AmeriCa’s Drunk History 美国醉酒史

吕浙

The effect of drinking on our national story begins with the Pilgrims（清教徒 ）， who landed illegally（非法地 ） on Cape Cod. They had to land； they were running out of beer.

“We could not now take time for further search，”explained William Bradford， who would become ruler of the Plymouth Bay Colony，“Our foods and drinks being much spent， especially our beer.”If the Pilgrims had succeeded in going to Virginia， perhaps the American character would be slow-moving， polite and gentle instead of rude the Yankee.

Abigail Smith Adams is often thought of as a smart wife， who reminded her husband， President John Adams to remember the ladies. But perhaps you never know she was surrounded by alcoholics （洒鬼）. Her brother， two of her sons and two of her grandsons died of alcoholism. Like most alcoholics， they destroyed themselves， leaving the families sad.

There are more rising moments in the history of alcohol in America. One of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century-the assassination（暗杀） of President John F. Kennedy-was also affected by a bottle. The Secret Service men who guarded the president and the first lady， and who rode in the car behind them in the Dallas motorcade， had been out until the early hours of the morning at the local bar. Some had been drinking. How could they protect the president at a moment that changed American history？

Chief Justice Earl Warren certainly thought so. “Don't you think that if a man went to bed early， and hadn't been drinking the night before， he would be more watchful than if he stayed up until 3， 4 0r 5 0'clock in the morning， doing some drinking？”he said.

Warren noticed that some passers-by had seen Lee Harvey Oswald's gun pointed out of the sixth-floor window of the Texas School Book Depository. How did the Secret Service men miss that？ He wanted to know. Wouldn't they have been more likely to notice what was going on if they were“free from any of the results of alcohol and lack of sleep”？

Drinking is often invisible. It is a powerful， mostly unnoticed force shaping history and present events. Because it is legal， drinking goes unnoticed even when its effects are obvious.

There's nothing wrong with drinking， but its role in human events should be recognized. People's lives were changed by what they drank， and this has changed who we are today.

阅读理解、

1. What can we infer from the first two paragraphs？

A. It was illegal for the Pilgrims to get to Cape Cod.

B. The Pilgrims brought a bad e仟ect on Americans.

C. The local people at Cape Cod were rude.

D. Americans were very short of foods and drinks at that time.

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage？

A. Affected by her families， Abigail liked drinking.

B. John Adams was a very forgetful person.

C. Nobody knows about Abigail's family.

D. Abigail Smith Adams was the US first lady.

3. What does the underlined word "tragedies" in Paragraph 4 most probably mean？

A. Unforgettable moments.

B. Unfortunate events.

C. Unlucky presidents.

D. Unexpected accidents.

4. What can we learn from the passage？

A. Lee Harvey Oswald drove his car behind Kennedy's.

B. The guards of President Kennedy had no guard experience.

C. Warren thought the assassination could have been avoidable.

D. The assassin（刺客 ） hid himself in a place which couldn't be found.

5. What does the author think of drinking？

A. The influence of drinking cannot be ignored.

B. Drinking can always lead to serious trouble.

C. Drinking is a powerful and visible force that can change the history.

D. People should drink less.

答案与解析

1.C。推理判断题。根据第二段最后一个句子可知，如果清教徒没有在科德角登陆美国，美国人现在也许会彬彬有礼，举止文雅，而非粗鲁无礼。由此推断，作者认为科德角的当地人比较粗鲁无礼。

2.D。细节理解题。根据第三段可知，Abigail Smith Adams是时任美国总统JohnAdams的夫人，故称其为“美国第一夫人”。

3.B。词义猜测题。第四段谈及的是时任美国总统肯尼迪遭暗杀的不幸事件，故tragedies应解释为unfortunate events，即“悲剧”的意思。

4.C。细节理解题。根据第四、五、六段内容，特别是第六段最后一个句子可知，如果肯尼迪的卫兵头天晚上不喝酒、有充足的睡眠是可以保持警觉，及时发现暗杀者的。故选项C是正确答案。

5.A。主旨大意题。根据最后两段可知，饮酒虽然合法，但其影响却往往被人们忽视。故这两段主要告诫人们勿忘饮酒所带来的影响。

难句分析

1.1f the PilgrimS had SUCCeeded In g o-ng tO Virg.nia，perhapS the AmeriCan CharaCterwould be slow—moving，poIite and gentIe instead of rude the Yankee。如果清教徒成功到达弗吉尼亚州，美国人现在也许会彬彬有礼，举止文雅，而非粗鲁无礼。

这是个含有条件状语从句的主从复合句。主从句谓语动词均使用了虚拟语气。hadsucceeded in…，表示所述内容与过去事实相反，would be表示所述内容与现在事实相反。

2.LIke most alcohoIics，they destroyed themselves，Ieaving the families sad.像大多数酒鬼一样，他们毁掉了自己，也让家人悲痛。

Ieaving the fami|ies sad是现在分词短语，在此做结果状语，强调意料之内的结果。

3.The SeCret Sen，iCe men WhO gUarded the preSident and the firSt lady，and WhO rode in the Car beh.nd them.n the Da¨aS mOtOrCade，had been OUt Unt.I the ea rIy hOUrS Of the moming at the loca|bar.负责保卫总统和第一夫人、在达拉斯车队中紧随总统汽车的特工人员事前在当地一家酒吧作乐直至清晨。

这是个主从复合句。主句的主语是The Secret Senrice men，主句的谓语是had beenout。untiI the earIy hours of the moming at the Ioca|bar则为主句的时间状语。该句子中的两个who分别引导了两个定语从句，对主句主语The Secret Sen，ice men进行限定。

4.WOUldn't they haVe been mOre likely tO nOtiCe What WaS going On if they Were“free from any of the results of alcohoI and lack of sleep”？如果不是酒精和缺觉作祟，他们是不是会更有可能注意到将要发生的事情？

what was going on在此动词notice的宾语从句。