经济学人286:男性自杀 趋势令人堪忧

 　　Male suicide

　　男性自杀

　　A worrying trend

　　趋势令人堪忧

　　Official suicide statistics released on February 19th contain disturbing news: suicide rates rose by 4% between 2012 and 2013, and the rise was due mainly to one group: men over 30. Rates were broadly flat among women, and among young men—often thought to be particularly at risk—suicide rates fell.

　　2月19日公开的官方自杀数据统计令人惶恐不安：自2012年至2013年间，英国国内自杀率激增4%，其增长趋势主要集中于30岁以上的男性。女性自杀率基本持平，青年男性——通常被视为自杀风险颇大的群体—的自杀率有所下降。

　　男性自杀.jpg

　　Why are middle-aged¹ men so susceptible²? The recession hit working-age men especially hard in Western countries, where social and employment status are closely linked. A recent study in the Lancet, a journal, found strong ties between unemployment and suicide. Roger Webb and Navneet Kapur of theUniversity ofManchester say unemployment is only one contributing factor, however. Other aspects of the recession, such as falling income, “zero-hour” contracting and debt, may also be important.

　　中年男性为何如此多愁善感？经济衰退对西方国家正处于工作年龄的男性而言打击甚重，其社会地位与就业状况息息相关。《柳叶刀》杂志最近刊登的一篇研究发现失业与自杀之间的关系紧密相连。不过据曼彻斯特大学的罗杰·韦伯与那伏乃尔·卡普尔表示，失业是造成自杀现象的唯一诱因。经济衰退的其他方面，例如收入下降、契约与债务的启动关键时刻，或许也很重要。

　　1.due to 由于；因为；应归于

　　Council members are due to have informal discussions later on today.

　　委员会成员定于今日晚些时候进行非正式讨论。

　　He is due to face a court-martial on drugs charges.

　　他将因毒品交易的指控受到军法审判。

　　2.such as 例如；譬如；诸如

　　Issues such as these were not really his concern.

　　他其实并不关心诸如此类的问题。

　　They offer tips on topics such as home safety.

　　他们就家居安全等问题提供建议。

1 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。

2 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。