11.08.2009 / by Tom Szczerba / in "Countries/Cultures"
The American Love Affair
Note: От редакции: Том — американец с польскими и русскими корнями, живущий в Детройте (штат Мичиган). Его прародители эмигрировали из России в США в начале прошлого века. С удовольствием представляем вам, дорогие читатели, серию статей Тома о Соединенных Штатах.
Note: Тексты рассчитаны на уровень intermediate, но даже у beginners со стажем не возникнет проблем с пониманием, если под рукой всегда будет находиться верный друг — словарь, а рука не будет лениться до него дотянуться. :-)
The American Love Affair
No… it’s not with Madonna, or with any other movie star. What I am speaking of is the American favorite food: the Hot Dog!
What is a hot dog? Well, it is like a sausage, but much thinner. Here in the US, they are designed to be a cheap meal. Hot dogs are a “mystery meat“. One never really knows what is being ground up and put into a hot dog casing on any given day. Be that as it may, hot dogs are probably the first meat most American toddlers eat as they join the family at the dinner table and eat what everyone else is having rather than eating their own prepared food.
Most Americans will tell you that they enjoy eating hot dogs. Kids especially love them. There is nothing more delicious than roasting your own hot dog over an open campfire after a long hard day of outdoor activities at camp. For a kid, a hot dog is not a hot dog unless it is encrusted by the heat on one side and golden and sweaty on the other. It also has to be dropped in the sand once as you are taking it off of the roasting stick.
Hot dogs are best served “al dente” at a picnic or campout. It is the first choice at baseball games… served on a bun with ketchup and mustard… perhaps some relish and onion. My favorite hot dog topping is with chili and onions… hot and tangy. Served on a warm soft bun, that’s called “Coney Island style“… Hot dogs come in all sizes as well: from cocktail weenies (about the size of your thumb) to the foot-long variety (yes, a whole foot long… sometimes longer!)
What is it that makes the hot dog such a popular food? I think it is nostalgia mostly. Most people eating hotdogs seem to reflect back on simpler times when they were kids and they had their parents and family all about them and the only thing they had to do was to have fun all day. What beautiful memories… and they all revolve about a simple food!
VOCABULARY
love affair — роман, любовная связь
hot dog — хот-дог
cheap meal — дешевая еда
mystery meat — не-пойми-какое мясо
to ground up — измельчать, размалывать
casing — обшивка; оболочка; зд. булочка, в которую вставляется сосиска
any given day — в любой отдельно взятый день
be that as it may — как бы то ни было
toddler — ребенок, начинающий ходить
open campfire — костер; открытый огонь
outdoor activity — активный отдых на свежем воздухе
to encrust — покрываться коркой (зд. обжариваться)
roasting stick — прутик, на который насаживается сосиска
al dente — итал. “в самом соку”; не пережарившийся; не разварившийся
bun — сдобная булочка
relish — пряный соус
topping — зд. соус, приправа
tangy — пикантный
Coney Island style — по-кони-айлендски (Кони-Айленд — парк аттракционов на южной оконечности Бруклина, “родина” хот-дога)
weenie — зд. крошечная сосиска
foot-long — длиной в фут (примерно 30 см)
to revolve about smth. — вращаться вокруг чего-л.
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