European Economic Slump Leads to Suicide Spike

 　　Countries across Europe are coping with an economic slump¹ and researchers have found that it’s having an effect on suicide rates, especially in some of the worst hit countries.

　　Research published this week shows that suicide rates are on the rise across Europe. According to the study published in the medical journal The Lancet, Greece has seen the sharpest rise.

　　Pavlos Tsimas is a journalist based in Greece. He recently made a documentary about the trend. He interviewed family members who had lost loved ones and told VOA some of their stories.

　　"We investigated the case of a small businessman from Herakleion in Crete, who took his car, loaded it with tins of petrol, and first shot himself and then put fire to the whole car. Nothing was found of him, his body was totally extinguished by fire."

　　Greece feels sting

　　Greece is suffering the costs of a major public deficit². For more than a year, the government has cut spending and hiked up taxes in an effort to sort out its finances.

　　Many say it’s the only way to keep the Greek economy afloat. But it’s having devastating³ consequences for many Greeks. Today, one in six is unemployed⁴.

　　Tsima said the businessman who lit his car on fire wasn’t the only one to go out in such a dramatic way.

　　"We found out that people killed themselves in a very dramatic and sometimes a very violent way, which maybe means that they are trying to make their suicide a statement, want the whole world to understand how badly they feel, how unlucky they were, how sad they have been, how hopeless they have felt."

　　He said in Greece, it’s mostly men who are killing⁵ themselves. And he said the number has gone up most on the island Crete. The reasons, he said, are complex. It’s not just about poverty or unemployment, but also about dignity and self respect, he said.

　　"I guess this is one of the reasons it happens mostly in Crete, where social and family life is more traditional, more patriarchal. The father of the family has to be respected as a figure of great strength. And when the economic problems arise, when jobs are lost and businesses are closed down, it is this despair because of the loss of respect, the loss of self esteem⁶ and the fact that the person feels that their life no longer has meaning that drives them to this kind of act," said Tsima.

　　Banking⁷ crisis slams Europe

　　Greece isn’t the only country seeing a rise in suicide.

　　The study looked at statistics in 10 European countries from 2007 and 2009, and found that while suicide had previously⁸ been going down in Europe, since the banking crisis hit it’s been on the rise.

　　Nine of the 10 countries surveyed had seen a 5 percent rise in rates. In Ireland, another country in economic turmoil⁹, the increase is 13 percent.

　　David Stuckler, a sociologist¹⁰ at Britain’s University of Cambridge who co-wrote the report, said, “For the most part, the countries that have been more severely¹¹ affected¹² have experienced greater rises in suicides - Ireland, Spain the Baltics - reaching up to 16 percent in some of the worst affected countries like Greece.”

　　Meaningful job is crucial

　　Stuckler said attempted suicides and depression also are on the rise. He calls it a “mental health crisis.”

　　But he said there is good news. In countries where governments have helped get people back into work, like in Sweden and Finland,  suicide rates have not increased.

　　“We found that just giving money to people who have lost jobs to replace their income did not appear to help. Instead, giving people a reason to get out of bed in the morning, a hope in terms of searching for a good, meaningful job seemed to be the most beneficial to helping¹³ people cope,” said Stuckler.

　　Governments across Europe need to learn that lesson, he said.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

2 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

10 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。