Americans Can Agree on One Thing: Happy Hours

Americans Can Agree on One Thing: Happy Hours

In the American state of Massachusetts, Democrats¹ and Republicans could find an issue to agree on: letting bars have happy hours. Happy hours are times at bars and restaurants when there are lower prices for drinks.

Massachusetts law bans bars and restaurants from having special discounts for alcoholic² drinks. But a public opinion study, or survey, carried out by The Associated Press shows that about 6 in 10 people support the state legalizing happy hour.

The news agency calls its survey AP VoteCast. It asked U.S. voters their opinions on some of the most important issues affecting the nation. But the survey also covered other parts of society.

For example, AP VoteCast also explored Alabama college football, what Mississippi voters think about former football star Brett Favre and whether Tennessee voters like Taylor Swift.

These questions were part of a larger effort to understand how politics and culture are related. The survey covered topics ranging from state political issues to questions about the Bible.

In Alabama, college football can feel like a religion. One of its senators, Tommy Tuberville, coached at Alabama's Auburn University. The University of Alabama's Crimson³ Tide has won 18 national championships.

The AP survey found that about half of Alabama voters say they are Crimson Tide fans, compared with about 2 in 10 who favor Auburn. About 1 in 10 say they support both teams. But 25 percent of Alabama voters say they do not support either team.

In Iowa, the survey explored voters' feelings about being the first state in the nation to choose their party's next presidential nominee⁴. The process is called the Iowa caucus⁵. It does not involve direct votes, but a series of speeches and open debate to decide which candidate to support. The process created problems in 2020 because Democrats had a delay in reporting results.

Six in 10 Iowa voters say they want their state to continue to hold caucuses⁶ rather than change to holding a direct vote. Voters for Democrats are about evenly divided following their party's caucus problems two years ago.

Pop singer Taylor Swift has criticized Republican lawmakers in Tennessee. She called one of that state's senators, Marsha Blackburn, "Trump⁷ in a wig⁸," in a 2020 documentary.

But many Tennessee voters do not seem to care. About 4 in 10 have favorable feelings toward Swift. The AP survey found about 3 in 10 voters do not support the singer, most of them Republicans. But another 3 in 10 said they did not know enough to say how they felt about Swift. The music star recently had 10 songs in the top 10 positions of the Billboard⁹ Hot 100 chart.

In Mississippi, Hall of Fame football player Brett Favre is not as popular with voters. An investigation¹⁰ this year showed he had misused¹¹ $8 million meant for welfare programs. He even contacted the governor to see if the money could help build a football practice building at his former school, the University of Southern Mississippi.

About 2 in 10 Mississippi voters said they had a favorable opinion of Favre, with most saying they support Republicans. About 4 in 10 had an unfavorable opinion of Favre, a group that was divided between voters supporting Democratic and Republican candidates.

President Joe Biden was similarly rated in Mississippi. By 2-1, voters said they had more unfavorable than favorable opinions about both the Democratic president and the famous football player.

Words in This Story

discount — n. an amount taken off a regular price

caucus — n. a meeting of members of a political party for the purpose of choosing candidates for an election

wig — n. artificial hair that you wear on your head because you are bald or in order to change your appearance

documentary — n. a movie or television program that tells the facts about actual people and events

welfare — n. a government program for poor or unemployed¹² people that helps pay for their food, housing, medical costs, etc.

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

6 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

9 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。