外国人最想和你聊的文化话题：快餐文化

　Realize Fast－food culture　认识快餐文化

     1　快餐文化的成因及其弊端
     Unless you're in a particularly remote area, you can't go far in most develo ped countries without finding a fast-food restaurant. You also can't go far without seeing cars, even if most of those cars are taxis. Much of the time, fast-food restaurants and cars seem to be everywhere. This is really no coincidence-without cars, we wouldn't have fast food. The fast food phenomenon evolved from drive-in restaurants built in southern California in the early 1940s. Richard and Maurice McDonald owned such a restaurant.
     Fast food as a new thing becomes more popular everywhere, the main reason is that fast food is convenient for people working and living, especially popular in young people, for their fast living speed.
     Fast food (also known as Quick Service Restaurant or QSR within the industry itself) is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away.
     According to the Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Nutrition, fast food is especially high in fat content, and studies have found associations between fast food intake and increased body mass index (BMI) and weight gain. A 2006 study fed monkeys a diet consisting of a similar level of trans fats as what a person who ate fast food regularly would consume. Both diets contained the same overall number of calories. It was found that the monkeys who consumed higher level of trans fat developed more abdominal fat than those fed a diet rich in unsaturated fats. They also developed signs of insulin resistance, which is an early indicator of diabetes. After six years on the diet, the trans fat fed monkeys had gained 7.2% of their body weight, compared to just 1.8% in the unsaturated fat group.
     2　常见的快餐店以及快餐食物的表达方式
     （1）常见的美国快餐店
     KFC　肯德基
     KFC Corporation (KFC), founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States.
     McDonald's　麦当劳
     McDonald's Corporation (NYSE：MCD) is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving more than 58 million customers daily.
     Panda express　　　　　　 极速熊猫
     Jack in the box　　　　　 盒子里的杰克
     Subway　　　　　　　　　　赛百味
     （2）常见的快餐食物
     Hamburger　　　　　　　　　汉堡包
     Cheese Burger　　　　　　 干酪汉堡
     French Fries　　　　　　　 薯条
     (ketchup番茄酱)
     Salad　　　　　　　　　　　沙律/时蔬沙拉/色拉
     Orange Juice　　　　　　　 柳橙汁
     Milk Shake　　　　　　　　 奶昔
     Hot Pie　　　　　　　　　 苹果批/红豆批/苹果派/红豆派/芋头派
     CSD　　　　　　　　　　　　碳酸饮料
     Hot Cake　　　　　　　　　 热香饼/松饼
     McChicken　　　　　　　　　麦香鸡
     Bagel　　　　　　　　　　　贝果
     快餐具有大众化、节时、方便的优点。如今快餐已成为一种普遍的生活方式，并因此出现了"快餐文化"和"速食主义"。但是快餐往往高油脂、高盐分、高糖分，含大量调味料，属低纤维的食物，含较多的人工添加剂，所以过多食用对身体有弊无利。近年来，不少人开始反思快餐弊端，希望回归"绿色"、健康的饮食方式。一场相对快餐的"慢餐运动"逐渐兴起。
Part 2　Key words ＆ Sentences　关键词语全知道
     Nowadays, to keep up with the quickening pace of our society, many people turn to fast food to cut down their time spent in eating.
     如今，为了跟上加速发展的社会步伐，许多人转向吃快餐来减少他们花在吃上的时间。
     Fast food is any food that is quick, convenient, and usually inexpensive.
     快速、方便、便宜的食物一般就是快餐。
     Because of commercial emphasis on speed, uniformity and low cost, fast food products are often made with ingredients formulated to achieve a certain flavor or consistency and to preserve freshness.
     由于商业原因强调速度、划一、低成本，快餐常常使用配方成分来达到某种味道或一致性。
     Fast food is usually rapidly served in cartons or bags or in a plastic wrapping, in a fashion which minimizes cost.
     快餐往往是一种快速服务，食品用最小成本装在纸质或者塑料的袋子里。
     We acknowledge that fast food really gratifies our strong desire to save time.
     我们承认快餐的确能满足我们对节约时间的强烈需求。
     Relying on fast food on a long-term basis may cause a person to suffer from malnutrition. What is more serious is that some fast food contains many calories which can turn into fat. As we know, too much fat is harmful to our health.
     长时间依赖快餐作为饮食的基础会导致营养不良。更严重的是大多数快餐中都含有较高的卡路里，可以变成脂肪。众所周知，过多的脂肪对健康有害。
     Fast-food restaurants do not serve alcohol. The soft drinks most often sold are Coca- Cola and Pepsi- Cola, plus fizzy drinks.
     快餐店都不出售酒类。常售的软饮料包括可口可乐、百事可乐和碳酸泡沫饮料。
     Fast food chains have come under criticism over concerns ranging from claimed negative health effects, alleged animal cruelty, cases of worker exploitation, and claims of cultural degradation via shifts in people's eating patterns away from traditional foods.
     快餐连锁店受到的批评包括：对健康的负面影响，动物残杀，对员工的剥削以及通过使人们改变对传统食物的食用改变其饮食结构以达到文化降格。
     McDonald's restaurants are found in 119 countries and territories around the world and serve 58 million customers each day.
     麦当劳在全世界119个国家和地区都有分店，每天服务约5800万顾客。
     Most standalone McDonald's restaurants offer both counter service and drive-through service, with indoor and sometimes outdoor seating.
     独立的麦当劳的餐厅提供柜台服务和驾车通过服务，一般在室内和室外都有座位设置。
     KFC in the US has been accused by Greenpeace of a large destruction of the Amazon Rainforest, because the supply of soy used for chicken food.
     肯德基在美国受绿色和平组织的指控，他们为提供鸡食用的大豆而破坏亚马逊森林。
     KFC formerly used partially hydrogenated oil in its fried foods.
     肯德基在它的食品中部分使用氢化油。
     Fast food is very poor in vitamins and minerals.
     快餐中缺乏维生素和矿物质。
     Fast food business has developed tremendously in the past 50 years. Nowadays people will see all kinds of fast food restaurants here and there.
     过去50年，快餐业发展迅速。现在快餐店随处可见。
     The concept of ready-cooked food for sale is closely connected with urban development.
     熟食的售卖概念和城市发展是紧密联系的。
     Nearly from its inception, fast food has been designed to be eaten "on the go", often does not require traditional cutlery, and is eaten as a finger food.
     自产生开始，快餐就被设计为边走边吃的东西，通常不需要传统的道具，而是往往用手指食用。
     In the United States alone, consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in 2000.
     单单在美国，2000年，消费者就花费了1100亿美元在快餐上。
     Fast food does raise health concerns. However, if careful, you can find some options on the menu of a fast food restaurant that could be healthier.
     快餐的确引发人们对健康的担忧。但是如果在快餐菜单上仔细选择，还是可以吃得健康的。
     It is a fact that fast food is unhealthier than home-cooked meals, as they contain higher amounts of salt, fats and calories.
     快餐比家庭自制食物要更不健康是因为它高盐分，高脂肪和高热量。