炎炎夏日，谁不渴望一杯清凉可口的啤酒？但你是否知道，啤酒不仅能滋养身心，还能丰富人类的语言文化。不妨现在就来品一品吧。

　　It was the accepted practice in Babylonia 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink.1 Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar2 based, this period was called the "honey month" or what we know today as the "honeymoon".

　　Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb or finger into the mix to find the right temperature for adding yeast.3 Too cold, and the yeast wouldn't grow. Too hot, and the yeast would die. This thumb in the beer is where we get the phrase "rule of thumb4".

　　In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts.5 So in old England, when customers got unruly6, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's7".

　　Beer was the reason the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.8 It's clear from the Mayflower's log9 that the crew didn't want to waste beer looking for a better site. The log goes on to state that the passengers "were hasted ashore and made to drink water that the seamen might have more beer".10

　　After consuming a bucket or two of vibrant brew they called ale, the Vikings11 would head fearlessly into battle often without armor or even shirts. In fact, the term "berserk" means "bare shirt" in Norse,12 and eventually took on the meaning of their wild fighting.

　　In 1740 Admiral Vernon of the British fleet decided to water down the navy's rum.13 Needless to say, the sailors weren't too pleased and called Admiral Vernon "Old Grog", after the stiff wool grogram14 coats he wore. The term "grog15" soon began to mean the watered down drink itself. When you were drunk on this grog, you were "groggy".

　　Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups.16 When they needed a refill17, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle18", is the phrase inspired by this practice.

　　Now you can appreciate the importance of BEER throughout history.-

　　1. accepted:为公众所接受的，普遍的；practice:习俗；Babylonia：古巴比伦王国；mead：蜂蜜酒。

　　2. lunar：以月球公转测度的，the lunar calendar即阴历。

　　3. brewer：啤酒酿造者；yeast：啤酒酵母。

　　4. rule of thumb：凭经验或实践得来的准则。

　　5.在英国的酒吧里，啤酒是论品脱和夸脱出售的。ale：爱尔啤酒，酒精含量较高的一种啤酒，相传中世纪时由英国人酿造成功；pint(品脱)与quart(夸脱)均为液量单位，亦指“1品脱／夸脱的容器”；go out for a pint: <英口>出去喝杯啤酒。

　　6. unruly：不守秩序的，不守规矩的。

　　7. mind your P's and Q's：管好你的事，意思是注意礼貌，谨言慎行。

　　8. the Pilgrims：清教徒前辈移民，指1620年到达北美洲创立普利茅斯殖民地的首批英国清教徒；Plymouth Rock：普利茅斯海岸巨砾，相传为首批英国清教徒1620年乘“五月花”号船到达北美的登陆处。

　　9. the Mayflower：“五月花”号(1620年英国清教徒去北美殖民地时所乘船名)；log：航海日志。

　　10.日志中还说，乘客“都被催赶到岸上去喝水，这样水手们就能喝到更多的啤酒”。

　　11. Viking：8-11世纪时劫掠欧洲西北海岸的北欧海盗。

　　12. berserk:狂怒的；berserker：(北欧传说中先使自己狂怒因而作战时无需使用盔甲的)狂暴武士；Norse：古斯堪的纳维亚语。

　　13. 1740年，英国海军上将Edward Vernon决定在将士们喝的朗姆酒里搀水(以防止水兵酒醉——编者注)。admiral:海军上将；fleet:海军；rum：朗姆酒，用甘蔗或糖蜜等酿制。

　　14. grogram：格罗格兰姆呢(用丝与马海毛织成的粗松斜纹织物)；18世纪英国海军上将Edward Vernon因习惯穿grogram的披风而得外号“Old Grog”，而他发明的掺水朗姆酒也因而得名“grog”。

　　15. grog：格罗格酒，用朗姆酒或威士忌酒兑水而成。下一句中的groggy意思是“醉了的，头晕的，昏昏沉沉的”。

　　16. frequenter：常客；ceramic：陶瓷的。

　　17. refill：再次斟满的一杯。

　　18. wet one誷whistle：<口>喝酒。