Eating habits are different in different countries. The Chinese have a saying（谚语） “Eat good things for breakfast, eat a big meal for lunch, but eat less at dinner.” Many Americans agree that one should start the day with a good breakfast, but their ideas about lunch and dinner are not the same.

Most Americans only give themselves a short time for lunch. So they eat a small lunch. After work they will have more time to eat a big dinner. Also a quiet dinner at home with all the family members talking about their day is a way to take a good rest after a long hard day of work.

Eating at restaurants is also different. In China, people like to talk and laugh while eating. Very often you can hear people talking and laughing aloud, and they are just having a good time. In America it is not like this. They want a quiet place. There they can eat a good meal far away from the noises of the outside world. If someone is talking loudly, the manager（经理）of the restaurant will look at him or her angrily. When some people are talking too loudly, the manager of the restaurant may come and ask them to be quiet.

Many Englishmen eat four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.

People have breakfast from seven to nine in the morning. They eat porridge, eggs or bread. English people drink tea or coffee at breakfast.

Lunch comes at one o’clock in the afternoon. Afternoon tea is from four to five in the afternoon and dinner is at about half past seven. First, they have soup, and then they have meat or fish with vegetables. After that, they eat some other things, like bananas, apples, oranges and so on. But not all English people eat like that. Some of them have their dinner in the middle of the day. Their meals are breakfast, dinner, afternoon tea and supper and all these meals are very simple.