美国国家公共电台 NPR CDC: U.S. Suicide Rates Have Climbed Dramatically

 CDC: U.S. Suicide Rates Have Climbed Dramatically

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Suicide is a problem that is getting worse in the United States. A new study shows that suicide rates have increased in nearly every state. And in half of them, the rise is dramatic. NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce reports.

NELL GREENFIELDBOYCE, BYLINE¹: Every year, tens of thousands of Americans kill themselves.

DEBORAH STONE: It impacts youth. It impacts middle-aged² adults, older adults. It impacts people regardless of race, ethnicity.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: Deborah Stone is a scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She and her colleagues recently analyzed³ suicides from 1999 to 2016. They found that in every state but Nevada the suicide rate is up.

STONE: Half of states actually saw rates of suicide increase more than 30 percent.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: The biggest increases were in the central northern states like North Dakota. Its suicide rate went up almost 58 percent. Now, suicide is often associated with a mental health problem like depression. But the researchers say about half of those who killed themselves were not known to have a mental health condition.

STONE: And instead, these folks were suffering from other issues such as relationship problems, substance misuse⁴, physical health problems, job or financial problems.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: The CDC report discusses measures to prevent suicide, including programs for more stable housing and economic support. It also talks about the need to reduce access to, quote, "lethal⁵ means." But it does not directly discuss limiting access to guns, the most common method used in suicide. Stone says they didn't separate out guns because the increase in suicide rates is seen across the board.

STONE: So it's not just about firearms. It's also about other methods.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: But nearly half of all people who kill themselves use a firearm. And Mike Anestis says we can't tiptoe around the gun connection. He's a suicide researcher at the University of Southern Mississippi.

MIKE ANESTIS: American suicide is predominantly a firearm issue. And so anytime you want to resolve something that involves firearms, we need to talk about firearms explicitly⁶.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: He wasn't surprised by the study's findings but says a report like this is still really important because it gets the public's attention. Bob Gebbia agrees. He's the head of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

BOB GEBBIA: We need to make our families and communities much more knowledgeable⁷ about this.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: So they know the right questions to ask and places to reach out for help. Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

3 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

5 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

6 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。