Eating Utensils Around the World (2)

The history of cutlery

Knives 
Of all the eating utensils used today, knives have the longest history, dating back to early civilization. They weren't used food initially, but as tools or weapons, and were first made from stone, then bronze, and later iron. Eventually people began using knives to cut food, stab it and put it in their mouths. Because knives were costly, dinner guests would bring their own to a meal.

Spoons 
Though knives are older, spoons have been used as eating utensils longer. During the Stone Age, people used shells to scoop food and bring it to their mouth; later, handles were added, making the first official spoons.

Forks 
In 1075 a Turkish princess used a golden fork to pierce her food at her wedding in Venice, Italy. She was criticized heavily as was England's Queen Elizabeth I when she ate with a fork in the 1600s. But as travelers spread this eating custom all around Europe, it finally became commonplace during the 17th century. North Americans didn't fully embrace the use of forks until the early 1800s.

Today, however, a knife, fork and spoon can be found at every place on almost every Western dinner table.


Info Cloud
Teaching Topic: The Silent K
knife/knives
knock, know, knee, knob
古英文kn的字有發 k音,
但14,15世紀發生the Great Vowel Shift (母音大推移) 語言轉變
同時the printing press, 印刷機問世, 保留原有字拼法, 造成今日k不發音的情形


Grammar Gym
She was criticized heavily as was England's Queen Elizabeth I when she ate with a fork in the 1600s.
as was England's Queen Elizabeth I
as + [a helping verb] + subject 
- Kylie was a vegetarian, as were the rest of her family.
- Leonard finished his homework within one hour, as did his brother.


Language Lab
cutlery n. 刀具, 餐具
knives, forks, and spoons that you use for eating and serving food
- Mom put her cutlery in the dining room cabinet.
- While enjoying a steak, it's important to use the right cutlery.
crockery n. 瓷器, 杯盤
cups, dishes, plates etc [ cutlery]
- This expensive crockery and cutlery are their wedding gifts.

bronze n. 青銅, 銅;
a hard metal that is a mixture of copper and tin:
- The statue of the artist was made from bronze.
- Exhibit No. 121 is a Bronze Age shield.
bronze adj. 銅製的
/ˈbrɑːnz/
made of bronze:
- The bronze medal for the swimming competition goes to Germany.

pierce v. 穿破, 刺破,
to make a small hole in or through something, using an object with a sharp point:
- Luckily the knife didn't pierce the police officer's arm very deeply.
打孔, 打洞
to have a small hole made in your ears, nose etc so that you can wear jewelry through the hole:
- Joanne got her ears pierced when she was only 12.

commonplace adj. 普通的, 平常的, 平凡的;
happening or existing in many places, and therefore not special or unusual:
- smartphones are commonplace among teenage kids.
commonplace n. 平常的, 司空見慣的事
something that happens or exists in many places, so that it is not unusual:
- It has become commonplace for children to still live with their parents after they become adults.


mms://203.69.69.81/studio/20140531baae08dd1dbb2a325e0bf9955dd63e506792e97293dfed2eaa257c188067b47ae12.wma