activity of text interpretation, aimed at students in the fifth year of elementary school, on yeast. Did you know that the one used in bread is a fungus? Shall we better understand this matter? So, read the text carefully! Then answer the various interpretive questions proposed!
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SCHOOL: DATE:
PROF: CLASS:
NAME:
Read:
The ingredient responsible for making bread soft and fluffy is yeast, have you heard that? Yes, but the most interesting thing about it all is that the yeast used in bread, called biological yeast, is a fungus. I mean, one, no, several fungi.
But calm down, you don't have to be disgusted. When talking about fungus, in general, people tend to remember only the mold that contaminates food or the fungi that cause diseases. We cannot forget that champignons, for example, small edible mushrooms, are fungi and they are used in the preparation of various foods.
Yeast fungi are not big like mushrooms, but microscopic beings, called yeast, that live in the air and on the surface of things. When coming into contact with the bread dough, these yeasts, named by scientists as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, feed on sugars and, at the same time, eliminate alcohol and carbon dioxide - a process called fermentation or leavening.
Carbon dioxide is responsible for the bubbles that form in the bread dough and for making it increase in volume. The alcohol evaporates when the dough is put in the oven (so there's no risk of anyone getting drunk!), and the poor yeast, after so much work, all die! These same yeasts are also what turn grape juice into wine.
But an important note: you should not confuse the biological yeast, used in bread and pizza dough, with the chemical yeast used to make cake. Chemical yeast is made up of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) which, due to a chemical reaction, turns into carbon dioxide and water. This reaction is aided by the increase in temperature and only ceases when all the yeast has reacted.
Maria Ramos.
Available in: .
Question 1 - In “Yeah, but the most interesting of all is that the yeast used in bread, called biological yeast, is a fungus.”, the highlighted passage is:
( ) an opinion.
( ) a hypothesis.
( ) a justification.
Question 2 – In the segment “Yeast fungi are not big as the mushrooms […]”, the underlined term indicates:
( ) An example.
( ) a conclusion.
( ) a comparison.
Question 3 – The author of the text begins to explain the fermentation process:
( ) in the 3rd paragraph.
( ) in the 4th paragraph.
( ) in the 5th paragraph.
Question 4 – The text mentions a food prepared with chemical yeast, which is different from biological yeast. Identify this food:
( ) bread.
( ) cake.
( ) Pizza.
Question 5 - Watch:
“Chemical yeast is made up of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) which, due to a chemical reaction, turns into carbon dioxide and water.
The underlined fact expresses:
( ) the cause of another.
( ) the purpose of another.
( ) the consequence of another.
Question 6 - In the passage “This reaction is aided by the increase in temperature and only cease when all the yeast reacts.” In other words, just:
( ) “for when all the yeast reacts”.
( ) “decreases when all the yeast reacts”.
( ) “increases when all the yeast reacts”.
Question 7 - Identify one of the segments in which the author addresses the reader directly:
( ) “Carbon dioxide is responsible for the bubbles that form in the bread dough […]”
( ) “These same yeasts are also the ones that turn grape juice into wine.”
( ) “[…] you should not confuse the biological yeast, used in bread dough […]”
By Denyse Lage Fonseca
Graduated in Letters and specialist in distance education.
