Meals in the usa

Most Americans eat three meals during the day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast begins between 7:00 and 8:00 am, lunch between 11:00 am and noon, and dinner between 6:00 and 8:00 pm. On Sundays “brunch” is a combination of breakfast and lunch, typically beginning at 11:00 am. Students often have an evening snack around 10:00 or 11:00 pm.

Breakfast and lunch are usually light meals, with only one course. Dinner is the main meal.

For breakfast Americans usually eat cereal with milk (often mixed together in a bowl), a glass of orange juice, and toasted bread or muffin with jam, butter, or margarine. Another common breakfast meal is scrambled eggs or an omelet with potatoes and breakfast meat (bacon or sausage). People who are eating light might eat just a cup of yogurt. Lunch and dinner are more varied.

At a formal dinner the number of utensils may surprise you. How do you explain the difference between a salad fork, a butter fork, and a dessert fork? Most Americans don’t know the answer either (it’s the number of tines on the fork and its size). But knowing which fork or spoon to use first is simple – use the outermost utensils first and the utensils closest to the plate last.

In most parts of the world having lunch or dinner together is an important part of doing business. In North America eating meals is a way of building a relationship or celebrating a partnership. And in other cultures such as China much of the real work of making deals actually often gets done at the dinner table. No matter where you are doing business, it’s important to be able to handle the basics of dining out. This includes ordering food, recommending dishes, proposing a toast and paying for the check among other skills.

brunch – поздний завтрак (заменяющий первый и второй завтрак)

scrambled eggs – яичница-болтунья

omelet [‘ɔmlıt] - омлет

margarine [,ma:dʒə’ri:n] - маргарин

yogurt [‘jɔgət] - йогурт

light meals – легкая (необильная) еда

formal dinner – официальный обед

utensils [ju:’tenslz] – столовые приборы (ножи, вилки, ложки)

tine – зубец вилки

outermost – самый дальний, крайний

to make a deal – заключать сделку, договор

to propose a toast – провозглашать тост

to handle – обращаться, управляться, справляться с чем-либо

skills – навыки

Answer the questions.

1. How many meals do Americans eat during the day?

2. What is “brunch”?

3. What can be a typical American breakfast?

4. What is the simple rule of using utensils?

5. What is an important part of doing business in most parts of the world?

What Do the English Eat?

Ann lives in London. She is a former college teacher, now on pension. We asked her to tell us how and where the ordinary English have their meals. Here is her story.

What do the English eat? One’s daily diet depends (probably as everywhere) on taste, income and pattern of everyday life. For breakfast, someone dashing off to work will grab a cup of tea or coffee and a piece of toast and marmalade, or not even that, and buy a coffee and croissant en route! But at weekends, when there is more time, they might on Saturday or Sunday have the “Great British Breakfast” (which is now marketed everywhere in cafes as “all day breakfast” – very popular with tourists). This consists of fried bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, sausage, baked beans and fried bread. This food is ironically known as “heart-attack specials” – but if one goes away to stay in a bed-and-breakfast place or hotel, you have it all the same! Anyone health-conscious may have cereal, e.g. muesli, fruit juice and perhaps a piece of toast and marmalade. At weekends, I may have scrambled eggs on toast, with grilled bacon, coffee. Lunch for me would be a sandwich with brown, wholemeal bread, a banana, occasionally soup and/or fruit juice – most people eat their main meal in the evenings, because of work, and for preference. Again main dishes – anything! Traditional English food is fish and chips with peas, steak and kidney pie, sausage and mashed potatoes, but people also eat Indian or Chinese food, pasta with a meat or vegetable sauce, with the usual Mediterranean herbs, such as basil, oregano, plus olives, Pesto sauce, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. As for eating out – income determines this. As I am on pension, it is usually Indian or Chinese, and there is a cheap Polish restaurant near my place – this would be once a month, and I may also get in a takeaway (you phone the restaurant and they deliver – usually Indian) once or twice a month. However, if you are going on a high income, you may eat out several times a week, and get frequent takeaways: you may have to pay £100-150 for two in the modern European, Mediterranean or even some up-market Indian restaurants (compare the ones we go to - £30-40 for two).

income - доход

pattern – образ (жизни)

to dash off – бежать, мчаться

croissant [‘krwa:sɒƞ] – круасан, рогалик

en rout – по пути

to market - рекламировать

baked beans- консервированная белая фасоль в томатном соусе

bed-and-breakfast - гостиничное обслуживание, в цену которого входят размещение и завтрак

health-conscious – заботящийся о своем здоровье

muesli [‘mju:zli] - мюсли

wholemeal - цельнозерновой

preference - предпочтение

steak and kidney pie – пирог с мясом и почками

Mediterranean [,medıtə’reıniən] - средиземноморский

Pesto sauce – соус песто (из базилика и чеснока)

to sprinkle - посыпать

Parmesan cheese [,pa:mızᴂn] – сыр пармезан

takeaway – еда на вынос

to deliver - доставлять

up-market – элитарный, дорогой

Task 1. Answer the questions.

1. What does the daily diet of the English depend on?

2. What does the breakfast of people who work consist on?

3. What is the “Great British Breakfast”?

4. How is this food ironically called?

5. What do health-conscious people have in the morning?

6. What does Ann have for lunch?

7. When do most people have their main meal?

8. What is traditional English food?

9. What do you think of the English food?

10. How much do you have to pay for a meal in the modern European restaurant of London?

Task 2. Translate from Russian into English.

1. Ежедневный рацион англичанина зависит от его предпочтений, дохода и образа жизни.

2. «Большой английский завтрак» состоит из бекона, яиц, помидоров, грибов, консервированной фасоли в томатном соусе и тостов.

3. Те, кто заботится о своем здоровье, предпочитают на завтрак мюсли, фруктовый сок, тосты с апельсиновым джемом.

4. Традиционная английская еда – рыба с картофелем во фритюре, зеленый горошек, слоеный пирог с мясом и почками, колбаса, картофельное пюре.

5. Ужин в современном дорогом ресторане с европейской, средиземноморской или индийской кухней обойдется в 100-150 фунтов на двоих.