英语翻译Americans and FoodAn unusual but timely cartoon recently

英语翻译Americans and FoodAn unusual but timely cartoon recently appeared in the local newspaper.The single panel showed a gravel-pit operation with piles of raw earth and large cranes.Next to one of the cranes stood the owner of the gravel pit – a grizzled,tough-looking character,hammer in hand,pointing proudly to the new sign he had just tacked up.The sign read,“Fred’s Fill Dirt and Croissants.” The cartoon illustrates an interesting phenomenon:the changing food habits of Americans.Our meals used to consist of something like homecooked pot roast,mashed potatoes laced with butter and salt,a thick slice of apple pie topped with a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream – plain,heavy meals,cooked from scratch,and eater leisurely at home.But America has changed,and as it has,so have what we Americans eat and how we eat it.We used to have simple,unsophisticated tastes and looked with suspicion at anything more exotic than a hamburger.Admittedly,we did adopt some foods from the various immigrant groups who flocked to our shores.We learned to eat croissants,those small,sweet French bread rolls,and also Chinese food and pizza,but in the last few years,the international character of our diet has grown tremendously.We can walk into any mall in Middle Arerica and buy Mexican food like pita bread and tacos.Such foods are often changed on their journey from exotic imports to ordinary “American” meals,but the imports are still a long way from hamburger on a bun.Why have we become more worldly in our tastes?For one thing,television blankets the countey with information about new food products and trends.Viewers in rural Montana know that the latest craving in Washington,D.C.is Cajun cooking and that something called tofu is now available in the local supermarket.Another reason for the growing international flavor of our food is that many young Americans have traveled abroad and gotten hooked on new tastes and flavors.Backpacking students and young professionals vacationing in Europe come home with a taste for authentic French bread or German beer.Finally,continuing waves of immigrants settle in the cities where many of us live,causing significant changes in what we eat.Vietnamese,Haitians,and Thais,for instance,bringing their native foods and cooking styles with them and eventually open small markets or restaurants.In time,the new food will become Americanized enough to take its place in our national diet.