Science Vocabulary List

Fill-In | The Science of Hamburgers

This week, in lieu of lessons, we’re running daily fill-ins .

In these exercises, which we ordinarily post weekly to help students learn vocabulary and practice reading comprehension, we choose an interesting Times article and drop out certain words or phrases from it, then invite students to fill in the blanks — either from their imaginations, or by choosing from a scrambled list of words and phrases that appear at the bottom of the post.

Today’s fill-in is about the science of hamburgers. Yes, you read that right. It’s based on John Tierney’s Findings column in the June 7 issue of Science Times: “Could Liquid Nitrogen Help Build Tasty Burgers?” It’s science, food and fun all rolled into one and served up on a platter.

Can you supply the 18 missing words in the passage below?

The World Science Festival this past week was another triumph of cultural _________, but I’m afraid there was one missed opportunity to bring art and science together. If only someone had thought to put Daniel Boulud and Nathan Myhrvold on the same stage, we could have considered the ultimate _________ question: Can science create a better burger?

While scientists were convening at festival events all over New York City, Mr. Boulud, the famed French chef, and fellow _________ were participating in a separate symposium on Friday with a wonderfully _________ title, “The State of the Hamburger.” The symposium, sponsored by Esquire magazine, was held to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the introduction of Mr. Boulud’s hamburger, which the food experts dated as the beginning of the international burger _________.

That _________, oddly enough, was the indirect result of the anti-burger movement a decade ago in France, where protesters became national heroes by ransacking a McDonald’s. During that _________, when I asked French chefs in New York what they thought of hamburgers, Mr. Boulud called them the world’s most successful snack and said the French were just _________.

“The French wish they could have invented McDonald’s,” he said, and added, as an _________, that he’d always wanted to invent an “adult burger” himself. Then he invited me and my wife to his kitchen to watch him create one combining Wyoming beef, black truffles and Colorado short ribs _________ in red wine.

“I’ll call it the D B Burger,” Mr. Boulud told me as we _________the first ones in his kitchen. “Maybe we’ll open a drive-in window and sell it in a bag.” He was kidding about the bag but not, as it turned out, about the burger, which has become the $32 signature dish of his DB bistros and inspired _________ -priced rivals around the world.

Mr. Besler's Science Class: Chapter 10:6 Spelling & Vocabulary List

This blog has been created as a means to connect with students through today's technology, at school and at home. Throughout the year, I will post the following: homework assignments, spelling and vocabulary lists, important dates (tests and projects), and discussion questions. Not only will you be able to view all of these items, but you will also be able to leave comments (questions and answers) for me. I hope you find this blog to be helpful and worth your time. Thanks for visiting!

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