VOA慢速英语2014 世卫组织表示酒精可以致死

 

WHO: Alcohol Can Kill 世卫组织表示酒精可以致死

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

Many people all over the world enjoy an alcoholic¹ drink, such as wine or beer, during dinner.  Many people raise a glass of alcohol to celebrate a wedding or a birthday.  And having drinks after work with friends and co-workers is called “happy hour.”  And I’m sure many people are celebrating World Cup victories with a glass of beer.

All these situations are considered “social drinking” because they happen at social events. 

But when does “social drinking” become problem drinking? 

According to the World Health Organization alcohol abuse kills 3.3 million people each year.  That is six percent of all deaths around the world. 

And in a new report on alcohol use around the world, the WHO says alcohol can create dependency, or addiction², in some people.  The report also warns that alcohol use can increase the risk of developing more than 200 diseases, including some kinds of cancers.   And, the WHO says alcohol abuse can put people at greater risk of infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis³, pneumonia⁴ and HIV.   

WHO Mental Health and Substance Abuse Director Shekhar Saxena says the organization is concerned about drinking among young people between the ages 15 and 19.  And it is most concerned about “binge-drinking,” or an extended period of heavy drinking. 

"The report concludes that worldwide 16 percent of drinkers over the age of 15 engage in binge-drinking, which is much more harmful than other kind of drinking ... which causes the most harm in terms of accidents, self-harm and harm to others.  High income countries have the highest alcohol per capita consumption and also the highest prevalence of binge-drinking.” 

The report warns of a few other worrying trends.  For example, women should take special note. 

The report warns that more women are drinking alcohol.  And, the report says women are at greater risk than men for some alcohol-related health conditions.  

The report also found that the highest rates of alcohol-linked deaths are in Europe, followed by the West Pacific and then the Americas.  The report also finds Europe is the area with the highest alcohol use.  Central and Eastern Europe are especially high. 

The WHO says people in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and some neighboring countries drink a lot of alcohol and binge drink.

Vladimir Poznyak is the WHO Management of Substance Abuse Coordinator⁵.  He says less alcohol is used in Africa than in Europe.  But, he adds, the health effects are worse in Africa because of a lack of, what he calls, buffering⁶ factors -- things like social support systems and health care.

“The difference is that in African region as well as in other countries with less resources, the consumption of alcohol brings more harm to health and to social relationship because of the absence of buffering factors, which are often like social support, like access to health care services.  This is what is lacking.”

The World Health Organization suggests ways countries can protect people from alcohol abuse.  These include increasing taxes on alcohol sales, raising the drinking age limit, and controlling the marketing⁷ of alcoholic beverages⁸.  

And that’s the Health Report.  This report was written by Lisa Schlein in Geneva.  I’m Anna Matteo. 

1 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

2 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

3 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

4 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

5 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

6 buffering   

缓冲（作用）； 减震； 阻尼； 隔离

参考例句：

• Fig. 3-13 gives a suggested buffering arrangement for the data lines. 图3―13示出了一种缓冲数据线的方案。
• It requires buffering for most applications. 在大多数使用场合，它都需要缓冲。

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 beverages   

n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
• regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例