单项选择题

Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
Americans are a very energetic and mobile people, always on the run, rushing from one appointment to another, from a PTA meeting to a social planning committee. They have very little time to spend preparing elaborate everyday meals to be eaten at leisure. In many homes it is rare for the whole family to sit down at supper together. Clubs and commitments force them to grab a quick meal rather than a sit-down supper.
When they do have the chance to eat at home often the working housewife prefers to prepare meals which can be quickly heated and consumed, it is no wonder, therefore, that America has become a sanctuary for fast food consumption.
This great transformation occurred after World War II when many women began to work full-time jobs and were spending less time at home with their families. Women, however, wanted to function well in the capacity of home-maker, as well as that of career woman but time became a precious commodity which had to be carefully used.
Therefore, it was necessary to make her life easier at home in the preparation of the family dinner. Simultaneously with women entering the job market there was also a shifting of the focus of home entertainment from the radio to the television. Television became the latest fad in the fifties and no one wanted to miss his or her favorite televised program. The place for the evening’s supper shifted from the dining room to the living room.
As the customs changed, so did the culture. The immediate solution for this was the invention of the TV dinner. These were frozen meals which were sectioned off into portions of meat and vegetables. They could easily be popped into an oven and prepared within minutes. The tin trays in which they were served were conveniently carried into the living room and dinner was consumed in front of a TV set. Cleaning up afterwards was no problem. The tin trays were easily tossed into the garbage.
From fast dinners at home the next step was quick eating while on the road. At this time also the love for TV was combined with the fascination for the automobile. It is not odd that with the development of the superhighways America saw the beginning of fast food chains. McDonald’s paved the way with its variety of burgers and shakes soon to be followed by all kinds of other foods. Today dozens of fast-food chain franchises can he found along highways, in modem shopping malls and scattered throughout neighborhoods in America. Taeo Bell, Pizza Hut, Roy Roger’s, Burger King and Wendy’s are just a few of the fast-food chains which are now part of American culture. They offer chicken, donuts, tacos and pizza, all quickly produced in great quantities for the masses. These establishments have given shape to the modem lifestyles and diet of the American people.
Americans began to have supper in the living rooms because of______.

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