For thousands of years, common kitchen spices like chili, ginger, cloves, and turmeric have been used as natural remedies to ward off illnesses. The reading passage Fix It with Flavour takes us on a journey exploring traditional and modern medicine: from medieval folk remedies to advanced scientific research in the US and India on the potential of spices to aid in treating cancer, dengue fever, or pain relief.

For IELTS test-takers, the reading passage Fix It with Flavour is a unique resource on the topic of medicine & food science. The text features a rich academic vocabulary, bridging traditional and modern medical knowledge, and comes with diverse question types including: Matching Information, Sentence Completion, and Yes/No/Not Given. Below, ECE Language Center provides a detailed translation, a core vocabulary system, and a keyword-based answer analysis to help you master this reading passage.

1. Reading Passage

Fix It with Flavour

[Paragraph A] Gabriele Dionisi, a 38-year-old Italian computer wizard living in London, is a true individualist when it comes to food. He has been known to live for days on dry toast and mashed potato. He’s also very fond of tinned mackerel with biscuits, washed down with, say, an apple-and-tomato milkshake. For some unfathomable reason, he sometimes has problems with his guts. Then he makes himself a hot cup of camomile tea with honey and half a spoonful of chilli flakes. “It’s an old Italian recipe,” he says. “My grandmother taught me to make it. It’s very good for the digestion.”

[Paragraph B] Spices such as chilli have been used for medicinal purposes in Europe for centuries