Alcohol1 and the Law

酒水和法律

It is difficult to give a description of American laws concerning2 alcohol because they vary3 from state to state and city to city． The following, though, may be noted4．
　　Some towns, even states are totally “dry”—no alcohol is sold at all except that they   allow the sale of very weak ?穴3．2 percent alcohol?雪 beer, known as “three－two”beer． Some places do not allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays, even in shops—you may find a bar locked over the alcohol shelves． You can see it but not buy it! Other places permit alcohol to be sold on Sunday afternoons and evenings, but not on Sunday mornings． ?穴Note that this means sales have to stop at midnight on Saturday．?雪
　　In many parts of America, you are not allowed to drink alcohol in a public place． That is, you may not sit in a park or walk along a street drinking beer, and you cannot even take a nice bottle of wine on your picnic5． In some places, people can be seen taking drinks in public places from cans wrapped6 in brown－paper bags． These are not cans of Coca－Cola． And in many states you are not allowed to drink alcohol while driving, or even have an opened alcohol container7 in the car．
　　Some bars have a license8 only for beer and wine． Others are also allowed to sell  spirits9 and thus, as Americans say, “mixed drinks”．
　　Many bars have a period known as “happy hour”, often longer than an hour, when they sell drinks at lower－than－usual prices． This is usually around 5 p．m． or on early evenings．

很难用一句话说清楚美国有关酒水的法律，因为有关酒水的法律因州而异，因城市而异。尽管如此，下面几点还是要倍加留意。
　　有的城镇，——甚至有的州，根本就不允许出售酒水，完全“禁酒”。他们只允许出售3.2度的啤酒，叫三·二啤酒。有的地方不允许在周日售酒。在商店你有可能发现酒柜是锁着的。你看得见酒，但买不到。有的地方酒水只能在周日下午或晚上出售，而不能在周日上午出售（也就是说周六午夜就得停止售酒）。
　　在美国的许多地方，你不能在公共场合饮酒。也就是说你不能在公园里饮酒，也不能一边走一边饮啤酒。你野炊也时不能带。在一些地方，你可看见人们喝的是用棕色纸袋包裹的易拉罐装的酒，那罐中不是可口可乐。在许多州，你不能边驾驶边饮酒，甚至不能在车内打开酒瓶。
　　有的酒吧有一个只能售啤酒和果酒的营业许可证。有的酒吧可售高度酒。美国人把它叫混合酒。
　　有的酒吧有一段售酒时间，叫“快乐时间”，通常长于一小时，这段时间出售的酒水比平时价格低。“快乐时间”通常始于下午5 点左右或傍晚。

The Legal10 Drinking Age

饮酒的法定年龄

Legal drinking age varies from place to place but is generally between 18 to 21．  Some places permit the consumption11 of beer at 18 but spirits only at 21． Other permits the consumption only of “three－two” beer from 18 to 21． ?穴Young people therefore often drive from one place to another with more liberal drinking laws．?雪  In any case, in some parts of the USA young people are allowed to vote, marry, raise children, keep full time jobs, be tried in courts as adults, join the army and even buy guns—but NOT have a glass of beer． In some places people aged between 18 to 21 are allowed to go into bars but not allowed to drink．
　　Another even more interesting aspect of  American drinking－age laws is that in some places people below legal drinking age are not even allowed to sell alcohol．

法定的饮酒年龄一般因地而异，但一般都是18岁到21岁之间。有的地方允许18岁饮啤酒，21岁才能饮烈性酒。有的地方18至21岁可饮三·二啤酒。（因此，年轻人为了享用饮酒的法律权利而开车到别的地方去。）在任何情况下，年轻人在某些州有选举权，结婚、生子权，全日上班权，像成人一样在法庭上行使受审权，可以参军可以买枪，但不能饮一杯啤酒。在有些地方，18至21岁的人可以进酒吧，但不能饮酒。
　　美国还有一件有趣的事是：法定饮酒年龄以下的年轻人不可出售酒类。

Providing Proof12 of Your Age

证明你的年龄

In most places these drinking laws are fairly rigidly13 enforced14． You may, for example, find people lining up to get into a bar and discover that a guard on the door who is asking everybody for ID16 causes the queue15． If you ask him why he wants to know who you are, he will inform you that he actually wants confirmation17 of how old you are． On such occasions Americans often show their driving licenses, which have their date of birth written on them．
在许多地方，这些关于饮酒的法律实施得非常严格。有时你会发现在酒吧门口排着长队，其实是等门卫查身份证。如果你问他为什么，他会说他要知道你的真实年龄。在这种场合下，美国人常出示驾驶证，上面也有出生年月日。

Beer

啤酒

American beer, with very few exceptions18, varies from the mediocre19 to the terrible． There are not many types of beer in the US—“light” and “dark” are two terms commonly used． It is therefore normal to order beer simply by brand name． In a restaurant, in fact, it is quite all right to order “a beer”, and they will tell you what they have．
　　It is not necessary, either, to specify20 quantity when ordering beer． If it comes in bottles or cans, you   will get a bottle or can, and if it＇s “on tap”21 you will get a glass, unless you order a “pitcher”22． The latter is a very convenient23 thing to do, since you can then take the jug and glasses to your table and keep filling up without going back to the bar．
　　Some beer comes in bottles with tops that look as if they need an opener, but you can, in fact, screw24 them off by hand—though you have to be very careful not to hurt yourself．
　　It is possible, in some stores and bars, to find a wide selection of beer from all over the world, especially from Western Europe and Australia, and it is good fun to experiment with these．

在美国，啤酒是一般都是从平和到烈性，种类不算多，主要有两类——“淡啤”与“黑啤”。一般点啤酒时直呼商标名。在餐馆，当你点啤酒时，服务员会报出他们正出售的啤酒品牌。
　　你也不必说出你要的准确数量。如果是瓶装或易拉罐装的啤酒，你可以点一瓶或一罐；如果是自助式的桶装啤酒，你得要一个大酒杯，除非你点了一大罐。点一大罐很方便，有一罐啤酒放在桌上，可以自斟自饮，不必再去吧台。
　　有的啤酒吧给你提供的酒瓶好像需要开瓶器，其实你可用手直接拧开，不过小心别伤着手。
　　在某些商店和酒吧里你可选用世界各地的啤酒，特别是东欧和澳洲的，在这里品酒酷毙了。

 Wine

葡萄酒

In bars wine often sells in glass． Don＇t be misled25 by names such as “Chablis” or “Claret” —the wine is Californian． “Chablis” is used to refer to white wine, and “Burgundy” to red—made in France．

在酒吧里葡萄酒经常以杯装出售。不要被“Chablis″或“Claret（红葡萄酒）”之类的名字所误导，这些酒实际上是加州生产的。“Chablis”指白葡萄酒，而“勃艮第”是红葡萄酒，产于法国。