拿什么来拯救你，我的青少年？

 　　It has long been assumed that the cavalier behavior of teenagers — driving too fast, engaging in unprotected sex, dabbling¹ in illicit² drugs — is due in part to their characteristic disregard for mortality. Teens, as any beleaguered³ parent of one can attest⁴, usually operate under the presumption⁵ that they know it all and will live forever.

　　Or, do they? A new study published in the July issue of the journal Pediatrics would suggest precisely⁶ the opposite. For some teens, at least, their reckless, sometimes life-endangering choices are fueled not by feelings of being bulletproof, but by the belief that they're doomed⁷ to die young anyway.

　　In a long-term analysis of 20,594 American teens in grades 7 through 12, researchers interviewed the youngsters on three different occasions: first in 1995, again in 1996, then a final follow-up from 2000 to 2001. At the first interview, 1.4% of participants thought there was "almost no chance" that they'd reach their mid-30s; 2.4% thought it was possible, but hugely unlikely; and 10.9% believed they had only about a 50-50 shot of celebrating their 35th birthday. Researchers discovered that those who believed they were likely to die young were more likely to make potentially life-threatening choices — such as getting into violent fights or having unprotected sex with multiple partners — than teens who weren't expecting an early death.

　　"Thankfully most youths don't hold this belief," says lead author Dr. Iris⁸ Wagman Borowsky, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, "but 15% did. That's one in seven youths in this country."Whether it was the risky⁹ behavior or the fatalistic worldview that presented itself first during the course of the study, Borowsky found they remained correlated over the years. Youths who reported that they had contemplated¹⁰ suicide, consistently gotten into fights, had unprotected sex or abused drugs by the time of the first interview in 1995 were more likely to develop a pessimistic attitude about their mortality during the subsequent interviews. Likewise, says Borowksy, "We found that those who felt they had a higher likelihood of dying early were more likely in later years to begin engaging in risky behaviors."What's more, having a negative view of the future varied¹¹ widely among respondents, depending on their ethnicity, gender¹³ and socioeconomic status. Older male Hispanic adolescents were the most likely to believe their lives would be cut short. Among teens whose families received any form of financial assistance from the government, nearly one-quarter believed they were likely to die young.

　　The fact is that minorities and the underprivileged are among the populations in the U.S. who are statistically¹⁴ at higher risk of early death than, say, wealthy white Americans, according to government data. The irony¹⁵, Borowsky says, is that these fatalistic belief systems may help perpetuate¹⁶ the tendency toward poor health and early demise¹⁷ in certain social or ethnic¹² groups. "What's disturbing to me is how this could contribute to health disparities among minorities as well as youths from different socioeconomic backgrounds," she says. "If youths are in an environment where they look around and see more adults dying early, then they may develop this perception that they will die early as well." And that may drive teens toward careless behaviors.

　　Borowsky's findings, while grim, present an opportunity to interrupt that self-fulfilling cycle (and she also found that as teens grow up, their negative views don't always persist). In the long term, she says, more research is needed for a deeper understanding of teens' emotional lives. But in the short term, prevention may be as simple as encouraging teenagers to think about their futures¹⁸ and set goals going forward; families and communities should then support children in achieving them.

　　"I think this is something that can take place in primary medical settings as well as school settings," Borowsky says. She believes we can make a difference — even save lives — just by asking teens one simple question: "What do you want to do when you get older?"

1 dabbling   

v.涉猎( dabble的现在分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资

参考例句：

• She swims twice a week and has been dabbling in weight training. 她一周游两次泳，偶尔还练习一下举重。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boy is dabbling his hand in the water. 这孩子正用手玩水。 来自辞典例句

2 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

3 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 attest   

vt.证明，证实；表明

参考例句：

• I can attest to the absolute truth of his statement. 我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place. 这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

5 presumption   

n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定

参考例句：

• Please pardon my presumption in writing to you.请原谅我很冒昧地写信给你。
• I don't think that's a false presumption.我认为那并不是错误的推测。

6 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

7 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

8 iris   

n.虹膜，彩虹

参考例句：

• The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
• This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

9 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

10 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

11 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。

12 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

13 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

14 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

15 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

16 perpetuate   

v.使永存，使永记不忘

参考例句：

• This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
• We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。

17 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

18 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。