VOA慢速：减少饮酒或戒酒更益健康

Less or No Alcohol Is Better for Health

慢速| 四级 偏难 | 765词 | 7分31秒

刘立军供稿

Part I. QUESTIONS

Listen to the report and choose the best answer to each question you hear.

Q1. What does the report suggest about the current trend in alcohol consumption guidelines?

A. They are becoming more permissive.

B. They are promoting no drinking for health benefits.

C. They are advocating for reduced alcohol intake.

D. They are being standardized across different countries.

Q2. What caused Tessa Weber to participate in “Dry January”?

A. It was a new social trend she wanted to try.

B. She wanted to be a moderate drinker for health reasons.

C. It was a requirement for a health program she joined.

D. She found that alcohol was increasing her anxiety.

Q3. What is the main point of discussing previous studies on alcohol?

A. Previous studies have conclusively proven the health benefits of alcohol.

B. There are significant flaws in the methodology of previous studies.

C. The studies have been widely accepted by the scientific community.

D. The studies provide evidence of no link between alcohol and health issues.

Q4. What does Dr. Naimi indicate about the relationship between alcohol consumption and health benefits?

A. The supposed benefits are questionable among people with higher income.

B. The health benefits are more apparent among moderate drinkers.

C. The health benefits of alcohol are significant and undisputed.

D. The benefits are more noticeable in younger drinkers.

Q5. What is the safe limit for alcohol consumption per day according to the U.S. government’s guidelines mentioned in the report?

A. One drink or fewer for both men and women.

B. Two drinks or fewer for men and one drink or fewer for women.

C. Three drinks or fewer for both men and women.

D. Four drinks or fewer for men and three drinks or fewer for women.

Part II. TRANSCRIPT

Less or No Alcohol Is Better for Health

Alcohol is often consumed at social gatherings from happy hours after work to birthday parties on the weekend. Drinking some alcohol is normal and believed to be good for heart health.

However, new research may have put an end to that idea.

Dr. Timothy Naimi directs the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria. He said, “Drinking less is a great way to be healthier.”

Guidelines, or advice, for drinking alcohol, differ greatly from country to country. But overall, the advice has been moving toward drinking less.

(Q1) Britain, France, Denmark, Holland, and Australia recently reviewed new evidence and lowered the suggested amount of alcohol consumption.

Ireland went further than most. It will require cancer warning descriptions on alcohol starting in 2026.

Carina Ferreira-Borges is an adviser for alcohol at the World Health Organization office for Europe. She said scientists see “evidence linking alcohol to over 200 health conditions, including cancers, cardiovascular diseases and injuries.”

cardiovascular adj. 心血管的

Overall, people may have already been moving toward drinking less alcohol. Social calendar events called “Dry January” and “Sober October” are celebrated with non-alcoholic drinks. “Dry” means no alcohol. And a sober person is not affected by alcohol.

sober adj. 持重的；冷静的

(Q2) “People my age are way more accepting of it,” said Tessa Weber. The 28-year-old from Austin, Texas said she stopped drinking for Dry January after seeing how alcohol increased her anxiety. She liked the results ― better sleep, more energy ― and has stuck with it.

The idea that alcohol can be heart-friendly came from imperfect studies comparing groups of people by how much they drink.

(Q3) Usually, alcohol consumption was measured at one point in time. And none of them compare drinkers and non-drinkers. As a result, these studies could not prove cause and effect.

(Q4) People who report drinking an average amount of alcohol usually have higher income, education, and better health care. “It turns out that when you adjust for those things, the benefits tend to disappear,” Dr. Naimi said.

Most studies also did not include younger people. And almost half of the people who die from alcohol-related causes die before the age of 50.

“If you’re studying people who survived into middle age, didn’t quit drinking because of a problem and didn’t become a heavy drinker, that’s a very select group,” Naimi said. “It creates an appearance of a benefit for moderate drinkers.”

Other studies challenge the idea that alcohol has benefits.

These studies compare people with a certain gene variant that makes it unpleasant to drink to people without this gene variant. People with this gene tend to drink very little or not at all. One of these studies found people with the gene variant have a lower risk of heart disease. This may supply more proof that alcohol does not protect people from heart problems.

gene variant 基因变异

So, how many alcoholic drinks can people safely have every day? That depends.

Drinking alcohol raises the risk of several kinds of cancer, including colon, liver, breast, mouth, and throat. Alcohol breaks down in the body into a substance called acetaldehyde. This substance can damage your cells and stop them from repairing themselves. That creates the conditions for cancer to grow.

acetaldehyde n. 乙醛，醋醛

Thousands of U.S. deaths per year could be prevented if people follow the U.S. government’s guidelines. (Q5) They advise men to limit themselves to two drinks or fewer per day and women to one drink or fewer per day, Naimi said.

One drink is the equivalent of about one can of beer, a glass of wine, or a very small glass of hard alcohol.

hard alcohol 烈性酒

Naimi served on an advisory committee. That committee wanted to lower the guideline for men to one drink per day. However, that advice was rejected when the federal guideline came out in 2020.

“The simple message that’s best supported by the evidence is that, if you drink, less is better when it comes to health,” Naimi said.

On its website, the National Institute of Health says some people should not consume alcohol at all. The agency says to avoid alcohol completely if you are:

Taking medications that interact with alcohol
Having a medical condition that can be made worse by drinking
Under the age of 21, the minimum legal drinking age in the U.S.
Recovering from alcohol use disorder or unable to control the amount you drink
Pregnant or might become pregnant

medication n. 药；药物

Part III. KEY

Q1. C.细节题。文章中指出：“Britain, France, Denmark, Holland, and Australia recently reviewed new evidence and lowered the suggested amount of alcohol consumption.”意为：“英国、法国、丹麦、荷兰和澳大利亚最近重新审视了新的证据，并降低了推荐的饮酒量。”这表明当前的趋势是倡导减少酒精摄入量。因此答案为C。

Q2. D.细节题。文中提到：“... she(Tessa Weber) stopped drinking for Dry January after seeing how alcohol increased her anxiety.”意为：“……在看到酒精如何加重她的焦虑之后，她决定参加一月的戒酒活动。”这说明Tessa Weber参加Dry January是为了减少因酒精摄入而引起的焦虑。因此答案为D。

Q3. B.主旨题。这一部分讨论了之前关于酒精研究的不足，如：“Usually, alcohol consumption was measured at one point in time. And none of them compare drinkers and non-drinkers. As a result, these studies could not prove cause and effect.”意为：“通常，酒精摄入量仅是在某一时间点进行测量，并且这些研究没有比较饮酒者和非饮酒者。因此，这些研究无法证明因果关系。”这表明先前的研究在方法论上存在重大缺陷。因此答案为B。

Q4. A.细节题。Dr. Naimi指出：“People who report drinking an average amount of alcohol usually have higher income, education, and better health care. It turns out that when you adjust for those things, the benefits tend to disappear,”意为：“称自己饮酒量适中的人一般都收入较高，受过更好的教育，享有更优质的医疗卫生服务。结果表明，当你对这些因素进行调整时，饮酒的好处往往会消失。” 这说明所谓的酒精对健康的好处在更高收入群体中可能并不存在。因此答案为A。

Q5. B.细节题。根据文本中：“They advise men to limit themselves to two drinks or fewer per day and women to one drink or fewer per day, Naimi said.”可知，美国政府的指导建议是，男性每天限制在两杯或更少的酒量，女性则是一杯或更少。因此答案为B。

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