Everyone knows America is a nation in a hurry--especially the makers of packaged foods. First there was the TV dinner. Then came fast food for meals on the go. Nowadays, with the pace of life approaching warp speed, it' s time for something marketers call hyper-convenience food.

每个人都知道美国是一个比较急的国家，特别是食品包装的制作商。首先是电视晚餐。然后是蒸蒸日上的快餐。现在，随着生活脚步逼近飞行速度，一些营销人员是时候推出超级方便食品。

In their continuing quest to trim the amount of time spent on cooking and eating, packaged food producers are streamlining every aspect of dining--shopping, preparation, the act itself and cleanup. Supermarkets are clustering meal components near each other to reduce the time spent wandering the aisles. Short-cuts like pre-washed, peeled vegetables are everywhere. And any food that can be shaped to fit into cup holders is considered to have a great advantage.

在不断裁减花在做饭和吃饭的时间后，包装食品生产商精简的方方面面的餐饮——购物、准备工作、行动本身和清理。超市是离每个人都有很近的群餐地方，而且还可以减少在过道里游荡的时间。一些比较方便的东西，像提前洗好的、切好的蔬菜无处不在。所有的食物都可以切成和承载物相符的形状，这是一个很大的优势。

Whether fueled by time-pressed parents or unraveling family life, convenience continues to dominate the food scene. People want to eat the right things but when it comes to health for time, time wins. It is often found that people are frequently eating directly out of boxes, bags or other containers. In addition, teenagers and other family members--whether because of schedules or dysfunction--were shown eating meals at different times, rather than sitting down the dinner together. One of the latest book, The Rise and Fan of the American Teenager concludes that the scatter-shot approach to the family dinner hour is linked to social problems like drug use.

不管是时间紧迫的父母还是时间充裕的家庭，方便将持续主导食品界。虽然人们想吃有营养的食物，但是，在健康和金钱中选择，人们都是选择时间。通常人们都是吃直接从盒子、袋子或其他容器拿出来的食物。此外，青少年和一些他家庭成员——不管是因为时间问题还是身体功能障碍——显示是随时随地吃饭而不是坐在一起吃晚餐。最新的一本书，The Rise and Fan of the American Teenager（书名）总结出，随意的家庭晚餐时间跟一些社会问题是有联系的，比如说吸毒。

Now, people are constantly pressed for time and on the move. Family members seldom sit down for dinner every night. It's a very different pace we live today. Breakfast is pretty much gone, as far as sitting down and eating. Lunch is on the way out, and dinner is under attack.

现在，人民都是不断地挤压时间，不停地前进。家人们都很少每天晚上坐在一起吃晚餐。我们今天所生活的节奏真的是很不一样。早餐不在丰富，就只是坐下来吃点而已。午餐都是出去吃，完成年也受到了威胁。