美国多数青少年远离饮酒与吸烟
Most US Teens Do Not Drink, Smoke
慢速 | 五级（CET-4）适中 | 588词 | 5min46s
刘立军供稿
Part I. QUESTIONS
Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.
Q1. When did the Monitoring the Future study begin to measure abstinence?
A. In 1975.
B. In 2017.
C. In 2023.
D. In the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Q2. What percentage of 12th graders did not use alcohol, marijuana, and traditional or electronic cigarettes in the previous 30 days according to this year's findings?
A. 66 percent.
B. 80 percent.
C. 90 percent.
D. 6 percent.
Q3. Why did the use of alcohol and drugs drop early in the pandemic?
A. Because students were told to go to schools.
B. Because students were encouraged to attend parties.
C. Because use most often happens in friend group settings and students avoided gatherings at that time.
D. Because there was an increase in the use of nicotine pouches.
Q4. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The use of nicotine pouches is increasing among teens.
B. The Monitoring the Future study provides data on teen drug use.
C. Mental health issues are linked to substance use.
D. The pandemic has led to a decrease in teen drug use.
Q5. What can be inferred about the impact of the pandemic on drug use among teens?
A. The pandemic had no impact on drug use among teens.
B. The pandemic may have interrupted the cycle of drug use among new teens.
C. The pandemic caused an increase in drug use among all grades.
D. The pandemic only affected the use of traditional cigarettes.
Part II. TRANSCRIPT
Most US Teens Do Not Drink, Smoke
Drug use among teenagers has continued to drop since the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large national study says.
pandemic n. 大流行病
The federally financed Monitoring the Future study has been carried out yearly since 1975. (Q1) However, the study only started measuring abstinence — the practice of rejecting alcohol or recreational drug use — in 2017.
abstinence n. 戒绝，节制
This year’s findings are based on answers from about 24,000 students in grades 8, 10 and 12 in schools across the United States.
One major finding: (Q2) About 66 percent of 12th graders said they had not used alcohol, marijuana, and traditional or electronic cigarettes in the previous 30 days.
marijuana n. 大麻
That share, or proportion, of students is the largest since the yearly study started measuring abstinence.
proportion n. 比例，部分
The study is “one of the best, if not the best” source of national data for substance use by teens, said Noah Kreski. Kreski is a Columbia University data analyst who has studied teen drug use.
Among 10th graders, 80 percent said they had not used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes recently, another record. Among 8th graders, 90 percent did not use any of them, the same as was reported in the previous study.
The only major increase found was in the use of nicotine pouches, small, white containers of nicotine which users place in their mouths. About 6 percent of 12th graders said they had used that form of nicotine in the past year, up from about 3 percent in 2023.
nicotine n. 尼古丁
pouch n. 小袋，小囊
Whether that has the makings of a new public health problem is unclear. The University of Michiga’s Richard Miech, who leads the study, said: “It’s hard to know if we’re seeing the start of something, or not.”
(Q3) Early in the pandemic, students across the country were told not to go to schools and to avoid parties or other gatherings. Alcohol and drug use of all kinds dropped likely because use most often happens in friend group settings. Friends often influence each other to use drugs, experts say.
As lockdowns ended, “I think everyone expected at least a partial rebound,” Miech said.
lockdown n. 封锁，封控
rebound n. 反弹，回升
Even before the pandemic, there were decreases in teen cigarette smoking, drinking and the use of several kinds of drugs. Experts suggested that teens were staying home as opposed to spending time in social settings, in which use of illegal substances is more likely.
But marijuana use was not falling before the pandemic. And vaping was increasing. It was only during the pandemic that those activities began to decrease also.
vaping n. 使用电子烟
Some experts wonder if the pandemic lockdowns had a deeper influence.
Miech noted that a lot of teens who experiment with e-cigarettes or drugs start in the 9th grade, sometimes because older children are doing it. But the children who were 9th graders during the lockdowns never picked up the activity. And they never had the opportunity to turn into negative influencers of their younger classmates, he said.
(Q5) “The pandemic stopped the cycle of new kids coming in and being recruited to drug use,” Miech said.
recruit v. 吸收（新成员），招募
Mental health may also play a part. There were increased reports of depression and anxiety in kids after the pandemic began. Depression is often linked with substance use, but some people with depression and anxiety are very cautious about experimenting with drugs, said Dr. Duncan Clark. Clark is a University of Pittsburgh medical doctor who researches substance use in kids.
cautious adj. 谨慎的，小心的
“Some teens with anxiety are worried about the effects of substances. They may also be socially inhibited and have less opportunity to use drugs,” Clark said.
inhibited adj. 受抑制的
Part III. KEY
Q1.B.【解析】细节题。根据“However, the study only started measuring abstinence — the practice of rejecting alcohol or recreational drug use — in 2017.” ，可知该研究直到2017年才开始统计戒绝烟酒毒品的数据。因此答案是B。
Q2. A.【解析】细节题。根据“About 66 percent of 12th graders said they had not used alcohol, marijuana, and traditional or electronic cigarettes in the previous 30 days.”，可知大约66% 的 12 年级学生在过去 30 天内未使用过酒精、大麻、传统香烟或电子烟。因此答案是A。
Q3. C.【解析】细节题。根据“Early in the pandemic, students across the country were told not to go to schools and to avoid parties or other gatherings. Alcohol and drug use of all kinds dropped likely because use most often happens in friend group settings.”，可知疫情初期，全国各地的学生被告知不要去学校，要避免参加派对或其他聚会。各种酒精和毒品的使用量可能因此下降，因为这类行为多发生在朋友聚会场合。因此答案是C。
Q4. D.【解析】主旨题。文章开篇点明自新冠疫情早期以来，青少年药物使用率持续下降，后续围绕调查数据、下降原因展开论述。因此答案是D。
Q5. B.【解析】推理题。根据“The pandemic stopped the cycle of new kids coming in and being recruited to drug use,” ，可知疫情阻止了新孩子被吸引吸毒的循环。因此答案是B。
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