Pre-reading task. 1. Do you ever take alcohol?

1. Do you ever take alcohol? When? Where? How often?

2. What is your favorite alcoholic drink?

3. Describe the effect from an alcoholic drink.

Today alcohol is sold in most areas of the United States, but some counties, known as "dry counties," do not allow the sale of alcohol at any time. Though this prohibi­tion of selling alcohol is restricted to just a few places nowadays, at one time liquor was prohibited throughout the United States. Prohibition was an effort to stop people from drinking alcohol in the United States. Though there were many attempts at introducing prohibi­tion laws in the 1800s, Prohibition did not take effect nationwide until 1920, when an amendment to the Constitution expressly prohibiting the manu­facture or sale of alcohol was ratified. At first, Prohibition was largely suc­cessful. However, people soon became divided on the issue. Prohibition was favored by the mostly Protestant settlers whose families had lived in the United States for at least one generation. They believed that drinking was a threat to law and order in the big cities where most of the newly arrived immigrants lived, often in depressing and difficult situations. These people, most of whom lived in the rural country area, did not have any traditions with alcohol. However, the newly arrived immigrants, who were mostly Catholic or Jewish, were accustomed by their traditions to some kind of alcohol. The Irish drank whiskey or beer, the Italians, Greeks, and Jews drank wine, and the Germans and Poles drank beer. These people could not understand why something that they and their ancestors had always done was now taboo. Though many people followed the law concerning alcohol, mainly be­cause of the $ 1,000 fine or six-month jail sentence, the first of many daring alcohol thefts took place in Chicago when six masked men broke into a railroad yard and stole $100,000 worth of alcohol. This marked the rise of the legendary gangsters who grew into what is known today as the Mafia. People became more and more curious about alcohol, and people who never drank were drinking. In fact, by the late 1920s, there were more speakeasies, illegal bars, than there ever were saloons before Prohibition. In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution officially ended this tragic era of American history. This end came about because it was acknowledged that Prohibition had failed. Despite its seemingly good inten­tions, Prohibition had increased lawlessness and drinking and had actually increased alcohol abuse.

liquor – [ l i k q ] -алкоголь

amendment -поправка

rural – [r u q r q l ] -сільський

speakeasy – бар, який протизаконно торгує спиртними напоями

era - [ i q r q ] -ера, епоха

to acknowledge – визнавати

Discussion:

1. What kind of drinking habits and traditions do the people in Ukraine have?

2. What do you feel about the addiction to alcohol? Why could it be a problem (personal, national)?

3. Have there ever been an attempt of introducing a “dry law”? What did it lead to?

4. If you were the authorities would you ban the TV commercials advertising alcohol?

HOMEWORK: IS IT GOOD FOR YOU?

Дата добавления: 2015-10-02