Task3: Fighting Teen Smoking
Script
The percentage of teens who smoke cigarettes dropped to 28% in 2003, according to a report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That was down from 36% in 1999 as measured by the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. It’s a triumph for many people across the nation who worked tirelessly to reverse the climb in teen smoking rates during the 1990s.
An equal accomplishment many be discovery of what works to influence teens’ motivation and behavior. Success has come in communities with a comprehensive program to fight tobacco use by teens. The best school health classes won’t have much effect on teen who already smoke. Many of them need professional help before they can quit. Another interesting finding is that nearly all first use of tobacco occurs before high school graduation. So if adolescents don’t start smoking by age 18, odds are they never will. For those who do experiment with cigarettes, new research shows teens can get hooked on nicotine more quickly than adults and by extremely low levels of tobacco.
Now the bad news: while the teen smoking rate is down to 28%, that still means more than one in four teenagers still smoke. Public health and parents are not ready to abandon a quarter of today’s young people to the damaging effects of tobacco. Obviously, it is still too early to celebrate a complete victory. There is still much room for improvement.
1. What percentage did the teen smoking rate drop by?
2. What happened in the 1990s, according to the speaker? Useful for reducing teen smoking according to the speaker?
3. What is especially useful for reducing teen smoking according to the speaker?
4. What is the bad news mentioned in the passage?
5. What is the main idea of the passage?
Kes: 1D 2.A 3. B 4.C 5.
For Reference
Before the age of 18. According to the passage, if adolescents don’t start smoking by age 18, odds are they never will.
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