Информационный проект "American Food"

              Education Department of Gorno-Altaisk Administration

     Municipal Educational Establishment

     "Lyceum №6 named after I.Z. Shuklin"

American Food

                      By: Marchenko Anastasiya

                       Form 6 B                                                                                      

                       Guided by: Merezhko O.A.

                                          Gorno-Altaysk

                                                      2010

Contents:

              1. Introduction………………………………………3

              2. As American as apple pie…………………….. 3

              3. The story of McDonalds………………………. 5

              4. Delicious and refreshing……………………..  6

              5. Conclusion……………………………………………. 7

                  6. List of literature………………………………… 9

1. Introduction

People can`t live without food. Food has an important part to play in many of the rituals- including rites of hospitality, religious ceremonies, rituals of gift- giving, and so on.

Such rituals are indications of the main role of food in our lives. It is the stuff of our survival. Therefore it is not surprising that it is traditional in many cultures to give formal thanks for food- either to the host or the cook, or directly to God by saying grace.

Food can have important symbolic and cultural meanings, too. Sharing food can cement friendship and may even indicate a sharing of religious beliefs.

Perhaps the most familiar food customs are those linked to particular religions. From the ancient Egyptians to modern Hindus, food has long been used in offerings to the Gods. Many of the best known religious food customs involve specific rules about what can be eaten, and even how food should be prepared.

I`d like to tell you about American food.

2.  As American as apple pie

What is American food?  When we speak about American food, we always imagine hamburgers and hot dogs, fried chicken and giant steaks. But in fact Americans eat  every  kind of food imaginable, even spaghetti and pizza. The expression “as American as apple pie” means something that is typically American, but even apple pie came from somewhere else. The only true American foods are those that the Native Americans gave the first settlers, including corn, squash, pumpkin pie are still eaten at Thanksgiving.

Americans eat a lot. They have three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The typical day starts with breakfast. During the week this might be something quick: cereal with milk, a muffin or toast with coffee, tea, milk or juice. On the weekends when people have more time, breakfast might be pancakes, waffles, an omelet, or bacon and eggs.

Lunch at work or school is usually between 12 and 1 pm. Some people prefer to bring their lunch from home. Tuna fish, sliced meat called cold cuts or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are kids' favorites. Most schools and some businesses have cafeterias that serve lunch.

Dinner, the biggest meal of the day, is generally at 6 or 7 pm. A typical dinner includes a hot vegetable, a salad, meat, and a potato or pasta dish. Stew (meat cooked with vegetables) and soup are also favorite dinner foods.

Americans love desserts. The standard dessert is pie. You can have fruit pies made from apple, peach, apricot or cherry, or berry pies with blackberry, raspberry or blueberry. A piece of pie is often served with ice cream.

 There are some principles of American cuisine. Americans drink a lot of juice and soda, eat a lot of meat, fruits and vegetables, not much bread.

People in the States still like to think of some kinds of food as especially American. They like the idea of the American family sitting around the table eating turkey at Thanksgiving. They like to think of «Mom» as the beat cook in the world, even if there own mother never did much cooking. «AS American as apple pie» and «Like Mother makes it» are popular expression.

The truth is, thought, that families in the US eat together less often than they used to. Instead of meeting at the dinner table, families often meet in the kitchen, around the refrigerator. There is no time for old-fashioned cooking. Quick snacks all through the day have taken its plaсe. And to save trouble, people eat wherever they like, in the street, in front of the TV, or at their desks.

Most of Americans don't eat home but prefer to go to restaurants. They can choose from many kind of restaurants. There is a great number of ethnic restaurants in the United States. Italian, Chinese and Mexican food is very popular. An American institution is the fast food restaurant, which is very convenient but not very healthy.

         An enormous fast-food industry gives hungry Americans the snacks they want when they want them. Ice -cream, popcorn, and hot dogs are on sale everywhere. Best known perhaps is the McDonald’s hamburger business.

3. The Story of McDonalds

In 1937The McDonald’s brothers, Dick and Mack, opened a little driver-in restaurant in Pasadena, California. They served hot dogs and milk shakes.

In 1945they had 20 waiters. All the teenagers in town ate hamburgers there.

In 1948 they geo paper boxes and bags for the hamburgers. They put the price down from 30 cents to 15 cents. They cut the menu down from 25 things to only 9.  

 There were no more waiters – it is self – service. So it was cheaper and faster. And they had  windows all around the kitchen – so everyone could see it was clean. Parents started bringing their children to the restaurant. Poor families ate  at restaurant for the first time.

          In  1960 the McDonald’s company opened hundreds of McDonald’s restaurants all over the States.

In  1971 they opened  restaurants in Japan, Germany and Australia

           Now… the McDonald’s company opens a new restaurant every 8 hours! There are McDonald’s restaurants in over 70 countries. McDonald’s restaurants serve almost exactly the same food in every country. But in Italy they serve beer, in  Norway the McLak and in the Netherlands the Groenteburger!

4.  Delicious and refreshing

On May 8, Dr John Styth Pemberton, a chemist, carried a bottle down the

street in Atlanta, Georgia, to Jacob’s Pharmacy on the corner. There, soda water was added to it, and the new drink was put on sale for five cents a bottle. The drink  contained sugar, water, the leaves of the coca plant, and the juice of the cola nut. Dr Pemberton’s partner, Frank Robinson, thought of a name for it.

‘Coca – Cola,’ he said. ‘The two Cs would look well in advertising’.

For the first year of its life, Coca – Cola sold only 13 drinks a day. By its hundredth birthday, in 1986, it was selling 7.9 billion dollars’ worth a year. Not much of the money went into John Pemberton’s pocket. He died 2 years after he had invited Coca – Cola, and Asa G. Candler, a businessman, bought the business for $2,300.

From then on, Coca – Cola’s success was all due to advertising. The words Coca – Cola, delicious and refreshing, in flowing, graceful writing, were soon to be seen everywhere: on calendars, clocks, trays and walls. The more people heard of it, the more people wanted it, and by 1895, Candler could say, ‘Coca – Cola is now sold and drunk in every state in the United States.’

But the great days of Coca – Cola were still to come. In World War II, The company made a promise that every American soldier, sailor, and airman could have Coke for 5 cents a bottle, anywhere in the world. The company knew they would lose money, but it was worth it. In one smart move they made sure that five billion bottles of Coke would find their way around the world, creating new demand in more countries. They also knew that the idea of Coca – Cola as something truly, especially American would be strengthened.

In the years that followed the war, Coca – Cola managed to make itself one of the most powerful symbols of America both inside and outside the States. ‘Drink Coca – Cola, and you will share in the American dream,’ the advertisements seem to say.

So what is in this magic drink that has become the most successful product in world history? That secret is locked up in a bank in Atlanta, and only a few people alive know the exact recipe.

One very important question remains: Is Coca – Cola good for you? Dentist say that sugary drinks like Coca – Cola harm your teeth. Doctors say they add to problems  of fatness that lead to heart disease. Delicious and refreshing? May 1be.

If more and more Americans eat fast food, more and more Americans also worry about it. Fast food makes you fat, and Americans are the fattest people in the world. There are also the most interested in their health, and snack food is not healthy. The fashion for health food is growing all the time. Among middleclass people, salads, beans, and fruit have taken the place of steak and ice – cream. Drinking is going down too. Only 67 persent of adults drink alcohol at all, and one- third of those drink less than they used to. Smart businesspeople order mineral water, not wine, at their business lunches.

Being fat, in fact, can cause real problems for an American. He or she will find it harder to get a good job, or even to make friends. If you want to do well, you must be thin. It doesn’t seem fair, does it? Advertisers and fast-food sellers scream at people to eat, eat and eat. But inside, there is another voice saying ‘stop, stop and stop.’              

5.  Conclusion

But if more and more Americans eat fast food, more and more Americans also worry about it. Fast food makes you fat, and Ameri cans are the fattest people in the world. They are also the most interested in their health, and snack food is not healthy. The fashion for health food is growing all the time. Among middle-class people, salads, beans, and fruit have taken the place of steak and ice cream. Drinking is going down too. Only 67 percent of adults drink alcohol at all, and one-third of those drink less than they used to. Smart businesspeople order mineral

 water, not wine, at their business lunches.

Being fat, in fact, can cause real problems for an American. He or she will find it harder to get a good job, or even to make friends. If you want to do well, you must be thin. It doesn’t seem fair, does it? Advertisers and fast-food sellers scream at people to eat, eat, eat. But inside, there is another voice saying ‘stop, stop, stop.’

List of literature

1. Кисунько, Е.И. Все устные темы для подготовки к выпускному экзамену и ЕГЭ  /  Е.И. Кисунько, Е.С. Музланова. – М.: АСТ: Астрель, 2006. – 480 c.

2. Петрова, Н.И. Английский язык 9 и 11 выпускные классы / Н.И. Петрова.  – М.: Аст - Пресс Школа, 2004. – 256 c.

3. Farrel, M. American Food / M. Farrel // Speak Out журнал для изучающих английский язык. -  2005. - № 3.