On weekdays in pubs and bars throughout America, there is the late afternoon happy hour. The time may vary from place to place, but usually it is held from four to seven. After the workday is finished, office workers in large cities and small towns take a relaxing pause and do not go directly home. They head off instead for the nearest bar or pub to be with friends, co- workers and colleagues. Within minutes the pub is filled to capacity with businessmen and secretaries, office clerks and stock executives. They gather around the bar like birds around a fountain or forest animals around a watering hole and chat about the trifles of office life or matters more personal. This is their desert garden, the place to relieve the day's stress at the office.
At these happy hours, social binding occurs between people who share the same workplace or similar professions. They may chat about each other or talk about a planned project that has yet to meet a deadline. In this sense, these places become extensions of the workplace and constitute a good portion of one's social life.
For office workers and businessmen, the happy hour is their ______.

A. professional requirement
B. regular practice
C. refreshing break
D. unpaid work