英语课程计划-World Suicide Prevention Day

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is a day we should all put on our calendars. It highlights a huge but often ignored problem in our society. Every year thousands of people take their own lives. Around 3,000 people a day commit suicide. Another 60,000 a day attempt  suicide. WSPD promotes ways to identify possible suicide cases and to prevent suicide. The day is organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. This important group acts as a forum¹ for academics, mental health professionals, and suicide survivors² to work together to understand suicide better. They raise awareness³ that suicide is a preventable cause of hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world.

The word suicide comes from Latin, meaning to kill oneself. There are many factors that lead to someone taking their own life. These include depression, shame, physical pain, anxiety, and relationship problems. A growing reason nowadays is financial difficulties. There is a sudden increase in suicide in rich nations when there is a downturn in the economy. Another worrying trend is the number of young people who resort to suicide because of bullying⁴. Suicide is in fact one of the leading causes of death among teenagers and young adults. In Japan, there are Internet suicide clubs so you can end your life with others who are equally desperate. A hot topic today is assisted suicide – helping⁵ another person end his or her life.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

4 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。