A crítica do restaurante (The restaurant review)
QECR B1247 palavras
Casa Nuria has stood on the same corner of my home town for forty years, and I ate there almost every Sunday until I moved away. Last month I went back for the first time in ten years, so take this review as the opinion of somebody who left, not of a regular customer.
The good news first. The dining room is brighter: the heavy curtains have gone and there is proper light over every table, so you can finally read the menu. There are three vegetarian main courses now, where there used to be one plate of grilled vegetables, and the staff no longer look offended if you ask what is in the sauce. The bill came two minutes after I asked for it, which used to be unthinkable.
Something else left with the curtains, though. The menu used to be written by hand every morning, depending on what the market had; today it is printed, laminated and identical to the one on their website. The bean stew my grandmother ordered for thirty years has gone. The portions have shrunk as well, and the prices have not.
So, a mixed verdict. It is a better-run place than the one I remember: cleaner, faster, kinder to anybody who does not eat meat. It is also more predictable, and I miss being surprised. Perhaps a family business cannot grow up and stay unpredictable. I will be back in the summer, and I will still ask for the stew.
Palavras que talvez não conheças
- reviewcrítica, avaliação
- curtaincortina
- main courseprato principal
- staffpessoal, funcionários
- billconta
- laminatedplastificado
- stewguisado, estufado
- portiondose, porção
- to shrinkencolher, diminuir
- verdictveredicto, juízo
Perguntas
Respondem-se com o texto à frente. Não é memória: é perceber.
How long had the writer been away from Casa Nuria?
Ten years — «I went back for the first time in ten years». Quarenta anos é o tempo que o restaurante tem aberto; um mês é o tempo que passou desde a visita.
The dining room is now ___ than it was, because the heavy curtains have gone.
brighter — «The dining room is brighter: the heavy curtains have gone». Como a frase compara com o que havia antes, é preciso o comparativo: brighter, não bright. Também se aceita lighter.
Casa Nuria offers more vegetarian main courses than it did ten years ago.
True — Verdadeiro: «There are three vegetarian main courses now, where there used to be one plate of grilled vegetables». O used to be marca o que havia antes, e três é mais do que um.
Which change is presented as something the restaurant has lost?
The menu is no longer written by hand each morning — A luz e a rapidez estão no parágrafo 2, entre as melhorias. A ementa escrita à mão conforme o que havia no mercado está no 3, entre o que se perdeu: agora é impressa e sempre igual.
What does the text tell us about the amount of food and the prices?
You get less food, but you do not pay less for it — «The portions have shrunk as well, and the prices have not». Esse have not é uma elipse: subentende shrunk, ou seja, os preços não baixaram. O texto não diz que sejam os mesmos de antes, apenas que não baixaram; por isso a opção fala em não pagar menos.
Which sentence best sums up the final verdict?
The restaurant is run better than before, but it no longer surprises the writer — A mixed verdict: better-run por um lado, more predictable e I miss being surprised por outro. Nem um elogio nem uma queixa, e a prova é que tenciona voltar no verão.