走进耶鲁大学 第20期:幸福时光(1)

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"幸福时光"

Tracing back to its source, the term "happy hour" originated in the United States Navy. In the 1920s, it was slang for a scheduled entertainment period on board a ship during which boxing and wrestling took place. "Happy" in that context meant slightly drunk, and it was an opportunity for sailors to let off the steam accumulated during the long time at sea.

追根溯源，"幸福时光"源于20世纪20年代的美国海军。当时，这个俚语被用来指包括摔跤等活动在内的娱乐时段。在那种情形下，"快乐"是"微醉"的意思。"幸福时光"为长期在海上的海员们提供了释放精力的机会。

The use of the term was curtailed¹ with the ratification² of the 18th Amendment³ in October 1919 and the Volstead Act in 1920，when the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic⁴ beverages⁵ were prohibited in America. This is simply known as the Prohibition⁶ era. Although its original intention is to maintain the purity of the society as well as to reduce the potential criminal affairs after drinking, the effects of Prohibition were largely unanticipated. Production, importation, and distribution of alcoholic beverages - once a legitimate⁷ business - were taken over by criminal gangs, which fought each other for market control in violent confrontations⁸, including mass murder, which can be seen in many movies.

随着1919年10月《宪法第18号修正案》和1920年《沃尔斯特法令》的获批，"幸福时光"的说法越来越少用。这个时期被叫做"禁酒时期"：禁止在美国领土内酿造、出售、运送以及进出口作为饮料的致醉酒类。尽管禁酒令的初衷是为了维护社会的稳定，减少醉酒后可能出现的犯罪事件，其结果却是始料未及的：致醉酒类的生产、 进口、及分销本来是合法生意，那时却被犯罪团伙取而代之。他们为了获得市场的控制权你争我夺，采取暴力对抗，甚至大规模的暗杀行动。许多电影中都可以见到这样的镜头。

At the same time, alcohol gained increasing social acceptance. Citizens would host "cocktail⁹ hours"，also known as "happy hours" at a speakeasy before eating at restaurants where alcohol could not be served. By 1933，public opposition¹⁰ to prohibition had become overwhelming. Congress proposed the Twenty-first Amendment to repeal¹¹ Prohibition in February and on December 5, 1933, when Utah became the 36th state to ratify¹² the Amendment, the Volstead Act became unconstitutional.

与此同时，酒精饮料也越来越被大众所接受。市民们在去禁止售酒的饭馆吃饭之前，都会先去非法酒吧度过一段"鸡尾酒时间"，抑或叫做"快乐的时光"。到了 1933年，公众的反禁酒运动已然势不可挡。2月，国会通过《宪法第21号修正案》，以废除禁酒令；12 月5日，随着犹他州作为第36个州签署此项法案，美国的全国性禁酒便寿终正寝了。

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