AmeriCa’s Drunk History 美國醉酒史

呂浙

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 （灑鬼）. 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（暗殺） 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.

閱讀理解、

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.

答案與解析

1.C。推理判斷題。根據第二段最后一個句子可知，如果清教徒沒有在科德角登陸美國，美國人現在也許會彬彬有禮，舉止文雅，而非粗魯無禮。由此推斷，作者認為科德角的當地人比較粗魯無禮。

2.D。細節理解題。根據第三段可知，Abigail Smith Adams是時任美國總統JohnAdams的夫人，故稱其為“美國第一夫人”。

3.B。詞義猜測題。第四段談及的是時任美國總統肯尼迪遭暗殺的不幸事件，故tragedies應解釋為unfortunate events，即“悲劇”的意思。

4.C。細節理解題。根據第四、五、六段內容，特別是第六段最后一個句子可知，如果肯尼迪的衛兵頭天晚上不喝酒、有充足的睡眠是可以保持警覺，及時發現暗殺者的。故選項C是正確答案。

5.A。主旨大意題。根據最后兩段可知，飲酒雖然合法，但其影響卻往往被人們忽視。故這兩段主要告誡人們勿忘飲酒所帶來的影響。

難句分析

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。如果清教徒成功到達弗吉尼亞州，美國人現在也許會彬彬有禮，舉止文雅，而非粗魯無禮。

這是個含有條件狀語從句的主從復合句。主從句謂語動詞均使用了虛擬語氣。hadsucceeded in…，表示所述內容與過去事實相反，would be表示所述內容與現在事實相反。

2.LIke most alcohoIics，they destroyed themselves，Ieaving the families sad.像大多數酒鬼一樣，他們毀掉了自己，也讓家人悲痛。

Ieaving the fami|ies sad是現在分詞短語，在此做結果狀語，強調意料之內的結果。

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.負責保衛總統和第一夫人、在達拉斯車隊中緊隨總統汽車的特工人員事前在當地一家酒吧作樂直至清晨。

這是個主從復合句。主句的主語是The Secret Senrice men，主句的謂語是had beenout。……