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Baking

Learn about Gerunds and Infinitives

Date: Jan 06 2012

Themes: Food, Hobbies

Grammar: Gerunds vs. Infinitives

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Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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There’s nothing like freshly baked cookies to sweeten up your day and make your whole house smell delicious. But some people seem to have the magic touch when it comes to baking, while others struggle to get even the simplest recipe to turn out right.

Baking is different from cooking in that it’s not as easy to make changes to the recipe. If you don’t use the right amount of each ingredient, your brownies could fail to rise, or your cookies could come out of the oven hard as a rock. On the other hand, if you follow the recipe carefully, you should be OK. But as Ella explains to Marni, that isn’t true for everyone.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Ella

Marni: Ella, I just baked you a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Ella: Oh, thank you. I thought you were going to say I would have to help you bake, because it would be a disaster then.

Marni: Oh, really? You don’t like to bake?

Ella: I don’t like to bake. I don’t like to cook. I just don’t have the patience to wait, and baking is a lot of waiting and watching. And also, I don’t like to measure.

Marni: Baking, you have to be really exact, whereas cooking, you can be a little more spontaneous. Throw in a little of this, a little of that. But baking, you have to follow the recipe to a T. But I love it. It’s just so relaxing to me. It’s so rewarding to have your house smell like fresh baked cookies or bread or cake or pastries.

Ella: I can’t do it. I mean, I love the end results, so that’s why I love to go to a bakery after someone else has done the hard work. But I myself could never be a baker. I don’t have what it takes.

Marni: Well, it’s a good thing you have friends who like to bake. You sure you don’t want me to show you sometime?

Ella: I’m good. I’ll just eat this cookie instead.

Marni: OK.

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Discussion

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Marni has baked some cookies. She offers them to Ella. Ella is relieved that she didn’t have to help make the cookies, because although she loves eating baked goods, she hates baking.

Ella says she is bad at baking because she is too impatient, and she doesn’t like measuring. To bake, you have to carefully measure out the ingredients. Unlike Ella, Marni thinks baking is relaxing and rewarding.

Do you like to bake? What is your favorite thing to bake?

Comments

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AUL

Azerbaijan

hm….ok

;) it means u’ll bake we will eat :)

manu_wj

Italy

AUL, I’m not a baker, I just love cooking. It’s one among my numerous hobbys. I’ve already written a post about it but I can repet this for you.

I love cooking and a bit less baking. I prefer to cook by stove and food like pasta, fish and meet. I don’t like so much sweets

wwongsapun

Thailand

I like to eat all kind of bake but I don’t like to make it. :D

AUL

Azerbaijan

Manu, are u baker?

manu_wj

Italy

cooknig is fantasy catcher. Try again following tastes you like more and put your dish in a plate dressing it with colored vegetables, spices and souces…

The appaearance is important

AUL

Azerbaijan

Catcher , Dont be upset

there is no reason for it

there alot of girls who failed and you’re man and it’s normal

my brother even if cant make tea or egg :)

and in this site alot of bakers we have they’ll cook and we eat with pleasure :)

Echo Dong

China

i haven’t tried to do that,but maybe i should try someday.it seems fun to bake or cook.in my family,my mother do that things.

CatcheR

Iceland

Aul, I have tried to bake and failed.. :(

Amir Kuroor

Afghanistan

I love cooking. It is so rewarding! waiting, watching,measuring, and smelling the delicious smell while cooking.I used to be cooking when I was a student and was living by myself away from family. but unfortunately I don’t cook now. and I haven’t tried baking yet, so no comment about it.

AUL

Azerbaijan

why Catcher?

dhtt86

United States

I love baking, but ve not done cokies yet just some kinds of plain and wrapping cakes. but thazz trues u have lost of fun witg baking activites

CatcheR

Iceland

It’s failed :( , I don’t want to talk about it :(( saaaaaaaaaad :(

tilwayne

Morocco

How cozy would anybody feel when he comes back home and smells a yummy nose-tickling recipe being cooked.
Honestly I don’t consider marrying a woman who doesn’t know how to cook : )
(An opinion to respect)

marwa89

Syrian Arab Republic

i ‘m as impatient as Ella,i dont like baking,waiting,watching and measuring.i have friends like baking and cooking but not me.i baked one time but the cake was hard and on one of my family like it ,so i prefer end results.

nfrtary

Egypt

Ryo the woman who prefer only cook and have children we can`t also called her (servent) coz it is her desire and we must respect her desire like we respect the woman who prefer to work and be possitve one in society.

this one choose this thing and the nother choose something else

everyone of us have desires

nfrtary

Egypt

Ryo why said that i`s depends and by the way if you cook anything by force just because his husband or father or whatever i don`t expect to be agood meal coz the food isn`t only ingredients

something else when i saw the husband cooks for her wife in this cas i called the husband servent (of course not)