Hot Cocoa: An Ancient Treat

1/5/2022 1:29:22 PM

Do you know?

Hot cocoa, also known as drinking chocolate or hot chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener.
The history of hot cocoa began in Mesoamerica. It became popular in Europe after being introduced from Mexico in the New World and has undergone multiple changes since then.

Let's explore more in the following passage!

Let's learn some new words before you read the passage:

Listen to the passage Hot Cocoa: An Ancient Treat and complete the sentences by dragging the correct word to each blank.

Most children enjoy a nice hot cup of cocoa during the winter. Hot chocolate is a 1.1 of the holidays. This sweet treat has come a long way from its beginnings. Ancient people enjoyed hot cocoa as much as we do, but it tasted very different from what we know as hot chocolate now.

Cocoa beans found in the 1.2 of a city from 1500 B.C. tell us that ancient people enjoyed this treat. Scientists who studied the ruins found evidence that these ancient people served the beans in hot water. They found other spices with the cocoa beans. Hot cocoa is likely the oldest warm treat in the world. People 1.3 the bitter beans before they were even sweetened.

The first hot cocoa drinks served by Mayan and Aztec people also tasted bitter. Native Americans 1.4 the beans with spices. They used them with chillies. They did not use sugar in their cocoa drinks. After the Spanish came to the Americas, they also drank their cocoa bitter. They served it cold.

Years later, English people added sugar. Only then did hot cocoa become a popular dessert drink. Kings and queens enjoyed the sweet treat after dinner. Rich families bought cocoa beans to treat their children. They even served the beans to their guests. As it was considered a 1.5, hot cocoa served as a sign of 1.6. People even used cocoa beans as money!

Ancient Mexicans used hot cocoa to treat illnesses. This practice eventually spread to Europe and America. George Washington believed in hot chocolate’s health benefits. He drank a spiced cup of cocoa every morning. People all over believed it had healing properties. They used it for stomach aches.

Cocoa beans do contain healthy 1.7. They help keep people well. Doctors even believe that cocoa beans help prevent cancer, though they are not exactly sure how it works. So not only does hot cocoa keep you warm and give you a sugar fix—you don’t have to feel guilty for gulping it down!

Read and answer the following questions.

Hot Cocoa: An Ancient Treat

Written by Kari Herreman

In the past, hot cocoa served as a sign of wealth. Image: justfunfacts.com

Most children enjoy a nice hot cup of cocoa during the winter. Hot chocolate is a staple of the holidays. This sweet treat has come a long way from its beginnings. Ancient people enjoyed hot cocoa as much as we do, but it tasted very different from what we know as hot chocolate now.

Cocoa beans found in the ruins of a city from 1500 B.C. tell us that ancient people enjoyed this treat. Scientists who studied the ruins found evidence that these ancient people served the beans in hot water. They found other spices with the cocoa beans. Hot cocoa is likely the oldest warm treat in the world. People craved the bitter beans before they were even sweetened.

The first hot cocoa drinks served by Mayan and Aztec people also tasted bitter. Native Americans brewed the beans with spices. They used them with chillies. They did not use sugar in their cocoa drinks. After the Spanish came to the Americas, they also drank their cocoa bitter. They served it cold.

Years later, English people added sugar. Only then did hot cocoa become a popular dessert drink. Kings and queens enjoyed the sweet treat after dinner. Rich families bought cocoa beans to treat their children. They even served the beans to their guests. As it was considered a delicacy, hot cocoa served as a sign of wealth. People even used cocoa beans as money!

Cocoa beans do contain healthy properties. They help keep people well. Doctors even believe that cocoa beans help prevent cancer, though they are not exactly sure how it works. So not only does hot cocoa keep you warm and give you a sugar fix—you don’t have to feel guilty for gulping it down!

Source: Mobymax Reading Stories G3.4-3.6

According to the passage, hot cocoa now differs from the ancient one in terms of _____.

flavor
smell
color

Which famous president believed that hot chocolate had health benefits?

Thomas Jefferson
George Washington
Barack Obama

What is true according to the passage?

Doctors confirmed that cocoa beans help treat cancer.
Only royal families could afford hot cocoa in the past.
The change in the flavor of hot cocoa made it popular.

How does the author try to get readers involved in the article?

She suggests that readers give hot cocoa to people who have cancer.
She suggests that readers drink hot cocoa because of its health benefits.
She suggests that readers use cocoa beans as money like ancient people.

The main purpose of this passage is to _____.

prove health benefits of hot cocoa
provide information about hot cocoa
describe how to make hot cocoa

Build your vocabulary by learning these intensive phrases/idioms

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one, using the word in a bracket. You must use between THREE and FIVE words, including the word given. Do not change the word given.

He could only afford one meal a day, but he has become a billionaire now. (COME / LONG)

=> He since the days he could only afford one meal a day.

Choose the underlined part that needs correction.

Teacakes should be served hotly with butter.

Teacakes
be served
hotly
butter

Choose the word(s) CLOSET in meaning to the underlined word(s).

That soup went down a treat!

bland
tasty
cheap

Complete the second sentence using the word given so that it has the same meaning to the first

It is probable that they will call an election next spring. (LIKELY)