2005年NPR美国国家公共电台三月-College Teaches Students the Art of Moder

Alcohol abuse remains¹ one of the most serious problems on college campuses.Many schools have responded with anti-drinking campaigns and treatment programs. One college in Maine is trying an unusual approach and attempt to teach students the art of moderation. Maine public broadcasting’s Genie² Barren reports:
Here is something you don’t hear very often in a college dining hall:

- Would you like a glass?
- Um, yes, please.
- It is by shipyard, it is a darker beer but it's...

A bartender in a crisp white shirt and black vest carefully holds a short stand glass as she pours a dark beer and offers it to senior Alanmergy.

-There you go there.
- That’s their spring season
- It’s very good
- And actually, I am very fond of this.

It’s Friday night at Colby College in Watervell. About a dozen students have brought their dinner trays, skimming soup bowls, pasta, assorted³ vegetables to this quiet room set off from the main dining hall.Maggie is taking advantage of a special program for Colby’s older students. They're encouraged to have a drink and relax together over a meal. Maggie says it’s a fine idea.

- I think it’s nice for seniors and people who are over 21 to be able to have, you know, something with dinner just because it’s nice 'cause it happens in the real world.

These seniors had student leader Catherine Welch to thank. Welch says she began to wonder whether campus life had become polarized between binge drinkers and teetotalers.

- Isn't there a third option here? We’re forgetting what your parents do. What you gonna do next year. Are those really gonna be the only two options?

At first, dean of students Janis Armor Carsman says she resisted the idea of serving alcohol even to students who are over 21, but then Carsman decided⁴ she wanted to find a way to make it work.

- This was an idea to model good behavior and so this wasn't a proposal for some Bulk and alien party.It was a quite impressive and innovative⁵ way of showing how you can use alcohol.

Students must show ID. There is a two-drink limit and they must pay for them.Of course Carsman knows that younger students are the most likely to abuse alcohol but she says the older students are modeling a classier way to drink that younger students might emulate⁶ later.

Unlikely, says Mathilda Felco,president of Drug Strategies,a Washington DC group that researches drugs and alcohol policy.

The college should be trying to shore up the non-drinking undergraduate culture,making that as cool as possible.I don't think that the notion of providing the option of wine is going to have any real impact on the core issues that push kids to drink to excess.

Nevertheless,the Colby experiment doesn't appear to be drawing much criticism.Arthur Branan is a Maine Superior court judge whose daughter Christine is a senior at Colby.Branan is a Colby grad himself.

I mean what's really important is how the kids react,you know,to enjoy alcohol in a setting where it's controlled,and where it's not the focus.It's a complement⁷ to something else.Strikes me as making some sense.

Colby senior Christine Alan enjoying a glass of Chardonnay with his pasta agrees:"Drinking alcohol with food definitely teaches you to drink properly in a normal social scene as opposed to say more competitive drinking.That's we call it."

A round of competitive drinking may be following the civilized⁸ moment.Alan's friends say they are on their way to a local pub once dinner is over.For NPR news, I am Genie Barren.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 genie   

n.妖怪，神怪

参考例句：

• Now the genie of his darkest and weakest side was speaking.他心灵中最阴暗最软弱的部分有一个精灵在说话。
• He had to turn to the Genie of the Ring for help.他不得不向戒指神求助。

3 assorted   

adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的

参考例句：

• There's a bag of assorted sweets on the table.桌子上有一袋什锦糖果。
• He has always assorted with men of his age.他总是与和他年令相仿的人交往。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

6 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

7 complement   

n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足

参考例句：

• The two suggestions complement each other.这两条建议相互补充。
• They oppose each other also complement each other.它们相辅相成。

8 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为