VOA慢速英语2020--20世纪20年代禁酒的失败尝试

The Failed Attempt to Ban Alcohol in the 1920s

Stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus crisis¹ have forced many bars and nightclubs in the United States to close temporarily.

A century ago, bars across the country were also forcibly closed when the Volstead Act became law. The measure made it a crime for Americans to manufacture, sell or transport alcohol. The period when the Volstead Act was the law of the land is known today as Prohibition².

The push to ban alcohol in the U.S. began in the 1850s. Christian³ women claimed alcohol was turning men into alcoholics⁵. Drinking leads to violence and poverty and destroys families, they said.

So began the social movements against alcohol and women raiding⁶ bars to destroy bottles of whiskey. Their actions grew from being a problem for bar workers into a real political movement.

Daniel Okrent wrote the book "Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition." He told VOA News that brewers and distillers of alcoholic⁴ products campaigned hard to defeat anti-alcoholic politicians. Such politicians were popularly known as "drys." The brewers and distillers fought back hard, even to the point of interfering⁸ with elections.

Drinking did decrease in the United States in the first years of Prohibition. But many Americans quickly began ignoring the law.

Businesses known as speakeasies began to open by the hundreds in large cities. Speakeasies were stores or clubs that secretly sold alcohol.

Bathtubs were used for purposes other than washing up. Some people used them to make alcohol.

Wearing large overcoats and high boots became popular because they could easily hide bottles of alcohol. This gave birth to the term "bootlegger." People also started using walking sticks because the insides of the sticks could be filled with whiskey.

Anyone caught taking a drink quickly claimed the liquid was for "medicinal purposes."

Many of the people who owned speakeasies and bought and sold whiskey were deeply involved in organized crime. Al Capone, Bugs⁹ Moran and Dutch Schultz became household names and extremely rich. There were far more criminals involved in bootlegging than federal officers who tried to enforce the law.

Okrent said it was not long before Prohibition was not taken seriously.

"Anybody could get a drink any time of the day," he said. "You could walk in at 10 in the morning to get a drink. A 15-year-old could buy a drink. There was no regulatory environment."

But H.L. Mencken said getting a drink in the city of Baltimore was "very difficult unless you knew a judge or a cop," noted¹⁰ Okrent. Mencken was an American journalist and cultural critic from that period.

And foreign visitors to the United States thought of Prohibition as unreasonable¹¹.

"Winston Churchill — and you can imagine what he thought of Prohibition — came to the U.S. and toured the West in the mid- to late 1920s," said Okrent. When Churchill arrived in Washington state, the first person who gave him alcohol was a Customs official, he noted.

It was the Great Depression that would kill Prohibition. The U.S. government was struggling, and people suggested taxing alcohol as a way for it to get money.

When President Herbert Hoover attended a game at baseball's 1931 World Series, the crowd responded with loud boos, with many shouting, "We want beer."

After Franklin Roosevelt defeated Hoover in the 1932 presidential election, it did not take long for Prohibition to end.

The 21st Amendment¹² ended the alcohol ban and drinking became legal again in December 1933.

Today's legislation¹³ on alcohol sales and drinking comes from Prohibition. In addition to taxes, it includes age limits and required closing hours for bars. It also blocks Americans from opening a bar near a religious center or school.

Okrent noted how strange it is that it is harder to get a drink these days, when it is legal, than it was in the 1920s when it was illegal.

I'm Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

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

nightclub - n. a place that is open at night, has music, dancing, or a show, and usually serves alcoholic drinks and food

distiller - n. a person or company that produces strong alcoholic drinks (such as whiskey) by distilling¹⁴ them

brewer⁷ - n. a person or company that produces beer

bathtub - n. a large and long container in which people take baths or showers

boot - n. a covering usually of leather or rubber for the entire foot and the lower part of the leg

overcoat - n. a long coat that is worn to keep a person warm during cold weather

cop - n. a police officer

tour - n. to travel through different parts of a country or region

boo - n. a sound that people make to show they do not like or approve of someone or something

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 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。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 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。

5 Alcoholics   

n.嗜酒者，酒鬼( alcoholic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many alcoholics go on drinking sprees that continue for days at a time. 许多酒鬼一次要狂饮好几天。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Do you have a copy of the Alcoholics Anonymous book? 你手上有戒酒匿名会的书吗？ 来自互联网

6 raiding   

对…进行突然袭击（raid的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• A 19-year-old man has been found guilty of raiding a bank. 一个19岁的男子被判抢劫银行罪。
• But Magellan sent disguised raiding parties aboard the Victoria and the Santiago and recaptured them. 但麦哲伦派出便衣搜查“维多利亚号”和“圣地亚哥号”，并收复了它们。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

7 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

8 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

9 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

12 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

13 legislation   

n.立法，法律的制定；法规，法律

参考例句：

• They began to draft legislation.他们开始起草法规。
• The liberals band together against the new legislation.自由党员联合一致反对新的立法。

14 distilling   

n.蒸馏（作用）v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )( distilled的过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• Water can be made pure by distilling it. 水经蒸馏可变得纯净。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• More ammonium sulphate solution is being recovered in the process of distilling oil shale. 在提炼油页岩的过程中回收的硫酸铵液比过去多了。 来自《简明英汉词典》