“You are what you eat”. Nutrition （营养） experts often use this saying to help develop better eating habits. What we put in our mouths does become a part of us. But we can look at this statement another way. What we eat shows who we are ─ as people and as a culture. Do you want to understand another culture？ Then you ought to find out about its food.
　　Learning about American food can give us a real taste of American culture. What is “American food”？ At first you might think the answer is as easy as pie. To many people， American food means hamburgers， hot dogs， fried chicken and pizza. If you have a “sweet tooth”， you might even think of apple pie or chocolate chip cookies. It’s true that Americans do eat those things. But are those the only kind of foods you can find in America？ Except for Thanksgiving turkey， it’s hard to find a typically “American” food. The United States is a land of immigrants （移民）， so Americans eat food from many different countries. In some cases， Americans have taken foods from other countries as favorites. Americans love Italian pizza， Mexican tacos and Chinese egg rolls.
　　Americans living at a fast pace often just “grab a quick bite （很快吃几口）”. Fast food restaurants offer people on the run everything from fried chicken to fried rice. Of course， one of the most common quick American meals is a sandwich. If it can fit between two slices of bread， Americans probably make a sandwich out of it. Americans on the go also tend to eat a lot of “junk food”. Potato chips， candy bars， soft drinks and other goodies are popular treats. Many people eat too many of these unhealthy snacks.
　　American culture is a good illustration （诠释） of the saying “you are what you eat”. Americans represent a wide range of backgrounds and ways of thinking. The food may be international or regional. Sometimes it’s fast， and sometimes it’s not so fast. It might be junk food， or maybe it’s natural food. In any case， the style is all-American.
　　（What do you know about American food？）
　　贺继平 改编