What do people drink in Europe? Here is a map of Europe's "Alcohol Belts:"
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| Red = WINE, brown = BEER, blue = VODKA (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons) |
Note that in English, the verb "drink" used alone usually means drinking alcoholic beverages.
I don't drink = 我不喝酒. 喝酒不開車開車不喝酒 = If you drink, don't drive. If you drive, don't drink.
So, what do people drink in Europe? There are three main areas in Europe:
in the south (France, Spain, Italy ...) Europeans mostly drink wine (葡萄酒),
in the north (Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium ...) they drink mostly beer (啤酒), and
in the far north and east (Scandinavia, Poland, Russia etc.) people mostly drink vodka 伏特家 (= very strong spirits). Vodka is much stronger than beer or wine, so getting drunk (酗酒) causes social problems, especially in Russia.
Of course, the description above is only a general picture, and the situation is changing. In Finland and Sweden, for example, people now drink much less vodka, but more beer.
