrase to the dot beside its matching picture. You can also tap a phrase, then a picture. Drag again to change a pair before checking.
Read the picture descriptions for more context. Similar expressions are accepted when they fit the particular scene.
Minh took the dirty plates off the dining table.
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Minh placed the bowl of hot soup on the table and waited for it to cool down.
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Minh warmed cold food in a pot.
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Minh used a mold to cut star shapes from cake dough.
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Minh ate the last piece of cake left on the plate.
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Choose a phrase to begin.
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Read the conversation and find the expressions you have learned.
This soup needs to cool down before we serve it.
This soup needs to cool down before we serve it.
Then I will warm up the bread while we wait.
Then I will warm up the bread while we wait.
Thanks. We can finish off the salad first.
Thanks. We can finish off the salad first.
“Cool down” reduces temperature; “warm up” increases it. Both can describe food changing temperature or someone causing that change.
Try answering before revealing the suggested answer. This practice is not scored.
The answers below are models. Other answers can also work if they preserve the facts, meaning and structure requested in the task.
A bowl of porridge is too hot, but bread from the fridge is cold. Guests arrive in ten minutes.
Give an instruction about the porridge.
Let the porridge cool down before serving it.
The porridge is too hot, so let it cool down before serving rather than heat it further.
Correct: Warm up it for the guests.
Warm it up for the guests.
“It” replaces the food to be warmed and goes between “warm” and “up”: “warm it up”.
Describe both temperature changes in one instruction.
Let the porridge cool down while you warm up the bread.
The porridge needs cooling and the bread needs warming; “while” links the two simultaneous tasks.
The usage comparisons are checked against the Cambridge Dictionary entries linked beside the compared expressions. The additional conversations and exercises are written for this course.
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