VOA标准英语2012--Americans Pick Junk Food Over Veggieburgers

Americans Pick Junk Food Over Veggieburgers

Drive across America, and you’ll see one fast-food restaurant after another:
McDonald’s. Burger King. Sonic. Taco Bell. KFC. Wendy’s. Hardee’s. Long John Silver’s. Dairy Queen. Arby’s. Jack¹ in the Box. Popeyes. Subway. Domino’s Pizza. Whataburger.
There’s even a chain that’s aptly named “Fatburger.”
Though some of these fast-food places now offer a few low-fat items, the big sales and profits are in hamburgers, French fries, milkshakes, fried chicken, and greasy² pizza - the very things that the U.S. Surgeon General says are fueling America’s obesity³ epidemic⁴.
And instead of coming up with restaurants that offer nourishing, expertly prepared, low-fat meals, competitors to fast-food joints⁵ seem to be serving items that are even more caloric.
Take Cracker⁶ Barrel, a chain of 600 restaurants located mostly near Interstate highway exits, whose founder⁷, Dan Evins, died last week. Cracker Barrel gained a loyal following by serving tasty - but fattening⁸ - fare such as biscuits and gravy⁹, muffins, and country-fried steak.
Some entrepreneurs have opened restaurants serving slimming broiled¹⁰ fish, steamed veggies and the like. And most have gone bankrupt trying.
That’s because the ingredients and technology to mass-produce nutritious¹¹ food are much more costly¹², and it’s hard to find low-paid line cooks who can quickly prepare low-fat, but yummy and interesting dishes.
And these places fail because - although most Americans say they want lower-fat meals - they won’t order them when they’re offered.
Some experts believe chains serving healthful fast food will evolve once costs come down or Americans get used to the idea of ordering, and paying a bit more for, a quick lentil burger and salad instead of a cheeseburger and fries on the road.
But so far, there’s little evidence that such a fast-but-light food trend has started.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 greasy   

adj. 多脂的，油脂的

参考例句：

• He bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean his greasy oven.昨天他买了强力清洁剂来清洗油污的炉子。
• You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时，你会厌恶油腻的气味。

3 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

4 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

5 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

6 cracker   

n.（无甜味的）薄脆饼干

参考例句：

• Buy me some peanuts and cracker.给我买一些花生和饼干。
• There was a cracker beside every place at the table.桌上每个位置旁都有彩包爆竹。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 fattening   

adj.（食物）要使人发胖的v.喂肥( fatten的现在分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值

参考例句：

• The doctor has advised him to keep off fattening food. 医生已建议他不要吃致肥食物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We substitute margarine for cream because cream is fattening. 我们用人造黄油代替奶油，因为奶油会使人发胖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 gravy   

n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快

参考例句：

• You have spilled gravy on the tablecloth.你把肉汁泼到台布上了。
• The meat was swimming in gravy.肉泡在浓汁之中。

10 broiled   

a.烤过的

参考例句：

• They broiled turkey over a charcoal flame. 他们在木炭上烤火鸡。
• The desert sun broiled the travelers in the caravan. 沙漠上空灼人的太阳把旅行队成员晒得浑身燥热。

11 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

12 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。