CHANTILLY

    C H A N T I L L Y

Surrounded by Chantilly Forest, the town of 11,000 inhabitants falls within the metropolitan area of Paris. It lies 38.4 km (23.9 miles) north-northeast from the centre of Paris and together with six neighbouring communes forms an urban area of 36,474 inhabitants (1999 census).

Chantilly is also known for its horse racing track, the Chantilly Racecourse, where prestigious races are held for the prix du Jockey Club and the prix de Diane. Chantilly and the surrounding communities are home to the largest racehorse-training community in France. Chantilly gave its name to Chantilly cream and to Chantilly lace. The city was the base for the England National Football Team during the Euro 2016 Championship.

François Vatel was born either in Switzerland or in Paris in 1625, 1631, or 1635. He is widely but incorrectly credited with creating crème Chantilly (Chantilly cream), a sweet, vanilla-flavoured whipped cream, but there is no contemporary documentation for this claim, and whipped, flavored cream was known at least a century earlier.

Vatel was responsible for an extravagant banquet for 2,000 people hosted in honour of Louis XIV by Louis, the great Condé in April 1671 at the Château de Chantilly, where he died. According to a letter by Madame de Sévigné, Vatel was so distraught about the lateness of the seafood delivery and about other mishaps that he committed suicide by running himself through with his sword, and his body was discovered when someone came to tell him of the arrival of the fish. His story was depicted in the 2000 film Vatel by Roland Joffé, with Gérard Depardieu playing the role of Vatel. According to the film, Vatel committed suicide when he realized he was nothing more than property in the eyes of the nobility, his social superiors.

T E X T C O M P R E H E N S I O N

01-Check the correct sentence according to the text:

a)Chantilly has 36,474 inhabitants b)François Vatel died in Paris

c)Chantilly lies far away from Paris d)François Vatel was born in Switzerland

e)The England National Football Team was hosted in Chantilly

02-The banquet took place

a)in Switzerland b)in Paris c)at the Château de Chantilly

d)at the Chantilly Racecourse e)at the prix Du Jockey Club

03-The Prix du Jockey Club is a ______________.

a)derby b)street c)lake d)river e)square

04-François Vatel...

a)created Chantilly cream b)bred many horses

c)built the Chantilly racecourse d)invented Chantilly lace

e)passed away in Chantilly

05-Choose the synonym of the underlined word:

Vatel was responsible for an extravagant banquet for 2,000 people.

a)wasteful, profuse in expendure b)great c)big d)popular e)huge