2 b
Listen and read the text below.
The United States has a population of 256 million.
It has a very strong economy.
Many people use credit cards and spend a lot of money on cars and entertainment.
Most Americans still live in houses, not flats.
They travel a lot but they don't learn foreign languages.
Many Americans own handguns and like eating junk food.
Americans have always been famous for their car culture.
Because America is so car-oriented, there are many kinds of drive-ins.
At a drive-in restaurant, you order your food from your car and eat it there.
You can go to a drive-in bank and cash a cheque from your car.
There are also drive-in libraries, drive-in laundries, drive-in churches and drive-in movies.
A drive-in movie is a movie you go to and watch in your car.
A huge screen is set up out-of-doors in front of a parking lot.
People park their cars in front of the screen beside poles which have speakers on them.
They can pull the speakers inside their cars to hear the movie sound.
The American way of life is now everywhere and has a big influence on young people all over the world.
Many Europeans believe that their own culture is in danger because of the English language and American products.
Hollywood is one example: about 75% of all films seen in Europe come from America.
Many English words are in everyday use in many countries alongside their own language: cool, full, sorry, goodbye, okay and so on.
In France, they have given this phenomenon a name, "Franglais", and in Latin America they talk of "Spanglish".
