2007年VOA标准英语-Underage Drinking Serious Problem in the US

By Jeff Swicord
Washington
06 August 2007
 

In 1984 the legal drinking age in the U.S. was raised from 18 to 21 in all 50 states. That was in response to the number of drunk driving fatalities¹ involving young people nationwide.  But as VOA's Jeff Swicord reports, that has not stopped young people from drinking.

Officer Bill Morrison

Police Radio - "Yeah they are looking back at you guys pretty hard."

Friday night, in the suburbs of Washington D.C., and the Alcohol Unit of the Montgomery County Police Department is running an undercover operation looking for underage drinkers.

Police radio: "Gary, did all this beer go in the trunk?" Reply: "Yes all of it did, it is probably a good stop."

The legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21. Officer Bill Morrison says that has not deterred² many young people from drinking.  He says two-thirds of the 12 to 15 drinking and driving fatalities in Montgomery County every year involve underage drinking. "They feel invincible³. They go out there and they begin drinking and they get what I call 'beer muscles.'  And they think they can do things that they normally wouldn't do.  And off they go.  And unfortunately many of them get behind the wheel and attempt to drive down the road."

Under age drinking, empty beer bottles

An undercover officer scouting⁴ on the roof of a beer and wine store observed three young men in a car carrying a large quantity of beer out of the store.

Officer Morrison says, "So, what we have is, the passenger is 21, the two other gentlemen are both underage.  They all went in together and they all helped carry out the beer.  The 21-year-old admitted that they were all going back to his house to drink.  As a result all three of them will get citations⁵."

An officer tells the youths, "You both carried out alcohol, you are in possession of alcohol."

Two of the men are 20 years old and were charged with possessing alcohol, a $500 fine.  The 21-year-old passenger, who police say bought the beer, is charged with furnishing alcohol to someone under 21, a $1,000 fine. 

The legal age of majority in the U.S. is 18.  Setting the drinking age at 21 has its share of critics.  Some argue that setting the age at 21 has created an underground drinking culture that fosters alcohol abuse.  They argue that teaching young people to use alcohol responsibly out in the open would be a better approach. 

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Meg Baker

Meg Baker, program director for a Montgomery County funded program called Drawing the Line on Under 21 Alcohol Use, disagrees. "Listening to the treatment folks, by the time they are caught, often times have been drinking two, or three, or four, or five years prior to that.  And we know that youngsters that drink prior to age 15 are more likely to have alcohol issues as an adult than had they just waited until they are a little older."

Officer Morrison agrees.  He regularly sees the many problems alcohol creates.

"We are talking about vandalism, we are talking about rape⁷, we are talking about destruction of property, we are talking about theft.  All those calls for service are alcohol related.  Now, the amount of teenagers involved in this, this is about two-thirds of your calls for service on Friday and Saturday night."

Officer: "Take a deep breath, and blow, blow."
Suspect: "I'll blow it again."
Officer: "I'll Take you to jail, I think that is a better idea"
Suspect: "No, I'll blow it again. I mean, I am trying my best."
Officer: "You are not.  You are playing games with me."

There are about 17,000 drunk driving fatalities a year in the U.S., a figure that has risen slightly in the past couple of years.  Montgomery County has one of the first police forces in the country to deploy⁸ a full time alcohol enforcement unit.  Its officers have trained other officers in different states around the country in the hope that one day that number will decline. 

1 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》

2 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

3 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

4 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

5 citations   

n.引用( citation的名词复数 )；引证；引文；表扬

参考例句：

• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Some dictionary writers use citations to show what words mean. 有些辞典的编纂者用引文作例证以解释词义。 来自辞典例句

6 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

7 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

8 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。