Frozen Pizza and Other Slices of Life Level 6

by Antoinette Moses

Award-winning original fiction for learners of English. At seven levels, from Starter to Advanced, this impressive selection of carefully graded readers offers exciting reading for every student's capabilities. A collection of stories that offer eight slices of life in England today. The themes covered include British eating habits, the media, inner-city problems, immigration, football hooliganism, student life, leisure activities and the countryside. Well-observed, lively and amusing, these stories provide a fascinating picture of the country at the start of a new century. Paperback-only version. Also available with Audio CDs including complete text recordings from the book.

Genres: School, Short Stories

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Close Enough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep meaningful story .

[Louise VdHoute · Rating 1 out of 5]

engels is traumatiserend

[Eva Garrido González · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book contains eight stories, all of them related to the lifestyle in England, although most of the situations described could be found in our country and most of them.
"The two worlds" is about the poverty that we can find around the corner. Makes me wonder if we haven't normalized a latent problem. It touched my heart when Sophie is surprised that she can enter the gallery for free without anyone forbidding her.

"The old oak bowl" deals with the topic of migration. I like the quote at the beginning since "Things are not always what you believe them to be"

"Frozen pizza" narrates the experience of a young student who doesn't like the host family lifestyle compared to the lifestyle of his family. I wouldn't like it either, but I have to admit that every day our lifestyle is becoming more like the one in the story.

"Sweetie". This story tells of a spoiled, selfish, repellent, stupid girl and endless adjectives that come to my mind. The kind of girl we can find in any family in our neighborhood.

"The Start Reporter" The story is based on the double-edged sword that is the gossip press. The young female protagonist of the story is completely denied the benefit of the doubt, being prosecuted (and persecuted) a second time.

"Don't miss the Mozart" has been the funniest of all and the most predictable too. I immediately noticed the confusion.

"The shivering Mountain". For me it has been the least interesting and the one that least reflects characteristics of England, except, of course, for the weather.

In short, a book to pass the time and learn English, little else.

[Olga · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lo tuve que leer para la universidad y la verdad es que exceptuando un par de historias las demás me aburrieron demasiado. Aunque el lenguaje no es muy complicado así que viene bien para practicar la lectura en inglés.

[Katiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Practicando el reading que nunca está de más. Son ocho relatos sencillos sobre la vida moderna en Inglaterra, no son fascinantes (un poco on the nose casi todos) pero dan un buen punto de partida para conversaciones interesantes en un club de lectura.

[Indigo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mid

[Dayana ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

No tiene dibujos , capítulos largos, pensaba que era todo el libro de la misma historia, pero no son varias historias. Vocabulario interesante

[Tess Timperman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't get it. I don't like 3rd person narrative.

[Totalkelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mon premier livre en anglais

[Rizky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of them are really funny stories and many lesson I learned from them. I really enjoyed the last one because it is beautiful, but Frozen Pizza is the best one because I found it sometimes in reality.

[Francisco Cebrián · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pongo mi opinión en castellano, porque hacerlo en Inglés me sería más costoso y quiero hacer unas cuantas más hoy.

Sobre este libro tengo que decir que no es tanto un 'quiero, pero no puedo', sino un 'tengo, pero no pongo'. Creo que, si la misión del libro es recrear la sociedad inglesa, se podrían haber cogido tópicos o estereotipos más exclusivos de la misma. Así pues, el tema de las clases, las influencias raciales y demás, como en las primeras historias, así como el hooliganismo y el Chelsea son muy fieles, pero ideas como la de Sweetie (típica hija malcriada de impulsos psicopáticos que expolia a sus padres hasta la saciedad y busca corromper a sus amigos creyéndose que huele a canela) pasan aquí, en Rusia y en la Cochinchina, así como también lo hace la escena de Frozen Pizza, que le da título al libro. Familias rotas que viven al margen de costumbres, desprecian la unión o incluso se adaptan a vivir separadas las hay alrededor de todo el mundo, no solo en Inglaterra -donde la idea de familia puede ser más espuria que aquí, pero tampoco andan tan lejanas, si no es incluso a favor de mi crítica-, como también el ejemplo que se usa en el libro es, a ratos, redundante; una familia como la que cita la historia sí que creo que no debe existir; vale que el patrón sí, pero exagerar los rasgos hasta que parezca sacado de otra película de psicópatas me parecía un poco excesivo cuanto menos (y que esta idea sea la que nombre al libro explica la opinión de él que tengo).

Sí debo quedarme con la historia de 'Robbie', que narra el amarillismo y la pelea continua por despedazar al próximo en pleno acto de hipocresía que hubo en la sociedad británica en sus tiempos más antiguos y que, en las altas esferas -como ocurre en muchos otros lugares- perdura. La verdad es que el libro en sí me pareció muy de dos estrellas, pero quizá por esta historia, menos previsible y un poco más inglesa y humana, no hice una sangría a la hora de puntuar. Lo mismo con la del hooligan, aunque a veces se introduzcan elementos un tanto fantásticos.

Un libro que te recomiendo si no vas a buscarle una crítica muy mordaz, es decir, si lo compras solo por aprender más nivel (es un supuesto C1, más tirando a un B2), si vas a leerlo sin darle importancia a la trama o sin juzgar si ha llegado al objetivo previsto. Si no, quizá se te quede un tanto corto.

[Suza Ćirić · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that has changed my mind about some ordinary situations that I face with almost every day, starting from media, to poverty, football hooliganism, etc, etc.. Several different people, different characters, have been put in a several situations. Situations that are explaining, how different people live in nowdays, and their different ways of understanding this life. The way that they suffered in their lives, they way that they are surviving day by day, and at the end, the way that they have changed. Each of them had changed themselves at the end, through some new knowledge that has changed their view of life, somehow. The way that psychological profiles of heroes are changing, as they get involved in some of the situations, is visible in their way of talking, some of them become more eloquent when they start receiving the new information about certain things, some of them start seeing things that they didn't see before, and some of them start understanding things that they didn't understand before.
I would not agree with the statement that there is no point in this book. There is a point. And it's very clear. The point that follows every story that is told in this book. A point is that we should get more conscious about the world that is surrounding us. We should get more conscious about some ordinary things, but also about some particular situations. We should never stop being curious about what is happening around us. That there are many ways of living in this world, many ways of surviving. And every induvidual writes a story by itself. Every individual represent a new story.
The book is very easy for reading, as sentences are simple and short.
We need more books like this. Books that are not beautified to the perfection, but books who are telling us a real stories, in their real forms.
I would recommend this book to the persons who have time and who are curious about all slices of life. Hope you will enjoy it.

[Bingjie]

(Question 1,15) The book named Frozen Pizza and Other Slices of Life is edited by Antoinette Moses, it has many different stories .Some are long,some are short. One of the story is called Frozen Pizza. One international student came to England to study,he chose a family to live because he thought it could help him improve his English. When he arrived,he found his room was full of rabbits on the wall which is painted by the hostess Mrs Stonehouse. She was very proud of her painting, and she thought so was the young man.The young man hoped that the family would like his own family in his own country.But he was totally wrong.As Mrs Stonehouse said,it's a independent family. Everyone has their own lives and it seemed they never be together even when they have meals. When the young man follow Mrs Stonehouse to the kitchen,he found there was no cooker and the freezer was full of frozen pizza.They just eat frozen pizza and Mrs Stonehouse thought it was the easiest way .The young man was so disappointed .He just lived in the house for one night ,the next day he moved out.
Sometimes ,I will buy some frozen pizza or cooked meal,too.It is really easy,you don't have to cook for a long time and wash many dishes after cooking.But I don't eat them often because they really don't taste good. I will even feel so poor when I eat them.So ,when I have time ,I prefer to cook by myself.Because it's life and you should enjoy it.In China,people like to have dinner with their family at home. We sit around a table,talk together and enjoy what mother or grandma cooked.It's so sweet time.In US,I think more people eat fast food and they like to have dinner in the restaurant . Maybe that's our difference in tradition.

[S.H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frozen Pizza and other slices of life includes eight different short stories in the book. Every story has its own meaning telling you some same situations might happen in your life.
“One of The Lads” is one of my favorite stories. Luke was always with his gangs even though he did not think he belonged to them. He just followed them and did what they liked but he didn’t. He never refused their request until the event happened when they went to Amsterdam to watch a football game. They were angry and noisy in the bar in Amsterdam, and a passenger asked Luke if they were his friends. Until this time, Luke determined he did not want to be their friends any more; he had to refuse them because he actually did not like to stay with them. I have the same experience with Luke sometimes, and I think I am not the only one have the same situation. Most people must have the situation that it is hard to refuse something when friends ask because they are friends, and so do I. People are sometimes afraid they might not be friends if they refuse their request. However, the story tells us that we have to bravely refuse the request when we do not like; otherwise, we will be very unhappy when you do the thing, but we cannot complain because we have promised our friend. If we want to avoid the situation, we should refuse at start and tell them the reason. I think they could show understanding for your difficulty.

[Reese · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book during my spring break. It is easy to read cause sentences in the book are short and simple, but it looks like having a fixed-form like essays you can see in the text book. Sometimes, I can guess the ending of the short story and it makes me boring. However, there're a lot of good expressions I can use these right now in reality and I always wonder how can I express some situations. I write down some sentences to remember. For example..like this "he did begin to sense that my concentration was wandering because I kept playing with my hair." in 'sweetie'. So easy to express! I always play with my hair like other girls whenever. Anyway.. I can feel the publisher tried to use easy and useful sentences for students to study English. Another good point is I can understand a life of living in England, not the U.S. As you know, there are many difference berween England and the U.S. such as culture, life styles, characters, and even words. Through this book, I have known many words just used in England.

[Olivia kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book seems to published to test the reader's tolerance. So hard to keep my eyes on this book. Maybe more one week took to finish this. In the middle of the days, i was in the desire to stop reading this at least three times more, but i stood with my strong will..Oh..God..Thanks..I 've finished it..This book consits of various stories in each chapter, like omnibus. I couldn't catch what the writer wants to tell me. He draws about life in various ways, identity, emotion, hooligan,child, e-mail and so on. There is story but any feeling. If i try to pick one story to make me think a little, very a little in this book , i will choose the story named " FROZNE PIZZA " . In this story, i had a short meditation about the materialistic life. The convinience from the electical stuff and fast food but no feeling. The slowness from the home-meal but warm feeling. What to choose? Of course, the latter.

[Namiko · Rating 4 out of 5]

It contents:

Two Worlds
The Old Oak Bowl
One of the Lads
Frozen Pizza
Sweetie
The Star Reporter
Don't Miss the Mozart!
The Shivering Mountain

It is interesting to learn issues of England. I enjoyed each story. I particular like "The Star Reporter" , which has a twist at the end. I like Mr. Walker from "The Old Oak Bowl." "Don't Miss the Mozart!" is funny. "Sweetie" is interesting because it is all about Nikki's email messages. "Two Worlds" makes me think what people's lives are. I enjoyed the ending of "The Shivering Mountain," which is about boys' friendship right after I read "the Body."

[Kookkik · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book can change my mind quickly. Is a book of life. Have a lot of emotion in this book. How do feel about your mistake. How you won't give up of things, how you accept something you don't want to. This book have a lot kind life that have pass through. I like chapter 3 the old oak bowl because I like the quote in this chapter " it was right to tell the truth, even if people didn't alway want to hear it". Make me believe in me more, Pursue my destination and dream

[Aom · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really like this book. Frozen pizza and other slices of life is talk about life , how you live, how to suvive in a different way. this book wilol teach you not to easy give on something,teach you to thing in a positive way, it can make me think what people's lives are. some other short story also fun and interest to read too. some short story make me think of my childhood, family, life friends and many things...

[Petra Ramsak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book for my English class. Compared to the other books made for non-english speakers this one was really fun. It contains lots of short stories and a couple of them are a bit boring but the others are light and simple. I quite liked it.

[José]

I'm learning to read English carefully but efectivelly precisely whit this booK

[Otra Niña Perdida · Rating 3 out of 5]

He leído este libro para mi clase de inglés y no ha estado taaaaaaaan mal como pensaba, jajaja.
Hasta me he permitido el lujo de odiar a personajes. Nikki, por ejemplo.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo leí para clase, no ha estado mal del todo.

[Sally Daffarn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable short stories

[penelopewanders]

Another book ordered to possibly use with an EFL class. I'm not sure I'd use all the stories, but depending on when another book I ordered for the class arrives, I might use some of these. I realize the book was originally published in 2002, and while it still is contemporary, there's a slightly dated edge to some of the stories. I'll see how this appeals when I do use it with teenagers.