What does American Eat？

美國人吃什么？

現時有這么一句流行話：住在美國，吃在中國。中國人吃東西向來講究有滋有味，講究香、酸、甜、苦、辣、麻。有很多人認為一般的美國人三餐都是面包，這種看法可類同于很多美國人認為中國人三餐都是米飯。在中國，有俗語云：早吃好、午吃飽、晚吃少；而美國人的一天中最為豐盛的當屬晚餐。美國有俗語云：“你吃的東西決定你。”現在，我們一起來了解美國人的食物以及食物中蘊含的美國文化吧。

Get known American food and American culture了解美國食物及文化

1美式食物以及移民和區域文化

What is “American food”？ At first you might think the answer is easy as pie。 To many people， American food means hamburgers， hot dogs， fried chicken and pizza。 Actually， except for Thanksgiving turkey， it’s hard to find a typically “American” food。 The United States is a land of immigrants。 So Americans eat food from many different countries。 When people move to America， they bring their cooking styles with them。 That’s why you can find almost every kind of ethnic food in America。 In some cases， Americans have adopted foods from other countries as favorites。 Americans love Italian pizza， Mexican tacos and Chinese egg rolls。 But the American version doesn’t taste quite like the original！

As with any large country， the U。S。A has several distinct regions。 Each region boasts its own special style of food。 Visit the South and enjoy country－style cooking。 Journey through Louisiana for some spicy Cajun cuisine。 Take a trip to New England and sample savory seafood dishes。 Travel through the Midwest， “the breadbasket of the nation，” for delicious baked goods。 Cruise over to the Southwest and try some tasty Tex－Mex treats。 Finish your food tour in the Pacific Northwest with some gourmet coffee。

Americans living at a fast pace often just “grab a quick bite”。 Fast food restaurants offer people on the run everything from fried chicken to fried rice。 Microwave dinners and instant foods make cooking at home a snap。 Of course， one of the most common quick American meals is sandwich。 If it can fit between two slices of bread， Americans probably make a sandwich out of it。 Peanut butter and jelly is an all－time American favorite。

2美國食物的表達方式

（1）Cocktail雞尾酒

It is quite usual to drink cocktails before lunch and dinner in America and somewhat less usual， except in California， to drink wine with a meal。 You can either have a cocktail in the bar， if there is one， while you wait for a table or for friends， or you can have one served before your dinner comes。 At some restaurants the waiter／waitress will come to your table as soon as you sit down to ask if you want a cocktail， and you can then drink this while deciding what to order to eat。 At others， there may be a separate cocktail waiter or waitress。

（2）Salad沙拉

It is usual to have a salad with your meal， and a separate plate is provided for this purpose。 The normal practice in America is to eat the salad before the main course。 A wonderful American invention is the salad bar。 In restaurants that have these salad bars the waiter does not bring your salad。 You go to the salad bar and help yourself， usually to as much as you want。 This is normally done after you have ordered your meal； you eat the salad while the main course is being cooked。

（3）Choosing from the Menu選菜

American menus can look rather confusing at first sight， for they may use some terms which are unfamiliar to most visitors。 Here are some points which may be useful。

Fried mushrooms， fried onion rings （洋蔥圈） and fried zucchini （小胡瓜） are sometimes served as starters （第一道菜）。

Very often vegetables do not come automatically with the meal， and you have to pay extra for them。

“Scrod” （小鱈魚）， and “red snapper”（嚙龜） are all name of fish。 “Seafood” means lobster （龍蝦）， shellfish and fish， including， funnily enough， freshwater fish！ Prawns （對蝦） are known as “shrimp”。

American beef is usually good and often wonderful。

美國人吃午餐和吃晚餐之前通常要喝點雞尾酒，但在加利福尼亞州，人們大都喝葡萄酒。吃主食之前，一般都要吃一盤沙拉。炸磨菇和炸洋蔥圈可作為開胃食品，牛排、豬排和雞（腿）為主食，龍蝦、貝殼類動物以及各種魚類甚至包括淡水魚被統稱為海鮮。炸土豆條是深受人們喜愛而且幾乎是必不可少的食物。

Key words ＆ Sentences

關鍵詞句全知道

You are what you eat。

你吃的東西決定你。／你要身體健康，就要注意你的飲食健康。

Most traditional American foods were introduced by the early European immigrants but modified to take advantage of the locally available ingredients。

大部分的美國傳統食物都是由早期歐洲移民帶來的，后來加入了美國當地的可用成分。

One unique feature of the American diet from an early period was the abundance of meat and distilled liquor。

和早期不同，美國食物的一大特點是含有豐富的肉類和蒸餾水。

Fried chicken， meatloaf， baked potato， corn， baked beans and apple pie would be considered traditional American dishes。

炸雞、肉餅、烤土豆、玉米、烤豆和蘋果餡餅被視為傳統的美國食物。

A typical American breakfast menu includes scrambled or fried eggs or an egg omelet， juice， bacon or sausage， toast， biscuits or bagels。

典型美式早餐菜單包括煎蛋或煎蛋卷、果汁、熏肉或香腸，土司、餅干或面包圈。

American drinks often include orange juice， milk， tea or coffee。

在美國，飲料通常有橘子汁、牛奶、茶或者咖啡。

The lunch menu normally involves sandwiches， rolls， hamburgers， hot dogs， pizza， tacos， chicken， salad， fruit， milk， soft drink， tea or coffee。

午餐菜單通常有三明治、面包卷、漢堡、熱狗、比薩、玉米餅、雞肉、沙拉、水果、牛奶、軟飲料、茶或咖啡。

The normal practice in America is to eat the salad before the main course。

美國人通常在食用主菜前會吃沙拉。

Salads are very popular and are served all year， but especially in the summer。

沙拉隨時都會有供應，而且一年四季都很受歡迎，夏天更甚。

Dinner is normally the largest meal of the day。

晚餐通常是一天中最豐盛的一餐。

Turkey is a traditional food for Thanksgiving meals。

火雞是感恩節的傳統食物。

You have probably heard that in American restaurants， if you can’t finish your meal， you can put the remains in a “doggy bag” and take them home。

你也許聽過在美國的餐館，如果你吃不完食物，你可以把剩下的食物“打包”帶回家。

If it can fit between two slices of bread， Americans probably make a sandwich out of it。 Peanut butter and jelly is an all－time American favorite。

任何能夾在兩片土司中間的東西，美國人就可以把它做成一份三明治，花生醬和果醬更是一直都深受美國人的喜愛。

The variety of foods enjoyed in the U。S。 reflects the diversity of personal tastes。

在美國可享受到的各式食物正反映出個人品位的多樣化。

In general， American food is mild tasting； Most Americans do not season their food to any great degree。

總體來說，美國食物口味是比較溫和的，大部分美國人都不會把食物調味過重。

Americans drink coffee or tea with their meals。 Either way is perfectly acceptable。

美國人吃飯的時候喝茶或咖啡。每一種都很受歡迎。

Restaurants can only serve beer， wine， or other alcoholic drinks if they have a license。

餐館只有當他們有執照的時候才能供應啤酒、白酒或其他酒類。

Normally， when eating in a private home， it is considered better manners to take whatever is being served and not to ask for something different， unless the hostess gives you a choice。