The word pub is short for public house. There are over 60,000 pubs in the UK (53,000 in England and Wales, 5,200 in Scotland and 1,600 in Northern Ireland). One of the oldest pubs, Fighting Cocks in St. Albans, Herts, is located in a building that dates back to the eleventh century.
酒馆（pub）这个词是公共小屋（public house）的简称。英国有6万多个酒馆（英格兰和威尔士有大概53000个，苏格兰有5200个，北爱尔兰有1600个）。斗鸡酒馆是最古老的酒馆之一，它坐落于赫特福德郡圣奥尔本斯的一所11世纪的老房子里。
Pubs are an important part of British life. People talk, eat, drink, meet their friends and relax there. Pubs often have two bars, one usually quieter than the other, many have a garden where people can sit in the summer. Children can go in pub gardens with their parents. Groups of friends normally buy 'rounds' of drinks, where the person whose turn it is will buy drinks for all the members of the group. And customs in British pubs differ from those in American bars. In Britain, you must go to the bar to order drinks and food and pay for your purchase immediately, there is no table service.
酒馆是英国人生活中很重要的一部分。人们在酒馆中交谈、吃东西、喝饮料、与朋友相聚、放松自己。酒馆里往往有两个吧台，其中一个相对较安静。很多酒馆有一个院子，在夏天人们可以待在院子里。孩子们也可以跟父母一起去酒馆的院子里。一群朋友往往一买就是“一圈”饮料，就是轮到谁谁就给这整群人买饮料。英国酒馆的习俗跟美国不同。在英国你需要去吧台点餐然后当场付款，没有餐桌服务。
British pubs are required to have a licence, which is difficult to obtain , and allows the pub to operate for up to 24 hours. Most pubs are open from 11 to 11. It is sometimes difficult to get served when pubs are busy: people do not queue, but the bar staff will usually try and serve those who have been waiting the longest at the bar first. If you spill a stranger's drink by accident, it is good manners(and prudent ) to offer to buy another drink.
在英国，经营酒馆需要先获取营业许可证。这个证件非常难获得，也只有拥有这个证件，酒馆才能24小时不间断营业。大部分酒馆都从上午11点开到晚上11点。有时酒馆里客人非常多的时候，酒保一般都很忙碌，无法照顾到每个人：人们不会排队，但酒保总会设法先服务那些等得久的人。如果你不小心碰洒了别人的饮料，那么出于礼貌你最好给他再买一杯。
Most pubs belong to a brewery but sell many different kinds of beer, some on tap and some in bottles. The most popular kind of British beer is bitter, which is dark and served at room temperature (not hot, not cold). British beer is brewed from malt and hops . More popular today though is lager, which is lighter in color and served cold. Guinness, a very dark, creamy kind of beer called a stout, is made in Ireland and is popular all over Britain. And in the West of England, cider made from apples, is very popular. Like wine, it is described as sweet or dry, but is drunk in beer glasses and can be stronger than beer. Beers are served in "pints" for a large glass and "halves" for a smaller one.
大多数酒馆都是隶属于某个啤酒厂，但会出售各种不同种类的啤酒。既有桶装的，也有瓶装的。英国最流行的啤酒是苦啤酒，它颜色较深，接近黑色，且往往是常温的。英国的啤酒一般由麦芽和啤酒花发酵而成。现在比较流行的是窖藏啤酒，一般是冰的而且颜色较淡。爱尔兰产的黑啤在英国也很流行。由苹果制成的苹果酒在英国西部很流行。苹果酒装在啤酒杯里，比啤酒劲大，比较甜而且干。啤酒可以按“品脱”叫一次一大杯的，也可叫一半的小量啤酒。
