1.25. Read the text and answer the questions that follow.

Alcohol

The attitude to alcohol in Britain is ambivalent. On the one hand, it is accepted and welcomed as an integral part of British culture. The local pub plays an important role in almost every neighbourhood, and pubs, it should be noted, are predominantly for the drinking of beer and spirits. The nearest pub is commonly referred to as “the local” and people who go there often are known as “regulars”. The action in some popular television soaps in Britain revolves around a pub. Even a certain level of drunkenness is acceptable. Provided this does not lead to violence, there is no shame attached to it.

On the other hand, the puritan tradition has led to the widespread view that drinking is something potentially dangerous, which should therefore be restricted, in terms of both who can do it and where it can be done. Most people, including regular drinkers, consider that it would be wrong to give a child even half glass of beer. When, in 1993, research was published showing that nearly 70% of fifteen-year-old children in the country drank some alcohol in an average week, it was generally agreed that this was a serious social problem.

People cannot be served in pubs until the age of eighteen and they are not even allowed inside one (unless it has a special children’s certificate) until they are fourteen. For many people, drinking is confined tо pubs. Wine or beer is not as much a part of home life as it is in some other European countries. Most cafés are not allowed to serve even beer.

For most of the twentieth century, pubs operated under strict laws, which limited their opening hours. These have recently been relaxed. Moreover, many more types of shops now sell alcohol than previously. However, this lessening of the negative attitude tо alcohol has been balanced by increasing concerns about its impact on health and safety. There are government-sponsored guidelines, which state the maximum amount of alcohol it is advisable for people to drink in a week without endangering their health. Although millions of people pay little attention tо these, the general feeling that alcohol can be bad for you has increased. Moreover, the laws against drinking and driving have been strengthened and are fairly strictly observed.

Nevertheless, alcohol, especially beer, is an important part of the lives of many people. Notice, for example, the mass rush across the Channel after customs duties were changed in 1992. Beer was much cheaper in France and people were allowed to bring back almost as much as they liked. It was calculated that in that first year the single European market cost the British government about £250 million in lost taxes on alcohol.

Questions:

1. What is the attitude to alcohol in Britain?

2. What role do pubs play in Britain?

3. How do the British bring up their children in respect of alcohol?

4. Is the situation with beer in Britain similar or different to that in Russia? What do you think about drinking beer? Discuss in class your suggestions, complaints, regrets, or misunderstandings.