冰岛庆祝啤酒禁令结束30年

Iceland Celebrates 30 Years Since End of Beer Ban

Thirty years ago, Icelanders drank beer legally for the first time in more than a generation.

On Friday, the country celebrated¹ the anniversary of the end of a long ban on beer. Fittingly, the celebration is called “Beer Day.”

The drink was outlawed³ in Iceland for 74 years. All other alcohol remained legal, however.

The beer ban finally ended on March 1, 1989.

The ban was left over from the country’s prohibition⁴ days, which began in 1915 after the population voted in a referendum to outlaw² all alcohol.

The ban partly ended just seven years later out of economic need. Spain refused to buy Iceland’s largest export, fish, unless Iceland bought Spanish wines.

Prohibition ended in another national referendum in 1933, by a very small majority. In an effort to keep the peace, Iceland’s parliament decided⁵ to continue to ban beer.

Historian Stefan Palsson is a beer lover who works part-time at a brewery⁶-based “School of Beer.” He said that back in 1933, Icelanders did not care much about beer.

“They drank in order to become drunk and beer wasn’t really efficient for that,” Palsson said.

Alcohol abuse remains⁷ a problem in Iceland. One in 10 Icelandic men over the age of 15 have been to alcoholism treatment at least once, the country’s leading addiction⁸ treatment center, SAA, says.

Most Icelanders agree with strong government restrictions⁹ on alcohol sales to reduce alcoholism. All alcohol —including beer — is only sold at government-run stores that have high taxes.

A drinker can also, of course, just go to a bar, where a pint¹⁰ of beer usually costs about 1,100 krona ($9).

Icelanders’ opinions of beer began changing in the 1970s, when more of them started traveling to sunny European beach communities and enjoying the drink.

The call for beer of their own became strong. Yet even by 1988, many people were against ending the beer ban, including some politicians.

Steingrimur Sigfusson is parliamentary speaker. He recalls that, at the time, there was a real fear of change. Many thought hundreds of bars would open for beer-drinkers and change society for the worse.

Sigfusson himself voted against ending the ban. He still defends the country’s restrictive alcohol policies that aim to limit alcohol abuse or under-age drinking.

“The worst-case predictions never came true, but underage drinking did increase,” he said.

When the ban finally ended exactly 30 years ago, all four bars in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, were full of happy drinkers. In one day, Iceland’s 260,000 people bought 340,000 cans of beer at government-run alcohol stores.

Hreindis Ylva was born the day the ban ended. She celebrated her 30th birthday Friday with friends in Reykjavik. But she was not drinking any beer.

“The taste is not for me,” Ylva said.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

beer – n. an alcoholic¹¹ drink made from malt and flavored with hops¹²?

brewery – n. a place where beer is made?

prohibition – n. the act of not permitting something to be used or done

wine – n. an alcoholic drink made from the juice of grapes

efficient – adj. capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy

addiction – n. a strong and harmful need to regularly have something such as a drug or alcohol

pint – n. a unit for measuring liquids that is equal to 0.473 liters, a glass of beer

bar – n. a building or room where alcoholic drinks and sometimes food are served?

beach – n. an area covered with sand or small rocks that is next to an ocean or lake

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

3 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

4 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 brewery   

n.啤酒厂

参考例句：

• The brewery had 25 heavy horses delivering beer in London.啤酒厂有25匹高头大马在伦敦城中运送啤酒。
• When business was good,the brewery employed 20 people.在生意好的时候，这家酿造厂曾经雇佣过20人。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 pint   

n.品脱

参考例句：

• I'll have a pint of beer and a packet of crisps, please.我要一品脱啤酒和一袋炸马铃薯片。
• In the old days you could get a pint of beer for a shilling.从前，花一先令就可以买到一品脱啤酒。

11 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

12 hops   

跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• The sparrow crossed the lawn in a series of hops. 那麻雀一蹦一跳地穿过草坪。
• It is brewed from malt and hops. 它用麦精和蛇麻草酿成。