纽约时报 美国的酗酒问题有多严重?(2)

 

 

    That trend is especially alarming because previous research suggests that people who drink to cope — as opposed to doing so for pleasure —这一趋势尤其令人担忧，因为先前的研究表明，为应对压力而不是享乐而饮酒的人，have a higher risk of developing an alcohol-use disorder¹, which is the inability to stop or control drinking even when it causes harm.

    患酒精使用障碍的风险更高，也就是说，即使饮酒造成伤害，这些人也无法停止或控制饮酒。

    Alcohol can be calming in the short term: It slows activity in the amygdala,酒精可以在短期内起到镇静作用：其可以减缓杏仁核的活动，the area of the brain that readies the body's "fight or flight" response to real or imagined stress by increasing heart rate and blood pressure and amplifying² our awareness³ of threatening stimuli⁴.

    杏仁核是大脑的一个区域，通过增加心率和血压来增强我们对威胁性刺激的意识，为身体对真实或想象中的压力做出“战斗或逃跑”的反应做好准备。

    But over time, alcohol's dampening effect on the amygdala decreases, while the region itself becomes "hyperactive in between bouts⁵ of drinking," according to Aaron White, a senior scientific adviser⁶ at the N.I.A.A.A.

    但美国国家防止酒精滥用与酒精中毒研究所的高级科学顾问亚伦·怀特表示，随着时间的推移，酒精对杏仁核的抑制作用逐渐减弱，而杏仁核本身却“在两次饮酒之间变得过度活跃”。

    Achieving the same level of relief requires drinking more, and more often.

    这样一来，要达到同样的缓解作用，就需要更多、更频繁地饮酒。

    There are already indications that groups feeling the most pandemic-related stress are seeing greater increases in alcohol consumption.

    目前已有迹象表明，因疫情相关压力受影响最严重群体的酒精消费量正在增加。

    A survey of 12,000 physicians, for instance, found that more than 40 percent were experiencing burnout, very likely amplified⁷ by the pandemic,例如，一项对1.2万名医生进行的调查发现，40%以上的医生正在经历职业倦怠期，这很可能因疫情而加剧，and of those, more than a quarter were drinking to deal with it.

    这些医生中有超过四分之一为应对这种情况而饮酒。

    And though pre-pandemic research showed that parents were less likely than people without children to engage in risky⁸ levels of alcohol consumption,尽管疫情前的研究表明，相比没有孩子的人，有孩子的人更不可能进行危险程度的饮酒活动，parents appear to be among those drinking more now — especially if their children are engaged in remote schooling⁹.

    但现在似乎有孩者也在饮酒的人群中——尤其是如果他们的孩子在接受远程教育的话。

 

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 amplifying   

放大，扩大( amplify的现在分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• Often they use borrowed funds, amplifying their gains and losses. 他们通常会用借贷的资金交易，从而放大收益或损失。
• An amplifying type (or analog) device, as opposed to digital device. 放大器类（或模拟）器件，相对于数字器件而言的。

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 stimuli   

n.刺激（物）

参考例句：

• It is necessary to curtail or alter normally coexisting stimuli.必需消除或改变正常时并存的刺激。
• My sweat glands also respond to emotional stimuli.我的汗腺对情绪刺激也能产生反应。

5 bouts   

n.拳击（或摔跤）比赛( bout的名词复数 )；一段（工作）；（尤指坏事的）一通；（疾病的）发作

参考例句：

• For much of his life he suffered from recurrent bouts of depression. 他的大半辈子反复发作抑郁症。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was one of fistiana's most famous championship bouts. 这是拳击界最有名的冠军赛之一。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 amplified   

放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
• He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。

8 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。

9 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。