Some kinds of drinks are absorbed faster than others. Mixed drinks are usually absorbed faster compared to beer....
However normally a pint is like 2.2 or so units of alcohol while a shot is 1 unit (and 35 measley mL here

,thats why I never get mixed drinks)....
However, 35mL of booze isn't going to get anyone drunk...your parents probably had more than 1 unit.
It takes me about 1.5-2 pints before I can even feel any alcohol and about 4 50 mL shots
And no America doesn't have the same unit system unfortunately....it's quite a good way of rating booze content.