http://www.morganfairchild.com
Coo, Coo, Ca-choo
Feeling Stuck in the Siren [塞壬] Role, Morgan Fairchild Makes the Most of It With 'The Graduate'
Saturday, February 19, 2005;
WILMINGTON, Del.
By rights Morgan Fairchild should stand at least six feet tall. The idea that all that temptation, all that menace, all that vixenly va-va-voom should be at home in a preposterously [荒謬的] taut 5-foot-4 1/2-inch package must defy some law of science.
But there she is, live and very much in the flesh.
And each of the aforementioned[前
面提到的] signature traits is in evidence in her
current endeavor: starring in the road company of "The Graduate." She
plays Mrs. Robinson, the sexy and frustrated matron[主婦] brought
vividly to
life by Anne Bancroft in the 1967 movie. (The play opens here Tuesday
for a week-long stay at the Warner Theatre.)
Bancroft, you'll remember, was a lustrous[有光澤的]-dark spider, having her wicked way with Dustin Hoffman's fly. Fairchild's version is, as implied, more of a blond fox. But then the stage version itself is far different in tone from the film -- lighter and considerably less subversive[顛覆性]. That, she says, is because the play is based on the novel by Charles Webb, rather than the screenplay.
The story, set in California in 1963, is the same: Young Benjamin Braddock, just out of college and very confused about the world, has a life-changing encounter with the predatory[食肉的] wife of his father's business partner. Fairchild, 55, has given a lot of thought to Mrs. Robinson and her earlier days.
"She's living in that repressive[抑制的] society, and it's very difficult for her," she says. "I mean, this is pre-Beatles, it's pre-pantyhose[女 用褲襪], it's pre-pill, it's pre-Women's Lib, it's pre -- 10 years before Roe v. Wade. . . . She got pregnant and had to get married. . . . I think she just feels trapped. I mean, she's just like this bird fluttering against the wall and drinking to anesthetize[麻醉] the pain of her wings getting broken."
And hey, a drunken bird can get mighty desperate.
Having completed her matinee, Fairchild has settled in at a corner restaurant table to talk about the show and her career. Her pink zippered sweater, pants and dangling earrings contrast sharply with Mrs. Robinson's wardrobe, which ranges from a party dress that fits like candle wax to, well, nothing at all. "The Graduate" has at times been bloodied by critics, but that nude scene, performed on Broadway by Kathleen Turner, has made the play famous.
"I've had so many people come up and ask our crew guys or ask me after the show: Was I wearing a body stocking? And I have no idea why they think that. It's billed that way, it's in the contract: I have to do it nude. I'm not out there in, you know, little bikini thongs[皮帶] or a body suit."
Today's rather elderly audience took her altogetherness in stride. But that isn't always the case.
"You look out and see binoculars[雙筒望遠 鏡] in the second row and it's a bit daunting[使氣餒] to come out and do the nude scene," she says, laughing. "You know they're just looking for wrinkles and cellulite."
Fairchild can afford to laugh, because even up close she displays very little in the way of wrinkles or cellulite. Her body, in fact, is kind of amazing, which takes work when you're 55.
"As a kid I loved ballet, and I remember that Baryshnikov had said that he had to warm up an extra five minutes every year older he got," she says. "By now I'm up to, you know -- two hours of warm-up!" She laughs again.
Fairchild is a self-made woman, in
more ways than one. She was born Patsy Ann McClenny and grew up in
Dallas, and at 9 "I was a little fat pudgy
[胖嘟嘟的] kid with big thick glasses,
and I was quiet and never said a word, you know -- teachers loved me,
straight-A student."
The teachers may have loved her, but the other kids called her Fatsy Patsy.
Fatsy Patsy knew what she wanted, and in short order
the glasses were gone. She went on a regimen of
hard-boiled eggs and
grapefruit
[柚子], "which is not a fun diet," and the extra weight
disappeared
as well. "It was the first step in creating Morgan Fairchild," she
says. "You have to be willing to think of yourself differently if
you're going to make a transition."
That same steel has served her well in Hollywood. After a four-year run on "Search for Tomorrow" in the mid-'70s, she joined the ranks of the prime-time temptresses[妖婦] of the next decade on "Flamingo Road" and, later, "Falcon Crest[冠, 冠毛]." She's made her share of movies, a lot of them with titles like "Shattered Illusions," "Criminal Hearts" and "Even Angels Fall." Her guest appearances on multiple sitcoms -- "Murphy Brown," "Roseanne," "Friends," "That '70s Show," you name it -- have gained wide approval, partly for her willingness to kid her image. And then there was that series of Old Navy commercials and a stint[限額] last fall as a judge on a reality show called "He's a Lady."
But almost every time Fairchild pops up, whether on television or here in Wilmington on her way to Washington, on some level it's about sex.
"Well, unfortunately, honey, that's the way they see me," she says good-naturedly.
Well -- yeah. But then there's a reason that's the way they see her.
She continues: "The business of Hollywood, if you don't have other things going on, it will eat you up and spit you out. . . . If you take what those people and that social structure think of you -- if you let it govern your life -- you might as well just kill yourself." She laughs. "And so -- I don't. I've always had all these other interests and, fortunately for me, I've always had a brain."
Her other interests include medicine -- she's been a voice of sanity [精神健全] on the AIDS front for years, pointing out early that it was a disease, not a plague from God. She also is fascinated by paleontology [古生物學] and foreign affairs. (She's appeared occasionally on "Nightline," "Hardball" and "The O'Reilly Factor," among others, to parse current events.) And once in a while those interests will dovetail[榫 接] with an acting job.
Take "Gospa," a 1995 feature set in Bosnia in which Fairchild played a nun -- just think about that for a minute -- with Martin Sheen and Michael York.
"Going to Bosnia and Croatia during the war to play a nun," she muses. "The movie was about Medjugorje, which is a Catholic pilgrimage [朝聖] place over there in Bosnia. [We were] losing sound takes to the shelling. . . . I like doing things that people don't expect me to do. Consequently, you know, for me, I've actually got a kind of interesting life."
The American ambassador was very hospitable, she says, and the two became friends. "I got to go into . . . Serb-held territory, and stuff like that, which is always kind of fun," she says. "And so one day I said, 'You know, if you're going anywhere that I would be allowed to go, a refugee camp or anything like that, I would love to go.' And he was very sweet and called up and said, 'Well, you know, I'm going over into this no-man's land today, there's a big meeting of generals and stuff, and we can go to a refugee camp, and I can show you a couple of cities.' "
So off they went to a bombed-out[遭受轟炸而 無家可歸的] village.
"And this Polish U.N. guy comes over, and he speaks English -- 'Oh, Morgan Fairchild, we have your series in our country -- what are you doing here?' And all these press people, because it was a meeting of generals -- 'Morgan, what are you doing here?' "
She got a view of war that day that
was both chilling and privileged, and it sounds far less safe than,
say, facing an audience in Wilmington.
"This is the kind of stuff I like to do," she says. "So like a lot of the other actors, when we're in Zagreb, you know, they'll be at the casinos[casino] every night, and I'm hanging out with the war correspondents to find out what's really going on.
"So you may not have seen the movie. I had a good time
making the movie because I learned a lot."
Fairchild has long enjoyed the friendship of political figures, scientists and journalists, and she can be outspoken on national affairs. During last year's election campaign, however, she was relatively muted. This is because at one point she dated John Kerry. It must have been a while back, because she's lived with producer Mark Seiler for more than 15 years.
"Long time ago," she allows quietly.
But don't ask her how long they saw each other. She won't say, and the laugh that follows doesn't entirely cover an edge in her voice.
The next topic is another of her un-favorites: On its biography page, the widely trafficked Internet Movie Database quotes something called Celebrity Sleuth[偵探] magazine on the subject of her measurements -- before and after implants.
"Uh-huh," she says, sounding vaguely amused. "Uh-huh. I have no idea how they would ever know, and I have no comment."
Whatever. Fairchild is a smart lady who knows her way around the movie business, and she's found ways to survive.
"Maybe the hardest thing is that you -- the very thing that sort of made you famous, that people in some ways think you are . . . is the same thing that sort of traps you so that they won't let you come read for, you know, something you might like to do. . . . So it's a bit of a gilded[鍍金] cage. . . . It's nice to be thought of as attractive and all of that. On the other hand, it curtails you somewhat, too."
As an example, "They won't let me read for 'West Wing,' just to play, you know, a normal person. Or 'ER,' to play a doctor -- the things I'm actually good at. I mean, I'm pretty good on foreign policy -- they won't even let me come read for that. They don't think you look right. I'd come in and read with my hair in a bun and my glasses and stuff with no makeup on. It's Hollywood."
Yes, it's Hollywood and, she well knows, in some ways an actor is a commodity.
"When I've got all the makeup on and all the spit, polish and glue together, I look fine," she says. "But I know what I really look like, and I'm still that same little kid under there. I don't think I look that great. I think I did a good job of creating Morgan Fairchild." Big laugh. "But I created her."
vixen
n.雌狐, 嘮叨的女人, 壞心眼的女人, 刁婦, 潑婦
matinee
日場，日戲一種娛樂節目，白天演出，通常指午後的戲劇或音樂表演
cellulite
n.
A fatty deposit causing a dimpled or uneven appearance, as around the
thighs and buttocks.
脂肪團一種能引起如大腿、臀部等處的皺紋或凹凸不平的脂肪沉澱物
regimen
n.
攝生法, 養生法
正規的訓練[課程]
統治, 控制; 政體; 制度
【語】支配
【水】情勢
Under such a regimen you'll certainly live long.
你這樣養生一定可以長壽。
Lesson 1: Breakfast and Menu
(第一課：早餐及菜單)
歐美人非常重視早餐，他們認爲早餐若吃得舒服，即表示今天一天會有愉快、滿意的時光。有些人甚至利用早餐時間，邊吃邊談
生意。
西式早餐一般可分爲兩種，一是美式早餐（American
Breakfast,英國、美國、加拿大、澳大利亞及新西蘭等，以英語爲母語的國家都屬於此類）; 一是歐式早餐 （Continental
Breakfast,德國、法國等即是）。
美式早餐內容相當豐富，包括下列五種：
1. 水果或果汁
這是早餐的第一道菜，果汁又分爲罐果汁(canned juice)及新鮮果汁(fresh
juice)兩種。另有一種將乾果加水，用小火煮至湯汁蒸發殆盡，水果豐軟爲止，以餐盤端上桌，用湯匙邊刮邊舀着吃。
常見的果汁如下：
新鮮果汁
Grapefruit Juice 葡萄柚汁
Tomato Juice 蕃茄汁
Orange Juice 柳橙汁
Pineapple Juice 鳳梨汁
Grape Juice 葡萄汁
Apple Juice 蘋果汁
Guava Juice 蕃石榴汁
Papaya Juice 木瓜汁
V-8 Juice 罐頭綜合菜汁
Fresh Garrot Juice 新鮮胡蘿蔔汁
Mixed Vegetable Juice 什錦蔬菜汁
罐頭果汁
Peaches in Syrup 蜜汁桃子
Apricots in Syrup 蜜汁杏子
Figs in Syrup 蜜汁無花果
Pears in Syrup 蜜汁梨子
Loquats in Syrup 蜜汁枇杷
Chilled Fruit cup 什錦果盅
燉水果乾
Stewed Figs 燉無花果
Stewed Prunes 燉李子
Stewed Peaches 燉桃幹
Stewed Apricots 燉杏幹
2. 穀類 Cereals
玉米、燕麥等製成的穀類食品，如corn flakes (玉米片),
rice crispies (脆爆米), rye crispies (脆麥), puff rice (炮芙), wheaties (小麥幹),
cheerios (保健麥片)乖，通常加砂糖及冰牛奶，有時再加香蕉切片、草莓或葡萄乾等。
此外尚備有麥片粥(oatmeal)或玉米粥(cornmeal),以供顧客變換口味，吃地加牛奶和糖調味
3. 蛋－早餐的主食
這是早餐的第二道菜，通常爲兩個蛋，隨着烹煮方法之不同，可以分爲：
fried eggs 煎蛋（只煎一面的荷包蛋稱爲sunny-side up,兩面煎半熟叫over easy,兩面全熟的叫over
hard或over well-done）。
boiled eggs殼水煮蛋(煮三分鐘熟的叫soft boiled,煮五分鐘熟的叫hard boiled)。
Poached eggs去殼水煮蛋(將蛋去殼，滑進鍋內特製的鐵環中，在將沸的水中或水面上煮至所要求的熟度。)
scrambled eggs 炒蛋
omelet 蛋卷(也可以拼成omelette)
煎蛋、煮蛋、炒蛋等由客人選擇火腿(ham)、醃肉(bacon)、臘腸(sausage)作爲配料，以鹽、胡椒(pepper)調味。bacon有人要
脆的，即crisp。蛋卷則有下列各種形式：
Plain Omelet 普通蛋卷
Ham Omelet 火腿蛋卷
Ham & Cheese Omelet 火腿乳酪蛋卷
Spanish Omelet 西班牙式蛋卷
Souffled Omelet with Strawberries 草莓蛋卷
Jelly Omelet 果醬蛋卷
Cheese Omelet 乳酪蛋卷
Mushroom Omelet 香菇蛋卷
蛋卷通常用鹽與辣醬(tabasco)調味，而不用胡椒，因爲胡會使蛋卷硬化，也會留下黑斑。
4. 吐司和麪包
吐司通常烤成焦黃狀，要注意toast with butter和buttered
toast的不同。Toast with butter是指端給客人時，吐司和牛油是分開的。Buttered
toast是指把牛油塗在吐司上面之後，再端給客人，美國的coffee shop大都提供這種buttered toast。
此外，還有下各種糕餅，以供客人變換口味。注意吃的時候不可用叉子叉，要用手拿，抹上牛油、草莓醬(strawberry
jam)或橘皮(marmalade)，咬着吃。
常見的有：
Corn Bread 玉米麪包
Plain Muffin 鬆餅（須趁熱吃，從中間橫切開，塗上牛油、果醬、蜂蜜或糖汁）
Corn Muffin 玉米鬆餅
English Muffin 英國鬆餅
Biscuit 餅乾
Croissant 牛角麪包（英國人則稱爲crescent roll）
Waffles壓花蛋餅（可塗上牛油或楓樹蜜汁，用一隻叉子連切帶叉即可）
Glazed Doughnut糖衣沒煎圈餅（吃油煎圈餅要用手拿着咬）
Chocolate Doughnut巧克力油煎圈餅
Jelly Doughnut果醬油煎圈餅
Plain Doughnut素油煎圈餅
Powdered Sugar Doughnut糖粉油煎圈餅
Buckwheat Pancakes蕎麥煎餅（通常有三片或四片，吃時將牛油放在熱煎餅上使其溶化，然後將楓樹蜜汁塗在上面，用叉子邊割邊叉着吃）
Hot Cakes with Maple Syrup楓樹蜜汁煎餅
French Toast法式煎蛋衣麪包片（這是將吐司沾上蛋和牛奶調成的汁液，在平底鍋中煎成兩面發黃的吐司，吃時可塗果醬或鹽及胡椒粉）
Cinnamon Rolls肉桂卷
Miniature Danish Rolls丹麥小花捲
Hot Danish Rolls牛油熱烘丹麥花捲
5. 飲料Beverages
指咖啡或茶等不含酒精的飲料。所謂white coffee是指加奶精(cream)的咖啡，也就是法語中的café au
lait，較不傷胃。不加奶精的咖啡就稱爲black coffee。
在國外，tea（茶）一般是指紅茶而言。如果要綠茶則須指明green tea。早餐的咖啡和紅茶都是無限制供應。
歐陸式早餐比美式早餐簡單，內容大致相同，但不供應蛋類，客人想點叫蛋類食品時，得另外付費。
American Breakfast
美國式早餐
Orange Juice
柳橙汁
Porridge
麥片
Corn Flakes Shredded Wheat
玉米片 麥絲卷
Choice of
隨意選擇
Poached Eggs
去殼水煮
Scrambled Eggs Bacon & Eggs
炒蛋 醃肉蛋
Ham Omelette
火腿蛋卷
Toast & Butter
烤吐司
Marmalade Strawberry Jam
橘皮醬 草莓
Tea Coffee
茶 咖啡
Continental Breakfast
歐陸式早餐
Fruit Juice
果汁
Tea coffee Cocoa
茶 咖啡 可可
Croissants
牛角麪包
Brioches
奶油蛋卷
Marmalade
橘皮醬
Confiture
果醬
早餐零點菜單
FRUITE JUICES果汁類 EGGS & OMELETTES蛋類
Apple Juice蘋果汁 Boiled Eggs帶殼水煮蛋
Grape Juice葡萄汁 Poached Eggs去殼水煮蛋
Carrot Juice胡蘿蔔汁 Ham & Eggs火腿蛋
Orange Juice柳橙汁 Bacon & Eggs醃肉蛋
Pineapple Juice鳳梨汁 Plain Omelette麥蛋卷
Guava Juice蕃石榴汁 Scrambled Eggs炒蛋
Chicken Omelette雞肉蛋卷
COMPOTE OF FRUITS燉乾果類 Cheese Omelette乾酪蛋卷
Apples燉蘋果 Tomato Omelette蕃茄蛋卷
Pears燉梨子 Minced Ham Omelette碎火腿蛋卷
Peaches燉桃子 Kidney & Mushroom Omelette香菇牛腰蛋卷
Prunes燉幹李
FISH魚類
CEREALS穀類 Kedgeree印度燴魚飯
Porridge麥片粥 Fish Cakes炸魚餅
All Bran麥夫條 Kippered Herring薰鯡魚
Corn Flakes玉米片 Finnan Haddie & Poached Egg薰鱈魚水煮蛋
Special K特別K
Grapenuts粒狀麥粉 FROM THE GRILL燒烤類
Puff Wheat小麥泡芙 Breakfast Steak早餐牛排
Shredded Wheat麥絲卷 Kidney & Bacon牛腰醃肉
Sugar Corn Pops糖爆玉米花 Liver & Tomatoes牛肝蕃茄
Pork Sausage & Mashed Potatoes豬肉香腸薯泥
BEVERAGES飲料 WAFFLE & GRIDDLE CAKES
Tea紅茶 Cinnamon Waffle 玉桂壓花蛋餅
Coffee咖啡 American Waffle美式壓花蛋餅
Cocoa可可 Chocolate Waffle巧克力壓花蛋餅
Chocolate巧克力 Waffle & Fried Eggs煎蛋壓花蛋餅
Fresh Milk鮮奶 Buckwheat Cakes蕎麥餅
Yoghourt酵母乳 Griddle Cakes煎餅
Lesson 2:Lunch and Supper
(第二課：午餐和晚餐)
午餐和晚餐的菜單相差不多。但是由於午外食用時間較爲短暫，因而產生了各種商業午餐、快餐，既省時又方便。晚餐則是正餐
時間，可以慢慢地品嚐各種美食，通常比較正式，也比較講究，因此男士要穿西裝、打領帶，女士不可穿長褲或短褲，必定要穿洋裝。
無論是午餐還是晚餐，菜單(menu)上都分爲兩種，一是table d'h?te稱爲套餐、客飯或定餐，一是à la
carte稱爲點菜式，依菜單零點菜餚。
定餐(table
d'h?te)是由固定的幾種菜餚所組成的，分A餐、B餐、商業快餐等，除了主菜肉類可隨客人點叫外，湯、生菜沙拉、麪包、甜點、飲料等，並沒有選擇的餘
地，但價格卻很大衆化。
午餐和晚餐通常包括下列五項：
1. 開胃菜Appetizer
正餐前所上之開胃食品，用以促進食慾，有些還附有canape（塗上乳酪或魚子醬的薄吐司）。
常見的開胃菜有：
Shrimp Cocktail鮮蝦開胃品（用杯子盛放）
Oyster Cocktail鮮蠔開胃品
Crab Meat Cocktail蟹肉開胃品
Chilled Fruit Cup什錦冰水果
Chilled Vegetable Juice冰鎮蔬菜汁
Assorted Relishes什錦開胃
Smoked Oyster煙燻鮮蠔
Smoked Perch煙燻鱸魚
Smoked Salmon Rolls煙燻鮭魚卷
Herring in Sour Cream酸奶油拌鯖魚
Baby Tomato filled with Crab Meat蟹肉瓤小蕃茄
Strasbourg Pate de Foie Gras下法國鵝肝醬
Russian Black Caviar俄國黑魚子醬
American Celery美國芹菜心
2. 湯Soup
繼開胃菜之後端上來的第二道菜即是湯。一般餐廳供應清湯（clear soup）和濃湯（thick
soup）兩種。喝湯的動作是將湯匙由內向外，慢慢自碗中將湯舀起。
常見的西式羹湯有下列幾種：
Beef Vegetable Soup菜丁牛肉清湯
Chicken Mushroom Soup香菇丁濃雞湯
Chili Beans墨西哥辣豆湯
Green Turtle Soup水魚清湯
Clam Chowder Soup蛤肉羹（蛤肉加馬鈴薯、洋蔥一起燉）
Green Pea Potage豌豆羹（濃湯）
Chicken Consomme雞羹（清湯）
Chicken Cream Soup奶油雞羹湯
French Onion Soup法式洋蔥湯
Oxtail Soup 牛尾湯
Chicken Mushroom Soup香菇清雞湯
Cream of Mushroom Soup奶油香菇湯
Cream of Tomato Soup奶油蕃茄湯
Cream of Corn Soup奶油玉米湯
Russian Borsch羅宋湯
Iced Madrilene冰凍蕃茄芹菜湯
3. 主菜entrée
法語叫"entrée"，美語稱爲"main dish"，通菜都是肉類及海
鮮類。
Veal Sweetbread in Puff Pastry牛仔核酥批
Pork Chop Cutlet, Robert Sauce豬排肉片
Veal Cutlet Vienna維也納小牛肉片
Breaded Lamb Cutlet羊排肉片
Pheasant in Casserole原盅山雞
Duck a l'orange鮮橙燴鴨
Beef Goulash匈牙利燴牛肉
Chicken Kiev俄式炸鴨
Escalopes Holsten德式小牛肉
Smoked Pork Chops薰豬排
Beef Stroganoff德式炒牛肉絲
Mixed Grill 什錦鐵扒
Chicken à la King皇家雞飯（加辣椒醬）
Chicken or Shrimp curry 咖哩雞或鮮蝦
Calf Liver with Bacon 牛肝燻肉
4. 甜點Dessert
包括水果、冰淇淋、布丁、乳酪等。外後吃點甜的東西，可以
調節油膩。
Pineapple Fritters鳳梨餡油炸餅
Cream Puff奶油泡芙
Blueberry Pie藍莓派
Cherry Pie櫻桃派（餡餅）
Pecan Pie核桃派
Lemon Chiffon Pie 檸檬奶油派
Lemon Custard檸檬軟凍
Mint Sherbet薄荷雪碧（果汁肉入入牛奶、蛋白等冰凍而成的食物）
Coffee Ice Cream咖啡冰淇淋
Strawberry Ice Cream草莓冰淇淋
Chocolate Ice Cream巧克力洋淇淋
Vanilla Ice Cream香草冰淇淋
Mago Ice Cream芒果冰淇淋
Mint Ice Cream 薄荷冰淇淋
Crushed Cherry Ice Cream櫻桃冰淇淋
Walnut Ice Cream核桃冰淇淋
Chocolate Sundae巧克力聖代
Strawberry Sundae草莓聖代
Banana Split香蕉船（香蕉上放三種冰淇淋聖代）
Vanilla Cream Cake香草蛋糕
Swiss Chocolate Ice Cream瑞士巧克力冰淇淋
Chocolate Malt麥芽巧克力冰淇淋
Rice Pudding白米布丁
Custard Pudding雞蛋牛奶布丁
5. 飲料Beverages
包括咖啡、紅茶、可樂、牛奶、果汁、啤酒等。如果是alcoholic beverages或
liquor就是指含酒精成分的飲料，像威士忌、白蘭地、琴酒等（酒精成分超過40％的烈酒稱爲spirits）。
Tea熱茶（紅茶）
Coffee熱咖啡
Hot Chocolate熱巧克力
Cocoa熱可可
Iced Tea冰紅茶
Iced Coffee冰咖啡
Orange Juice柳橙汁
Orangeade橘子水
Lemonade檸檬水
Lemon Squash檸檬果汁
Pepsi (Pepsi Cola)百事可樂
Cherry Coke櫻桃可樂
Apple Cider蘋果西打 Sarsaparilla沙士汽水
Root Beer麥根汽水
Cream Soda奶油蘇打
Grape Soda葡萄蘇打
Yoghourt酵母乳
Ginger Ale薑汁汽水
Milk牛奶
Butter Milk酸牛奶
Skim Milk脫脂牛奶
Vanilla Milk Shake香草奶昔
Vanilla Malt香草麥芽啤酒
Chocolate Milk Shake巧克力奶昔
西方的咖啡館（coffee shop或café）供應冷飲及速簡的三餐，有些是二十四小時營業。
早上供應大衆化的早餐，如醃肉、火腿、蛋、吐司、煎餅、牛奶、咖啡等。中午供應快餐、三明治、熱狗、漢堡等，是不帶便當（lunch
box）的人解決午餐的場所。晚餐供應的牛排、豬排、魚、蝦及雞肉等，價格比大餐廳低廉許多，但不供應酒類。
咖啡店的服務生多爲女性（waitress），櫃檯後面穿白色制服的冷飲服務生則多爲男性，稱爲fountain boy或soda jerk。
客人點三明治時，服務生會問，是要用普通的白麪包、裸麥麪包，還是全麥麪包來夾"How do you want your sandwich,
sir? On white, rye or whole-wheat bread?"此外還會問客人吐司要不要烤過 "Would you like
your sandwich plain or toasted?"
如果客人要的是漢堡，服務生會問裏面要不要夾酸黃瓜等調味料和洋蔥 "Do you want relish and onion on your
hamburger?"
sitcome
n.
(=situation comedy)(廣播、電視中的)系列幽默劇
muse
v.tr.
To consider or say thoughtfully:
謹慎地考慮或者說：
mused that it might take longer to drive than walk.
思忖着開車也許比步行花的時間還多
muse
n.
A state of meditation.
默想
curtail
vt.
縮短, 省略(詞的一部分); 提早結束(講話、節目等)
剝奪
節約, 削減(經費等)
curtail a speech
縮短講話
curtail one's holidays
縮短假期
have one's pay curtailed
被減薪 “Phone”
is a curtailed word.Phone
是一個縮略詞。
bun
[bQn]
n
小圓甜麪包
圓髻
bun
[bQn]
n.
[英方]
松鼠
兔
bun
[bQn]
n.
[美俚]酩酊大醉
