Emma was excited about her first trip to Italy. She had studied Italian for two years and wanted to practice. There was just one problem: Emma was allergic to nuts. Her allergy was serious, so she always had to be careful. Before the trip, she learned the Italian phrase for nut allergy. 'Sono allergica alle noci,' she practiced saying many times. She felt prepared and confident about ordering food. On her first evening in Rome, Emma went to a small restaurant near her hotel. The place was small but beautiful, with red tablecloths and candles. A friendly waiter came to her table with a menu. 'Buonasera, signora,' he said with a smile. Emma smiled back and said her allergy phrase carefully. 'Sono allergica alle noci,' she said slowly. The waiter nodded and said, 'No problem, I understand.' Emma was happy that he understood her Italian. She ordered pasta with tomato sauce and vegetables. The waiter wrote everything down and went to the kitchen. Twenty minutes later, a beautiful plate of pasta arrived. Emma looked at it and her heart sank. The pasta was covered with pine nuts. Pine nuts are a type of nut, and Emma could not eat them. She called the waiter back to her table. 'Excuse me, there are nuts on my pasta,' she said in Italian. The waiter looked confused and replied, 'But those are pine nuts, not walnuts.' Emma realized she had made a mistake. In Italian, 'noci' means walnuts specifically, not all nuts. The correct word for all nuts was 'frutta secca' or she should list each nut. Her face turned red with embarrassment. She tried to explain in her broken Italian. 'I am allergic to all nuts - pine nuts, almonds, everything!' The waiter suddenly understood the problem. His eyes grew wide and he quickly took the plate away. 'I am so sorry! I will bring you a new dish immediately!' He rushed to the kitchen to tell the chef. Emma felt terrible about the confusion. But she was also relieved that she noticed the nuts before eating. Ten minutes later, the waiter returned with a safe plate of pasta. This time, it had no nuts of any kind. The chef had even made a fresh batch of sauce to be safe. Emma thanked them many times and enjoyed her meal. After dinner, she went back to her hotel and looked up more words. She learned how to say 'pine nuts' and 'almonds' in Italian. She also wrote a card with her full allergy information in Italian. For the rest of her trip, she showed this card at every restaurant. Emma learned that speaking a language is more than just knowing words - you need to know the right words.
English Story (A2)Food Allergy Mix-Up
This A2 English story is designed for elementarys learning English. It includes simple vocabulary and short sentences to help you improve your reading and listening skills. Click any word to see translations and hear pronunciation.
About this story
Emma travels to Italy and tries to communicate her nut allergy at a restaurant. Despite practicing the phrase beforehand, she uses the word for walnuts specifically instead of all nuts, leading to a mix-up when pine nuts appear on her pasta. The waiter and chef quickly fix the problem, and Emma learns to be more specific about food allergies in a foreign language.
Translations in English
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Comprehension Questions
4 questions
1
Why did Emma learn an Italian phrase before her trip?
2
What did Emma's pasta look like when it arrived at the table?
3
What mistake did Emma make with her Italian allergy phrase?
4
What did Emma do after dinner to prepare for the rest of her trip?
Vocabulary
30 words from this story
