Study Buddy (Challenger): Dining in the dark, with meaning, in Hong Kong
This page is for students who want to take their reading comprehension to the next level with difficult vocabulary and questions to test their inference skills.
During the Dans Le Noir experience, guests are invited to try a surprise menu designed to challenge their senses with textural elements that they cannot see. Photo: Dans Le NoirContent provided by British Council
Read the following text, and answer questions 1-9 below:
[1] You are in a pitch-black room. You must rely on senses other than sight. Your guide gently directs you – “Pull out your chair, take a step to your left and sit in it” – and as you settle into your seat, you realise you are at a dining table.
[2] It is time for the first course of the night, an appetiser specifically designed to challenge your senses with its texture and layers of flavour. And thus begins an evening of curiosity, confusion and a bit of detective work. What is that fruit in the starter? How many types of vegetables are on your plate?
[3] This is the dining in the dark experience by Dans Le Noir, a company founded by French entrepreneur Edouard de Broglie in Paris in 2004. As its name – which translates to “in the dark” – suggests, Dans Le Noir takes guests on a sensory journey with sight out of the equation. It recently signed a contract with the Le Meridien Hong Kong, Cyberport hotel in Pok Fu Lam – its first long-term project in Asia.
[4] Guests receive a briefing email before the event suggesting they wear dark clothing. Upon arrival, their bags, coats, watches and phones are checked in before entering the dining room. A visually impaired guide then leads guests through a series of curtains to their table. Throughout the dinner, the guide is their set of “eyes”.
[5] Le Meridien worked with four Hong Kong organisations, including the Hong Kong Federation of the Blind and the Ebenezer School & Home for the Visually Impaired, to recruit seven blind and visually impaired guides who work as servers for the experience. This reversal of roles feels odd but refreshing.
[6] “We are more used to being the guide, to help a blind person cross the street, for instance,” said Chanael Lenoir, chief executive of Dans Le Noir International. “You have to put your trust in this person that you don’t know and that you think is disabled. But who is disabled in the dark? It’s not the blind person. It’s a good way to understand that diversity and inclusion is also a matter of context.”
[7] Although Dans Le Noir markets itself as a food experience, the added benefit is that diners can walk a mile in the shoes of the visually impaired. And, of course, there is the food – three dishes designed by Le Meridien executive sous chef Jacky Chui to take guests on what Lenoir calls a “gastronomic journey”.
[8] The menu is set to change every three months, so repeat diners will have something to look forward to every time. Guests might also surprise themselves during the reveal. Lenoir remembers numerous times when diners were adamant they hated a particular ingredient, only to enjoy it in their unseen dish.
[9] For Dans Le Noir, success is when diners learn something new through the experience.
Source: South China Morning Post, February 14
Questions
1. In paragraph 1, sitting in a pitch-black room is intended to …
A. produce a relaxing atmosphere.
B. create a sense of disorientation.
C. bring focus to the food’s visual presentation.
D. none of the above
2. Why does the writer use the phrase “detective work” in paragraph 2?
3. What is the recommended dress code for dining at Dans Le Noir, according to paragraph 4?
4. What does the “reversal of roles” in paragraph 5 refer to?
5. In paragraph 6, the question “But who is disabled in the dark?” challenges …
A. an individual’s physical limitations.
B. societal perceptions of disability.
C. the effectiveness of visual cues.
D. society’s concept of trust.
6. Find a phrase in paragraph 7 that means “to try to understand another person’s situation by imagining yourself in their place”.
7. What does the restaurant do to attract returning customers, according to paragraph 8?
8. In paragraph 8, what unexpected discovery might some diners have after eating at Dans Le Noir?
9. Based on your understanding of the article, Lenoi hopes that guests will feel … after dining at Dans Le Noir.
A. enlightened
B. disoriented
C. contemplative
D. empathetic
Answers
1. D
2. Diners cannot see in the dark, so they have to identify the components of their meal without being able to rely on sight. (accept all similar answers)
3. dark clothing
4. Disabled people who usually require help are now the ones helping and vice versa. (accept all similar answers)
5. B
6. walk a mile in someone’s shoes
7. It changes the menu every three months.
8. That they can actually enjoy an ingredient/food they were sure they disliked or hated.
9. A