Page 42 - 0414

2014 ‫מועד אפריל‬ - 41 - ‫ פרק ראשו ן‬- ‫ אנגלית‬

Text II (Questions 18-22)

(1) Eric Schlosser's new book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American
Meal, will make you think twice before ordering your next hamburger. Schlosser
contends that the fast food industry has had a profound and pervasive impact on
America's health, economy, and culture, with fast food chains profiting at the expense of

(5) the rest of society.

According to Schlosser, the typical American now consumes approximately three
fast food hamburgers and four orders of french fries a week – to say nothing of other
high-fat fast food meals. One effect of this has been a mounting obesity rate. Another
has been a spiraling increase in food-borne illnesses, most notably those caused by the

(10) notorious E. coli bacteria, as meat production becomes increasingly centralized to meet
the demands of the huge and powerful fast food chains. Schlosser claims that fast food
corporations have conspired with influential policy makers to block legislation that
would impose costly new standards for food safety.

Furthermore, the same corporations have resisted worker safety and minimum wage
(15) requirements. The fast food giants have also squeezed out small restaurants and local

chains, which cannot compete with them. Even small farmers, ranchers, and other
suppliers have become marginalized as a result of the large restaurant chains' demands
for uniformity.

According to Schlosser, this "deadening homogenization" has had a devastating

(20) cultural impact. Individual and regional culinary differences have been erased and

commercial symbols and advertising slogans have become cultural icons. And the

"McDonaldization" of society reaches far beyond the United States. In Brazil,

McDonald's is now the country's largest private employer. In China, the golden arches

are as familiar to schoolchildren as pictures of Mao Tse-Tung. It is no surprise, then,

(25) that McDonald's has become a prime target of anti-globalization protesters throughout

the world.

Questions

18. The main purpose of the text is to -

(1) discuss the positive and negative effects of the fast food industry
(2) present Eric Schlosser's criticisms of the fast food industry
(3) compare American fast food with that of other countries
(4) discuss the impact of fast food on American culture

)‫© כל הזכויות שמורות למרכז ארצי לבחינות ולהערכה (ע"ר‬

.‫ בלא אישור בכתב מהמרכז הארצי לבחינות ולהערכה‬- ‫ כולה או חלקים ממנה‬- ‫ או ללמדה‬,‫אין להעתיק או להפיץ בחינה זו או קטעים ממנה בכל צורה ובכל אמצעי‬