18. How Americans Eat and Drink.(美国人的饮食)

　　1. Coca-Cola is the best-selling soft (non-alcoholic) drink in the world. 165 million "Cokes" are sold
every day, from the equator to the Arctic. But whereas outside the USA Coke tends to be a young person's drink,
inside the USA anybody of any age or income can drink it without embarrassment¹ on any occasion.

　　1、可口可乐是全世界销路最好的软饮料(不含酒精的饮料)。从赤道到北极，可口可乐每天的销售量为1、65亿瓶。在美国，任何人，不论年龄大小、收入多少，都可以在任何场合饮用可口可乐而不至于有任何不自在的感觉。但在美国之外，可口可乐往往是青年人的饮料。

　　2. Coke is not the only "cola" drink. Pepsi Cola is a well-known rival and has its devotees, for it is not as sweet as
Coke. Cola drinks contain caffeine from the kola nut and are the only soft drinks which are stimulating² as well as refreshing³.

　　2、可口可乐不是唯一的可乐饮料。百事可乐是它的著名竞争对手并拥有自己的爱好者，因为它不像可口可乐那么甜。可乐饮料含有从可拉果中提取的咖啡因，并且是唯一的既可提神又有刺激性的软饮料。

　　3. There are excellent wines produced in California which are praised by European connoisseurs⁴, but some Americans
prefer stronger stuff. Well-off Americans consume a lot of alcohol in the form of cocktails—mixtures based on spirits like whisky, gin and vodka.

　　3、加利福尼亚生产的优质葡萄酒得到欧洲的行家们的赞扬，但有些美国人更喜欢烈性酒。很多美国人以喝鸡尾酒的方式消费大量酒精，这种酒是用威士忌、杜松子酒和伏特加之类的烈性酒调制而成的。

　　4. Hamburgers and hot dogs are perhaps the best known American foods. Hot dogs—sausages between bread
rolls—can be bought in snack bars and from hot dog stands on street comers. And from San Francisco to New York,
in cheap or medium-priced restaurants, hamburgers will be on all the menus, in company with steaks, fried chicken
and seafood⁵. They come with French fries and crisp green salad. In most cases it is certainly good value for money.
For dessert you will be offered apple pie, cheese cake, chocolate layer cake, ice cream and ice cream sundaes.
No ice cream in the world is more delicious than American ice cream.

　　4、汉堡包和热狗也许是最著名的美国食品了。热狗—面包卷夹香肠—可以在街角的小吃店和热狗摊上买到。从旧金山到纽约的中小饭馆，所有乏鞘菜单上都有汉堡包，它与牛排、炸鸡和海味并列。它们与炸薯条和新鲜色拉搁在一起出售。在多数情况下，这笔钱当然值得一花。要甜点心的话，你可以点苹果馅饼、乳酪蛋糕、巧克力夹心蛋糕、冰淇淋和冰淇淋圣代。世界上没有哪个地方的冰激淋比美国的更好吃了。

　　5. The American passion for speed has now hit the food business. Many restaurants, in particular the great chain
restaurant company, Macdonald's, specialize in fast food", food which is served at the counter ready "to go",
or "to take out". The food, cooked and hot, is packed into cardboard and plastic containers, and hot drinks go
into plastic cups with tight-fitting lids. There are also drive-in fast food restaurants, where the customer does not
even have to leave his or her car. They first stop at a board where the menu is displayed, give an order through
a microphone and then drive another twenty yards, where a gift hands them the meal, ready cooked and packed.
People who prefer to eat at a table in the restaurant also receive their food in cardboard or plastic containers,
and the knives, forks and spoons are plastic, too. When they have finished, customers throw everything except the tray into a trash can.

　　5、美国人追求“快”的激情目前已经影响到了饮食业。许多饭馆，尤其是大型连锁饮食公司“麦当劳”，专门做“快餐”，也就是在柜台随时可以买到或带走的食物。饭菜做好了，趁热就装进纸板或塑料制的容器。热饮料则装入盖子盖得很严的塑料杯中。还有服务到车上的“路旁”快餐店，顾客甚至用不着离开小汽车。他们先在一块写有菜单的牌子前停车，通过麦克风订饭菜，然后再往前开20码，就有女服务员递上做好并装在盒里的饭菜。愿意在饭馆里坐在餐桌边进餐的人的饭菜也同样装在纸板或塑料制的容器中，刀、叉、汤匙也都是塑料做的。顾客吃完了，除了盘子以外，其余都扔进垃圾箱。

　　6. In most cities, large and small, you can eat Mexican or Italian food. And even small towns have a
coffee shop serving simple meals, drinks of all kinds—and excellent, freshly-made coffee. You sit at the counter,
or are served at a table. Service in restaurants and coffee shops is efficient and friendly. Waiters and waitresses
often introduce themselves. "Hi! I am Don (Debbie). What can I get you folks?" This friendliness⁶ is natural and not
entirely influenced by the hope of a high tip. In any case, people usually tip 15% of the check. One of the pleasantest
things about waiters and waitresses is that they refill your coffee cup several times for no extra charge!

　　6、在大多数城市里，无论大城市还是小城市，你都可以吃到墨西哥食品或意大利食品。甚至小镇上也有咖啡馆提供简单的饭菜、各种饮料和非常好的刚煮好的咖啡。你坐在柜台边或桌旁就行。饭店和咖啡馆的服务热情周到，效率很高。男女服务员经常自我介绍：“我是多恩(或德比)。您要点什么?”这种友好毫不做作，也并不完全是想多得小费。一般，人们常另付账单金额的15％作为小费。男女服务员最讨人喜欢的一点是他们屡次三番把你的咖啡杯重新斟满而不另加收钱！

　　7. Many American families pride themselves on their cooking, and have deep freezers, where they store
food they grow in their gardens or buy in the supermarket. Supermarkets are large self-service stores selling
every kind of food—fresh, canned or frozen. So, like the fast-food restaurants, their produce is less expensive
and easier to market. There have been supermarkets in the USA since the 1930s, and they have now spread through a large part of the world.

　　7、许多美国家庭以自己的烹调而自豪。他们有冷藏箱，可以把他们在花园种的或从超级市场买的食物贮藏起来。超级市场是大型自助商店，出售各种食品—新鲜的、罐头装的或冰冻的。因此，像快餐馆一样，他们的商品较便宜，容易销售。美国从1930年代起就有超级市场了，现在超级市场已遍及世界的大部分地区。