VOA慢速英语-Health Report - Study Shows Limits in Helping Childr

This the VOA Special English Health Report.

The Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, has published its yearly issue on violence and human rights.

One report is on a study of a mental health program for children affected¹ by political violence in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The study of the school-based intervention² involved about five hundred children. The average age was ten. Some took part in a therapy program for five weeks. They met fifteen times with locally trained mental-health workers. The other children, a control group, received no therapy.

The researchers say the therapy appeared to moderately reduce signs of post-traumatic stress disorder³. It also helped support feelings of hope. But it did not reduce signs of depression or abnormal fear.

A team from the Netherlands, at the nonprofit organization HealthNet TPO and Vrije University Medical Center, did the study.

In an audio commentary on the JAMA Web site, the journal's editor in chief, Cathy DeAngelis, expressed regret at the findings. In her words: "I guess violence to children has its toll⁴ no matter what you do."
　
American soldiers in Iraq

Another study in the special issue looked at alcohol use among American troops back from war. At the beginning of the study, more than forty-eight thousand service members answered questions about their use of alcohol. Some went on to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some were deployed⁵ in non-combat duties. Most were not deployed.

Later, the men and women answered questions again about their drinking.

New cases of heavy drinking were highest among younger service members and members of the Reserve and National Guard returning from the wars. These normally part-time forces have played an important part in Iraq and Afghanistan. But those who fought in the wars were sixty-three percent more likely to later abuse alcohol than non-deployed personnel.

Active-duty service members involved in combat were thirty-one percent more likely to begin binge drinking when they returned home. Drinking four to five drinks within about four hours is considered binge drinking.

The Naval⁶ Health Research Center in San Diego, California, did the study. The researchers note that high rates of alcohol misuse⁷ have been reported among service members returning from past conflicts. But there has been little information so far about the current wars.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver⁸. Transcripts⁹ and MP3s are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 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。

2 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

3 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

4 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

8 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

9 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句