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The Extra Twenty-one 額外的21
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to write about national identity and symbols.
POLITICIAN: Pubs have been the cornerstone of British society for hundreds of years. Pubs provided a location for people to socialize and have developed many traditions. Had you visited a pub in the 199s, you may have witnessed some of these: people doing pub quizzes and playing darts, people eating bags of crisps, and often most interesting for visitors ringing of the bell around 11pm signaling that the pub was about to close. How did this come about? We need to rewind to 1915 during the First World War.
POLITICIAN1: Before 1915, pubs were only required to have a license to trade and designate one person responsible. With Britain at war however, the success of the War Effort relied upon an active and unhampered workforce especially those working in munitions and artillery factories. The Government decided to minimize the risk of tired workers and potential loss in productivity. The Government decided to tighten the licensing laws stipulating that pubs close at nine thirty in the evening (later to change to 11pm) ringing a bell, was a clear signal to let everyone know that the pub was about to close and they needed to drink up. In 23, however, there was a major shake up in the licensing laws.
POLITICIAN2: Prior to 23, depending on what kind of entertainment a place offered, there was a different license, for example, a cinema needed a different license from a theatre. A pub needed a different license from a night cafe. The six different licenses that existed at the time were merged into one. Additionally, every three years the person responsible for the pub had to renew their license which was valid for only one location—this period of validity was extended to ten years and also the Licensee was able to transfer from one location to another without having to go through the hassle of re registering. Having only one license, registering only once every ten years meant a considerable amount of red tape was swept away.
POLITICIAN3: Not only did it become easier to apply for and process applications, it became much easier and cheaper for venues to put on entertainment they might not normally have offered such as music bands. Cutting down on needless paperwork, was reckoned to save 1.97 billion Pounds over ten years! One of the biggest effects however was the fact that ninety years after the 11pm closing time was introduced, pubs and other entertainment establishments were able to decide when they would close and thereby offer more flexibility to their customers especially, in terms of opening hours. A report released in 28 showed that while pubs across England and Wales were making use of the new licensing laws, on average pubs only closed 21 minutes later than 11pm! Some might say that there was an awful lot of paperwork involved in reducing the paperwork needed so people could leave a pub 21 minutes later; others might not agree.
