What’s for breakfast?

The average American eats three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. The 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 to drink. 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 p.m. 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 p.m. A typical dinner includes a hot vegetable, a salad, meat or some kind of vegetable protein, and a potato or pasta dish. Stew (meat cooked with vegetables) and soup are also favorite dinner foods.

Fast food

People on the go because of busy work or social schedules don't have much time for cooking at home. Takeout meals from restaurants, pizza parlors, and delicatessens (also called delis) have become a regular part of everyday life. Food can be picked up at a restaurant, or people call in orders by phone and the takeout meal is delivered to their homes.

Ready-to-eat and instant processed foods that are quick to prepare are very popular. TV dinners are complete dinners on a tray that you take from the freezer and heat up in the oven or microwave. Snacks and junk food like doughnuts, popcorn, cookies, or potato chips are also easy to eat.

Sports crazy

Spectator sports in America are an obsession. Many people attend sporting events, listen to sports on the radio, and watch games on television. People of every age, race, and class buy sports magazines; the most widely sold is Sports Illustrated. Almost every major newspaper has a sports section.

Sports are often a topic of conversation. People talk about game scores, what happened during the game, or predictions about the strategy and success of specific teams and players.

C hildren are encouraged to participate in sports at an early age. There are children's baseball, soccer, football, and basketball teams in almost every community. The rivalry between high schools and colleges in sporting events goes right through the school year from football in September to track and field in June. Cheerleaders and bands lead the supporters in rooting for their home team.

S ports are important in college. Students who show talent in a sport like tennis, track and field, swimming, football, or basketball can apply for sports scholarships. College football still attracts big crowds today. The best college players are selected by professional teams.

Football is the most popular sport, followed by baseball and basketball. In general, football is played in the fall, basketball in the winter and early spring, and baseball from early spring through early fall. The big prize in professional football is to win the Super Bowl. For basketball teams, it is the NBA (National Basketball Association) Championship, and in baseball, the World Series.

Professional sports in the United States are big business. Team owners pay football, baseball, and basketball stars salaries in the millions, so the teams will keep winning games and the owners can sell more tickets. Companies that sell sportswear and equipment pay large sums of money to famous players to advertise their products on radio or television, or in magazines and newspapers.

Sports are so important that some cities compete to attract a major professional team away from another city. Many city governments think that having a successful team can make their city important, too. Sometimes, the city offers to build a new stadium. This is expensive, but people can find work at the new stadium, and in restaurants, hotels, and stores in the surrounding community. Some people are against this because they say that the money should be used for building schools and roads.