英语听力精选进阶版 6373

Smokers¹ in England have been asked to give up smoking for 28 days this month, in a campaign backed by Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation.

Research shows people who manage not to light up for this length of time are five times more likely to kick the habit for good.

Public health experts say campaigns that include a combination of hard-hitting adverts² and supportive messages work best.

Quitting smoking can be difficult. People are much more likely to succeed if they get support than if they try to do it alone and go cold turkey.

Robert West, Director of Tobacco Studies at University College London, points out how peer pressure can prevent a tobacco addict's resolve going up in smoke.

"We are social animals, we are herd³ animals and we are influenced by each other," he said.

The initiative has met some scepticism among readers of the BBC News Online website. Some compared it to asking people to stop eating as a way of combating obesity⁴. Others doubt the campaign's effectiveness.

"Its weakness is that it fails to address why a person smokes, and these reasons are as varied⁵ as the number of smokers", says someone who signed as BluesBerry.

Another reader, Cazz, has decided⁶ to give it some credit. He says: "Campaigns like this won't necessarily prompt the majority of smokers to quit, but may prompt those thinking about quitting to set a date and try. Surely it's worth a shot."

The number of smokers in England is estimated at 8 million.

According to the Department of Health, smoking is the biggest cause of premature⁷ death in the country.

Quiz 测验

For how long is the campaign asking smokers to be smoke-free?

28 days

Look at the article. Why is it easier to stop smoking when other people are doing the same?

According to the University College London's commentator⁸ Robert West, people are social animals and are influenced by each other.

Is the following statement true, false or not given? Most of the BBC News Online website readers do not believe the anti-smoking campaign will succeed.

False. The article mentions reader Cazz saying that it is worth for smokers who are thinking about quitting to take part in the campaign.

What adjective in the article means something done with the objective to cause shock?

'Hard-hitting'

What are the three verbs used to say 'not to smoke anymore'?

To give up, to kick the habit, to quit.

Glossary 词汇表

to give up 放弃

to back 支持

to light up 点燃

to kick the habit 要戒掉恶习

a public health expert 公共健康专家

hard-hitting 强硬的

to quit 戒掉，放弃

to go cold turkey 突然停止(做某事)

peer pressure 同伴压力

an addict 瘾君子

to go up in smoke 化为乌有，成为泡影

scepticism 怀疑，怀疑主义

to address 解决

to prompt 促使

to be worth a shot 值得一试的

premature 过早

1 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。

2 adverts   

advertisements 广告，做广告

参考例句：

• the adverts on television 电视广告
• The adverts are not very informative. 这些广告并没有包含太多有用信息。

3 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

4 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

5 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

6 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。

7 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

8 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。