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Chapter 10 Social Life (10)
Hot alcoholic drinks are popular in the UK. A Scottish hot toddy is made with honey, lemon and whiskey and keeps the highlanders warm. The English like to sip mulled wine as they sit round an open log fire in a traditional pub.
Russians are renowned for enjoying vodka to stave off the winter chill, but it's a mistake to think alcohol helps when it's cold.
A non-alcoholic alternative is Sbiten, or hot mead: a drink made with honey, spices, jam and water, though the water can be replaced by wine.
Hot chocolate is a popular daytime warmer. Hot chocolate is also a winter drink of choice in the States, and New York is brimming with great spots for the molten brew.
Food
A good meal helps get anyone through a cold snap. Slow cooked meat and vegetable dishes are popular, taking the form of casserole or stew in the US, a ragout in France, or a goulash, the traditional stew of Hungary, in Eastern Europe. In the UK, nothing goes down quite as well as a bag of takeaway fish and chips on a frozen night.
Meat is a key ingredient and in the coldest climes, like Siberia, where temperatures reach-30℃ or below, people live on reindeer and horsemeat. Siberian mothers rub a cream made from badger fat on their children's faces to keep their skin from getting chapped .
Clothing
In Siberia, animals are also used for clothing. Ushanka hats, made from fur, with earflaps, are worn throughout Russia. The name derives from the Russian word for “ears”. Valenki boots, made of wool, have kept Russians' feet warm since medieval times.
Staying fashionable means ignoring the frost, for some youngsters. In Northern England, girls wear miniskirts when they go out to bars in the biting cold and drink strong alcohol so they don't feel the chill. However, when it gets too cold, most ditch fashion for warmth.
outdoor activities
For many, winter is not about combating the cold, but embracing it. Winter sports abound in Canada, ice hockey is a national pastime and skiing, snowboarding, dog sledding, and ice skating are common.
In Alaska and the great lakes region of north America winter activities include ice fishing, hunting, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.
The chill also offers challenges. Ice swimming, for example, seems to be one with global appeal. A hole is cut in the ice to expose enough water for adrenaline junkies to dive into.
In Russia, “walrus” clubs perform this function. In North America, the participants are called “polar bears”. On New Year's day, New Yorker's join the Coney Island polar plunge and, in Germany, the Berlin “seals” brave their own icy pool. Bulgarians dance in icy water on Epiphany (a Christian festival on January 6). In London, swimmers take the plunge in the Serpentine lake, on Christmas day.
It's true that severe cold can throw plans and schedules into disarray, but around the world we've figured out various winter delights that make a deep freeze seem–well, almost welcome.
Vocabulary
Mercury["m?: kjuri] n. Mercury, mercury column, spirit

Alcohol ["?lk?h?l] n. Alcohol, ethanol

alternative[? : l"t?: n? tiv] adj. Alternative, alternate;
n. Choose one of the two alternatives
molten["m?ult?n] adj. molten, hot, cast;

v. Moulting, depilation (past participle of molt)
casserole ["k? s? r? ul] n. Spoon dish, casserole dish, covered baking dish on the table;

vi. to bake in a casserole
ingredient [in"ɡri:di?nt] n. element, component;
adj.

Participants[pɑ: "tisip? nt] adj. Participating, having a share;
n. participant, participant

Practice
How did you spend the winter? Do you have a plan for next winter?

Translation
Because different geographical locations permeate different popular cultures, when the severe cold comes, people all over the world have various habits in terms of eating, drinking, clothing and playing.

drink

Hot alcoholic beverages are very popular in the UK.A scotch mulled toddy, made with honey, lemon and whiskey, keeps people warm in the Scottish Highlands.The British like to be in a traditional English pub, sitting around an open fireplace and drinking a sip of mulled wine from time to time.

Russians are famously fond of vodka, which they drink to keep out the cold, but it would be a mistake to think that alcohol will help ward off the cold.

You can also choose non-alcoholic Sbiten, or mulled mead: a drink made of honey, spices, jam and drinking water, although you can also substitute wine for drinking water.

During the day, hot chocolate is a popular cold drink.In the United States, hot chocolate is also one of the most popular winter beverages, and the cold drink can be bought all over New York City.

eat

A good meal helps the body resist cold snaps.The well-prepared meat and vegetables are very popular.In Eastern Europe, favorite dishes are: American stew or stew, French chowder, and Hungary's traditional stew, goulash.When the cold nights roll around in the UK, there's nothing like a takeaway fish and chips.

In the coldest regions, meat is a key ingredient.In Siberia, where temperatures reach -30°C or lower, people survive on reindeer and horse meat.Siberian mothers smeared a cream derived from badger fat on the faces of their children to prevent chapped skin.

wear

Animals are also used to make clothing in Siberia.People all over Russia wear a hat called "Ushanka", which is made of animal skin and has ear flaps.A type of boot called "Valenki", made of wool, worn by Russians since medieval times to keep feet warm.

For some young people, staying stylish means defying the cold.In the north of England, girls often brave the freezing cold and wear mini skirts when they go out to pubs.Then drink some strong liquor so they don't feel cold.But when the cold weather hits, most people forego fashion options to keep warm.

play

For many people, the thing to do in winter is not to fight the cold, but to embrace it.Canada has many winter sports and ice hockey is a national pastime.Skiing, snowboarding, dog sledding, and ice skating are common pastimes.

In Alaska and the Great Lakes region of North America, winter outdoor activities include ice fishing, hunting, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling.

The severe cold also presents some challenges for people.For example, winter swimming, which seems to be a sport that is very attractive on a global scale.Dig a hole in the ice to open up enough water for those "winter swimming fans" to take a dip.

In Russia, the "Walrus" club is composed of winter swimming enthusiasts.In North America, winter swimmers are called "polar bears".On New Year's Day, New York citizens and winter swimming enthusiasts from the Coney Island Polar Club had a show; in Germany, winter swimming enthusiasts from the "Seal Club" in Berlin also took a dip in the frozen lake.Bulgarians dance in ice water on January 1, Epiphany (a Christian holiday).In London, during the Christmas season, swimming enthusiasts braved the severe cold and took a dip in the Crooked Lake.

Although the severe cold may disrupt many plans and schedules, we have seen all kinds of winter joys around the world, which makes people seem to be less resistant to the cold.

Exercise
How did you spend the winter, and what are your plans for the coming winter?

13When a Person Is Grown Up
Most Americans believe someone isn't grown up until age 26, probably with a completed education, a full-time job, a family to support and financial independence, a survey said.
But they also believe that becoming an official grown-up is a process that takes five years from about the age of 20, concluded the report from the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center. The findings were based on a representative sample of 1 people over age 398.
The poll found the following ages at which people expect the transitions to grown-up status to be completed: Age 20.9 self-supporting; 21.1 no longer living with parents; 21.2 full-time job; 22.3 education complete; 24.5 being able to support a family financially; 25.7 married; and 26.2 having a child.
“There is a large degree of consensus across social groups on the relative importance of the seven transitions,” said Tom Smith, director of the survey. The only notable pattern of differences is on views about supporting a family, having a child and getting married "Older adults and the widowed and married rate these as more important than younger adults and the never-married do," he added. "This probably reflects in large part a shift in values ​​across generations away from traditional family values."

The most valued step toward reaching adulthood, the survey found, was completing an education, followed by full-time employment, supporting a family, financial independence, living independently of parents, marriage and parenthood.
Vocabulary
conclude [k? n"klu: d] vt. end, infer, decide;

(End of this chapter)