[00:01.080]--- lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison
[00:07.880]--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
[00:13.400]--- What was it about snails that made the writer collect them for his friend on that day in particular?
[00:21.720]People become quite illogical when they try to decide what can be eaten and what cannot be eaten.
[00:29.440]If you lived in the Mediterranean, for instance, you would consider octopus a great delicacy.
[00:36.320]You would not be able to understand why some people find it repulsive.
[00:41.320]On the other hand, your stomach would turn at the idea of frying potatoes in animal fat -- the normally accepted practice in many northern countries.
[00:51.360]The sad truth is that most of us have been brought up to eat certain foods and we stick to them all our lives.
[00:59.680]No creature has received more praise and abuse than the common garden snail.
[01:05.800]Cooked in wine, snails are a great luxury in various parts of the world.
[01:12.000]There are countless people who, ever since their early years, have learned to associate snails with food.
[01:19.080]My friend, Robert, lives in a country where snails are despised.
[01:25.240]As his flat is in a large town, he has no garden of his own.
[01:30.520]For years he has been asking me to collect snails from my garden and take them to him.
[01:36.960]The idea never appealed to me very much,
[01:39.760]but one day, after heavy shower,
[01:42.440]I happened to be walking in my garden when I noticed a huge number of snails taking a stroll on some of my prize plants.
[01:50.800]Acting on a sudden impulse, I collected several dozen, put them in a paper bag, and took them to Robert.
[01:59.000]Robert was delighted to see me and equally pleased with my little gift.
[02:03.960]I left the bag in the hall and Robert and I went into the living room where we talked for a couple of hours.
[02:11.040]I had forgotten all about the snails when Robert suddenly said that I must stay to dinner.
[02:17.240]Snails would, of course, be the main dish.
[02:21.000]I did not fancy the idea and I reluctantly followed Robert out of the room.
[02:26.600]To our dismay, we saw that there were snails everywhere:
[02:30.960]they had escaped from the paper bag and had taken complete possession of the hall!
[02:36.440]I have never been able to look at a snail since then.