Page 69 - Reading Success B6

Have you ever eaten a Cheeseburger or a McNugget? How about an Egg
McMuffin? If so, then you’re one of 50 million people served everyday at McDonald’s.
With over 30,000 local restaurants worldwide in more than 119 countries, the

McDonald’s Corporation is the world’s largest chain of fast-food restaurants. Aside
from the foods already mentioned, McDonald’s also sells other varieties of
hamburger, chicken, salad, desert and soft drinks. It was the first restaurant to
introduce Happy Meals , playgrounds, and cartooned mascots to attract children.

The McDonald’s success story begins in 1940, when Dick and Mac McDonald
opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California. They introduced the
“Speedee Service System” which established the principles of fast-food service in
today’s restaurants. The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a

franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc in Des Plaines, Illinois, the ninth McDonald’s
restaurant overall. Kroc later purchased the McDonald brothers’ ownership in the
company and led its worldwide expansion.

With the successful expansion of McDonald’s into many international markets, the
company has become a symbol of globalization and the spread of the American way
of life. However McDonald’s multi-national, multi-billion dollar business has made the

company a frequent target of activism and the subject of many public debates. More
specifically, the company’s controversial business tactics and even it’s own
overwhelming success, has generated much discussion about corporate ethics,
consumer responsibility, obesity, the environment, intellectual property, animal rights,
and even its role in the destruction of modern society.

Main Idea

What is the main idea of this story?

a. who Ray Kroc was

b. how McDonald’s was able to expand into such a large company
c. the McDonald’s Corporation’s history and future

d. the problems McDonald’s faces today

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