AnswersHopkins FA American Literature 2026-2027A Look at the Fast-Food Industry by Eric Schlosser

A Look at the Fast-Food Industry by Eric Schlosser Answers

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1
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Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. Instead of relying upon a small, stable, well-paid, and well-trained workforce, the fast food industry seeks out part-time, unskilled workers who are willing to accept low pay. Teenagers have been the perfect candidates for these jobs, not only because they are less expensive to hire than adults, but also because their youthful inexperience makes them easier to control.In this excerpt, Schlosser claims that fast food restaurants are

A
taking advantage of people to save money.
B
helping society by hiring unskilled workers.
C
providing valuable training for teenagers.
D
using highly skilled workers in low-paying jobs.
2
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Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. The restaurant opens for business at seven o’clock, and for the next hour or so, Elisa and the manager hold down the fort, handling all the orders. As the place starts to get busy, other employees arrive. Elisa works behind the counter. She takes orders and hands food to customers from breakfast through lunch.Which type of evidence does Schlosser use in this excerpt?

A
anecdotal
B
statistical
C
testimonial
D
analogical
3

Which excerpt from Fast Food Nation best states the author’s overall claim?

A
The fast food industry’s obsession with throughput has altered the way millions of Americans work, turned commercial kitchens into small factories, and changed familiar foods into commodities that are manufactured.
B
Unlike Olympic gymnastics—an activity in which teenagers consistently perform at a higher level than adults—there’s nothing about the work in a fast food kitchen that requires young employees.
C
Although Richard and Mac McDonald introduced the division of labor to the restaurant business, it was a McDonald’s executive named Fred Turner who created a production system of unusual thoroughness and attention to detail.
D
Teenagers have been the perfect candidates for these jobs, not only because they are less expensive to hire than adults, but also because their youthful inexperience makes them easier to control.
4

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. Unlike Olympic gymnastics—an activity in which teenagers consistently perform at a higher level than adults—there’s nothing about the work in a fast food kitchen that requires young employees. Which type of evidence does the author use in this excerpt?

A
anecdotal
B
statistical
C
testimonial
D
analogical
5

Which excerpt from Fast Food Nation best illustrates the use of the rhetorical appeal pathos?

A
Teenagers have long provided the fast food industry with the bulk of its workforce.
B
The strict regimentation at fast food restaurants creates standardized products.
C
Although Richard and Mac McDonald introduced the division of labor to the restaurant business, it was a McDonald’s executive named Fred Turner who created a production system of unusual thoroughness and attention to detail.
D
But the stance of the fast food industry on issues involving employee training, the minimum wage, labor unions, and overtime pay strongly suggests that its motives in hiring the young, the poor, and the handicapped are hardly altruistic.
6

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. EVERY SATURDAY, ELISA ZAMOT gets up at 5:15 in the morning. It’s a struggle, and her head feels groggy as she steps into the shower. Her little sisters, Cookie and Sabrina, are fast asleep in their beds. By 5:30, Elisa’s showered, done her hair, and put on her McDonald’s uniform. She’s sixteen, bright-eyed and olive-skinned, pretty and petite, ready for another day of work. Elisa’s mother usually drives her the half-mile or so to the restaurant, but sometimes Elisa walks, leaving home before the sun rises. Which of the following choices best describes the rhetorical appeal used in this excerpt?

A
The excerpt demonstrates logos because it is completely objective and lacking in emotion.
B
The excerpt demonstrates logos because it contains statistics to support the author’s claim.
C
The excerpt demonstrates ethos because the author positions himself as an expert on the topic.
D
The excerpt demonstrates pathos because the author presents a compelling story using emotional language.
7

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. “When management determines exactly how every task is to be done . . . and can impose its own rules about pace, output, quality, and technique,” the sociologist Robin Leidner has noted, “[it] makes workers increasingly interchangeable.” The management no longer depends upon the talents or skills of its workers — those things are built into the operating system and machines. Jobs that have been “de-skilled” can be filled cheaply. The need to retain any individual worker is greatly reduced by the ease with which he or she can be replaced.Which best describes the type of evidence presented in this excerpt?

A
analogical
B
anecdotal
C
statistical
D
testimonial
8

Which excerpt from Fast Food Nation best illustrates the use of the rhetorical appeal logos?

A
Teenagers open the fast food outlets in the morning, close them at night, and keep them going at all hours in between.
B
Elisa’s mother usually drives her the half-mile or so to the restaurant, but sometimes Elisa walks, leaving home before the sun rises.
C
The labor practices of the fast food industry have their origins in the assembly line systems adopted by American manufacturers in the early twentieth century.
D
Fast food kitchens often seem like a scene from Bugsy Malone, a film in which all the actors are children pretending to be adults.
9

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. At Burger King restaurants, frozen hamburger patties are placed on a conveyer belt and emerge from a broiler ninety seconds later fully cooked. The ovens at Pizza Hut and at Domino’s also use conveyer belts to ensure standardized cooking times. The ovens at McDonald’s look like commercial laundry presses, with big steel hoods that swing down and grill hamburgers on both sides at once. The burgers, chicken, french fries, and buns are all frozen when they arrive at a McDonald’s. The evidence presented here supports the author’s claim that fast food restaurants are like factories because the excerpt

A
explores the variety of items available at many fast food chains.
B
describes the typical workday of a fast food employee.
C
explains why teenagers like to work at fast food restaurants.
D
illustrates the assembly line principle of making things faster.
10

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. At Taco Bell restaurants the food is “assembled,” not prepared. The guacamole isn’t made by workers in the kitchen; it’s made at a factory in Michoacán, Mexico, then frozen and shipped north. The chain’s taco meat arrives frozen and precooked in vacuum-sealed plastic bags. The beans are dehydrated and look like brownish corn flakes. The cooking process is fairly simple. “Everything’s add water,” a Taco Bell employee told me. “Just add hot water.”The Taco Bell employee’s quote supports Schlosser’s argument in this excerpt because it

A
provides personal opinions about the working conditions in fast food restaurants.
B
helps the reader visualize teenagers working in fast food restaurants.
C
provides expert testimony about the nutritional quality of fast food.
D
emphasizes the obsession with consistency and standardization in the fast food industry.
11

In Fast Food Nation, the best reason that the author offers for the fast-food industry’s strict regimen for productivity is that

A
once an order is placed, glowing buttons suggest other menu items.
B
company operation manuals can be updated more often.
C
it gives the companies power over their employees.
D
flashing lights can help tell employees what to do.
12

The author of Fast Food Nation claims that the fast-food industry prefers to employ underskilled workers. The author best offers support by providing

A
counterclaims about employees who prefer part-time jobs
B
specific reasons such as the ability of de-skilled jobs to “be filled cheaply”
C
evidence that English is the second language for many employees
D
evidence that employees often learn basic job skills such as “getting to work on time”
13

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. “When management determines exactly how every task is to be done . . . and can impose its own rules about pace, output, quality, and technique,” the sociologist Robin Leidner has noted, “[it] makes workers increasingly interchangeable.” The management no longer depends upon the talents or skills of its workers — those things are built into the operating system and machines. Jobs that have been “de-skilled” can be filled cheaply. The need to retain any individual worker is greatly reduced by the ease with which he or she can be replaced.Which best describes the type of evidence presented in this excerpt?

A
analogical
B
anecdotal
C
statistical
D
testimonial
14

Which excerpt from Fast Food Nation best states the author’s overall claim?

A
The fast food industry’s obsession with throughput has altered the way millions of Americans work, turned commercial kitchens into small factories, and changed familiar foods into commodities that are manufactured.
B
Unlike Olympic gymnastics—an activity in which teenagers consistently perform at a higher level than adults—there’s nothing about the work in a fast food kitchen that requires young employees.
C
Although Richard and Mac McDonald introduced the division of labor to the restaurant business, it was a McDonald’s executive named Fred Turner who created a production system of unusual thoroughness and attention to detail.
D
Teenagers have been the perfect candidates for these jobs, not only because they are less expensive to hire than adults, but also because their youthful inexperience makes them easier to control.
15

Which excerpt from Fast Food Nation best states a reason supporting the author’s claim that fast food restaurants follow the assembly line model?

A
Once an order has been placed, buttons light up and suggest other menu items that can be added.
B
At Burger King restaurants, frozen hamburger patties are placed on a conveyer belt and emerge from a broiler ninety seconds later fully cooked.
C
The McDonald’s operations manual today has ten times the number of pages and weighs about four pounds.
D
Teenagers open the fast food outlets in the morning, close them at night, and keep them going at all hours in between.
16

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. At Burger King restaurants, frozen hamburger patties are placed on a conveyer belt and emerge from a broiler ninety seconds later fully cooked. The ovens at Pizza Hut and at Domino’s also use conveyer belts to ensure standardized cooking times. The ovens at McDonald’s look like commercial laundry presses, with big steel hoods that swing down and grill hamburgers on both sides at once. The burgers, chicken, french fries, and buns are all frozen when they arrive at a McDonald’s. The evidence presented here supports the author’s claim that fast food restaurants are like factories because the excerpt

A
explores the variety of items available at many fast food chains.
B
describes the typical workday of a fast food employee.
C
explains why teenagers like to work at fast food restaurants.
D
illustrates the assembly line principle of making things faster.
17

Which of the following pieces of evidence from Fast Food Nation best supports the author’s claim that teenagers are the ideal candidates for working in the fast food industry?

A
And it gives fast food companies an enormous amount of power over their employees.
B
Since most teenagers still lived at home, they could afford to work for wages too low to support an adult, and until recently, their limited skills attracted few other employers.
C
Workers at the counter are told to increase the size of an order by recommending special promotions, pushing dessert, pointing out the financial logic behind the purchase of a larger drink.
D
A McDonald’s kitchen is full of buzzers and flashing lights that tell employees what to do.
18

In Fast Food Nation, the best reason that the author offers for the fast-food industry’s strict regimen for productivity is that

A
once an order is placed, glowing buttons suggest other menu items.
B
company operation manuals can be updated more often.
C
it gives the companies power over their employees.
D
flashing lights can help tell employees what to do.
19

Which excerpt from Fast Food Nation best illustrates the use of the rhetorical appeal logos?

A
Teenagers open the fast food outlets in the morning, close them at night, and keep them going at all hours in between.
B
Elisa’s mother usually drives her the half-mile or so to the restaurant, but sometimes Elisa walks, leaving home before the sun rises.
C
The labor practices of the fast food industry have their origins in the assembly line systems adopted by American manufacturers in the early twentieth century.
D
Fast food kitchens often seem like a scene from Bugsy Malone, a film in which all the actors are children pretending to be adults.
20

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. The strict regimentation at fast food restaurants creates standardized products. It increases the throughput. And it gives fast food companies an enormous amount of power over their employees. “When management determines exactly how every task is to be done . . . and can impose its own rules about pace, output, quality, and technique,” the sociologist Robin Leidner has noted, “[it] makes workers increasingly interchangeable.”Which type of evidence is Schlosser using in this excerpt?

A
anecdotal
B
statistical
C
testimonial
D
analogical

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