Eating Custom and Practice
American eating is funny. They eat almost everything with a fork, and it appears that holding a knife in one's right hand longer than a few seconds is considered to be against good table manners.
飲食的風(fēng)俗和習(xí)慣
美國人的飲食習(xí)慣很有趣。 他們吃所有東西都用叉子。好像用右手拿刀幾秒鐘就被認為與好的桌上進餐禮儀相違背。

The system is that if it is absolutely necessary to use a knife, people take the fork in their left hand, and cut off a piece of meat or whatever it is in the normal manner. Then they put the knife down, transfer the fork to their right hand, and only then do they transport the food to their mouth. This is clearly ludicrous(滑稽可笑), but it is considered good manners.
這種用法就是如果絕對需要用刀的話， 人們就用左手拿叉， 按平常的方法切下移小塊肉和者其它的東西。然后他們把刀放下，把叉轉(zhuǎn)到右手， 只有這時他們才把食物送入口中。這顯然很滑稽， 但卻是被認為是好的禮儀。
There are several results of this system. First, if it is not absolutely necessary to use a knife, Americans don't use one, because obviously this greatly complicates(使復(fù)雜化) things, and you will therefore see them trying to cut things like potatoes, fish and even bacon(熏豬肉) with a fork. Second, towards the end of a course, since only one implement(器具) is being used, food has to do chased around the plate with the fork - and for the last mouthful the thumb has to be used to keep the food in place, although one is not supposed to do this.
這樣做有幾種結(jié)果。 首先，如果不是絕對需要用到刀， 美國人是 不用的。 因為這樣使得事情復(fù)雜化了。所以你就會看到他們用叉來切土豆， 魚， 甚至熏豬肉。其次， 由于只是用了一種器具， 在吃完一道菜時， 就要用叉來到處弄食物，最后一口往往就需要大拇指的幫忙， 雖然是不該用的。

Third, tables are generally laid with one knife and two forks, the outside fork being for the salad. There is no need for foreign visitors to follow the American system and try to eat the salad with only a fork, but if you do use your knife, remember to save it for the meat course.
第三， 桌上通常會放一把刀， 兩把叉， 外面的叉是用于吃色拉的。 外國人是不必跟美國人一樣試圖用一把叉來吃色拉。但是如果你用刀，記得用來切肉類。
Even desserts(甜食) (except ice cream) are eaten with a fork if at all possible, and the spoon you see by your dessert is meant to be for coffee (but if you use it for your dessert no one will say anything).
在可能的情況下，甚至甜食(除了冰淇淋) 都用叉來吃，在你看到的甜品邊上的小勺是給你的咖啡用的(但是如果你用它來吃甜品，沒人會說什么。

參考文獻：詞典