新奇事件簿 酗酒危害生命

Britain’s Office for National Statistics has reported a sharp and alarming rise in the number of people dying from alcohol abuse. Binge drinking has become part of British culture and is now a serious social issue, people are literally¹ drinking themselves to death. The figures are of near epidemic² proportions. Alcohol-related fatalities³ among British adults doubled from 4,144 in 1991 to 8,758 in 2006. The steepest increase was the 132 percent rise in deaths among men in the 35 to 54 age bracket. They are suffering from liver failure and stomach cancers at a younger age than ever before. The figures for women in the same age group also show a dramatic rise of over 100 percent. These disturbing figures seem to be a legacy⁴ of people partying and drinking heavily in their twenties and early thirties.

英国国家统计局发布报告，酗酒死亡人数呈上升趋势。豪饮是英国文化的一部分，但它已成为了严重的社会问题，不夸张的说，人们正因酗酒而走向死亡。酗酒数字几近泛滥。英国成人酗酒死亡人数从1991年的4144上升到2006年的8750，死亡人数上升一倍。增长速度最快年龄段为35-54岁男性，上升百分比为132%。患肝功能衰竭，胃癌的年轻人数量超过以往。同年龄段女性也呈增长态势，上升百分比为100%。这一数字都是二三十岁年轻人酗酒，派对狂欢的遗留问题。

Professor Ian Gilmore, a leading British doctor, said: "Liver disease is often symptom-less until it becomes very serious, and so people often have no warning that they are destroying their liver until it is almost too late.” Frank Soodeen from the group Alcohol Concern called for immediate⁵ action. "It is vital that the government finally starts investing more in alcohol treatment to help problem drinkers address these issues before the situation becomes irretrievable," he said. Britain’s public health minister Dawn Primarolo said the government was launching a $20m campaign to raise awareness⁶ of the dangers of too much alcohol, and was reviewing alcohol pricing and advertising⁷. However, she warned: "We know we're not going to change people's attitudes to alcohol overnight, it's going to take time.”

英国知名医生伊恩·吉尔摩教授认为：“通常情况下，肝病只有在情况危急时才会显现，所以人们经常不会发现自己正在损害肝脏，等到发现时已为时已晚。”“关注酗酒”组织的弗兰克·索登呼吁人们立即采取行动。他认为：“在情况无法挽回之前，政府应加大酒精治疗投入，帮助酗酒人士解决问题。”英国卫生部长多恩·普里马罗洛表示，政府发起了2000万美金宣传活动，帮助民众提高酗酒危害，并对酒精饮品价格重新定位，酒类广告也要重新审核。然而，她警告称：”对于夜间饮酒，我们或许还无法改变，这还需要时间。”

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 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。

7 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。