VOA慢速英语--欧洲酒吧里百万瓶啤酒滞销

A Million Beers Await Drinkers at Europe's Bars

As bars across Europe slowly reopen, as many as one million free or pre-paid beers are waiting to welcome back the public.

Large and small beer companies have made it possible for people to buy drinks in advance to support shuttered bars. In some cases, the reward is some free beer when the doors reopen.

Anheuser-Busch launched its first voucher¹ campaign in Belgium and has since sold over 200,000 beers. It also started a similar voucher campaign in 20 other markets across Europe and from Brazil to Hong Kong, raising over $6 million for bars and restaurants.

The number of drinks Heineken has sold through its many voucher campaigns is at 270,000.

Now that bars are reopening, consumers have had their first chance to bring in their vouchers².

Two friends, Arendse Rohland and Thomas Hoffner Lovgren, were among those to get free beers after bars reopened in Denmark on May 18.

Through its campaign, Danish beer company Carlsberg offered free beers in a bar to consumers who bought bottles or cans from stores. The idea was to bring drinkers back with free drinks and hope they would then buy more. Hoffner Lovgren and Rohland both seemed willing to do so.

"I rarely only drink one beer," Roland said after collecting a free drink at a bar in a town outside Copenhagen.

Drinkers elsewhere are now in line. On Tuesday, France became the latest nation to reopen bars and restaurants. The Netherlands did so the day before. Ireland, Belgium and Britain are expected to follow this month and next.

Julian Marsili is with Carlsberg. He said its campaign would continue into the summer.

Marsili said since there will not be much travel outside Denmark for a while, the company is encouraging people to explore bars throughout Denmark.

The campaigns have helped, but not corrected some losses. In Britain, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said pubs could have recorded their best April in ten years, selling 745 million glasses of beer because of unusually warm and sunny weather.

Beer sales in stores have risen, but well below the rate of other alcohols, like wine and liquor, and not enough to fix the loss of in-person drinking. That information comes from Nielsen, a marketing³ research company.

Will they come?

Reopened bars and restaurants will clearly not operate as they did before the coronavirus measures. There will be limited time at the bar, less table service, shorter hours and measures to lessen⁴ contact between workers and consumers and to keep consumers apart.

Emma McClarkin is chief executive⁵ for BBPA.

She said social distancing rules make a big difference. Two metres, currently⁶ used in Britain, might permit only one-third of Britain's 47,000 pubs to reopen. But a one-meter rule, considered safe by the World Health Organization, would permit 75 percent to operate, she said.

Beer companies have also been helping⁷ with some of the new materials needed for health safety, learning from China, where restaurants and bars reopened from March.

Jan Craps is chief executive of Budweiser Brewing⁸ Company.

She said Anheiser-Busch's Asian operation had sent "welcome kits¹⁰" to smaller bars to help them separate groups of consumers. The kits included things like plastic separators, hand cleaner, facial coverings and advice to 50,000 bars and restaurants across China.

Craps said the kits were being reproduced¹¹ in many other countries, such as the Americas where the company has its largest markets.

A study of British pub-goers found 93 percent were willing to revisit their local bar and over a third plan to visit within a week of reopening. Most also wanted to stay two meters away from strangers.

Business will not return as before. Belgian cafe and restaurant owners expect on average 45 percent fewer visitors as a result of social distancing measures and public concerns.

I'm Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

bar - n. a building or room where alcoholic¹² drinks and sometimes food are served

voucher - n. a document, receipt, stamp or something similar, that gives evidence of purchasing something.

consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services

pub - n. a building or room especially in Britain or Ireland where alcoholic drinks and often food are served

kit⁹ - n. a set of tools or supplies that a person uses for a particular purpose or activity

1 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。

2 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

5 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

6 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

9 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

10 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

11 reproduced   

复制( reproduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 重现； 再版； 生殖

参考例句：

• a manuscript reproduced in facsimile 精确复制的手稿
• The article was reproduced by the special permission of the President. 由于总统的特殊允许，这篇文章被复印了一份。

12 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。