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British Council播客——Scotland苏格兰

British Council 2017-07-19 19:06
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Scotland - The Sick Man of Europe?
苏格兰-欧洲病夫?

We Scots get a bad press for our lifestyles, to say the least. This month Jack McConnell, First Minister of the Scottish Parliament, called us “one of the most unhealthy countries in Europe,” with a culture of “lack of exercise, drugs abuse, excessive drinking and over eating.
”我们苏格兰人的生活方式至少可以说有坏的报道。这个月,苏格兰议会第一位首相,杰克•麦克康奈尔,称我们为“欧洲最不健康的国家之一”,有着“缺少运动,滥用药物,过度饮食的文化。

Traditionally, political leaders at least try to say nice things about the people who elected them, so McConnell’s outburst might seem a little surprising. What might be more surprising is that very few people disagreed with his attack. Scotland has long been called “the sick man of Europe”: our health statistics are quite shocking. Last year we finally shook off the dubious record of having the highest number of cancer deaths per capita in Western Europe, but we’re still near the top of the table for coronary heart disease. Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, has the UK’s lowest life expectancy and remains the only part of the UK where the average man does not live to be 70. Overall, people live for a shorter time in Scotland than in the rest of the UK. Politicians, doctors and statisticians are generally in agreement about the causes of all this: cigarettes, alcohol and fatty foods.
传统上,政治领导至少为选举他们的人民说一些好话,所以麦克康奈尔的爆发似乎有点让人感到意外。令人更惊讶的是几乎没有人不同意他的抨击。苏格兰长期被叫作“欧洲病夫”。我们的健康数据相当让人震惊。去年,我们终于摆脱了癌症死亡人数在西欧人均具有最高的记录,但是我们的冠状动脉心脏疾病仍居于排名之首。苏格兰最大的城市,格拉斯哥,有着最短的寿命,仍是英国唯一一处人们平均寿命不到70岁的地区。总的来说,生活在苏格兰的人比英国其它地方的人活的时间更短。政治家,医生和统计学家大致同意这些的原因:烟,酒和高脂肪食物。

A number of new initiatives are now being tried to tackle these problems. For one, the Scottish Parliament banned smoking in all Scottish pubs, clubs and restaurants, in 2006. Similar bans were recently introduced in both New York and Ireland; in both cases it’s too early to see if they will be effective, but they have certainly increased the number of people standing outside pubs, clubs and restaurants. Some people have suggested it’s a little ironic to offer us the chance to poison our livers in a smoke-free environment.
人们正尝试实施新的举措解决这些问题。比如,2006年,苏格兰议会在在所有苏格兰酒吧,俱乐部和饭店禁止抽烟。现在纽约和爱尔兰引进了同样的禁止举措;在这两者,看出这些措施是否有效还为时过早,但是它们确实增加了站在酒吧,俱乐部和饭店外面的人数。一些人认为给人们提供可吸烟的环境,这毒害人们的肺,这种措施有点讽刺。

There is a great deal of concern in Britain as a whole about “binge drinking”, or drinking large amounts of alcohol in short periods. Our biggest brewing company, Scottish & Newcastle, has begun putting health warnings on its products, advising us that “responsible drinkers don’t exceed 4 daily units (men) and 3 units (women).” The average pint of lager contains approximately 2.3 units of alcohol. It’s only fair to point out that Scottish & Newcastle has also spent recent years promoting the consumption of stronger lagers with higher alcohol content. Meanwhile, the drinks industry as a whole has launched a new website, with the aim of “ensuring that people who choose to drink alcohol can understand fully the responsible drinking message, and can make well-informed choices as a result.
”英国上下担忧狂饮行为或短时间饮大量的酒。我们最大的啤酒酿造公司,苏格兰和纽卡斯尔,开始在产品上贴上健康警告,建议我们“每天喝不超过4单位(男人)和3单位(女人)酒是负责任的饮酒者。”一品脱啤酒大概含有2.3单位的酒精。苏格兰和纽卡斯特都在近年提高了强烈的酒精含量高的啤酒销量。同时,饮料行业作为一个整体推出了一个网站,以“确保喝酒的人们可以完全理解负责任喝酒的信息,可以做出明智的选择。”

But does the problem really lie in our inability to understand the “message” about health? Not according to a 2001 survey of consumer attitudes conducted by the Food Standards Agency Scotland. This survey found that, while 48% of Scots were fully aware of what constituted a healthy diet, only 23% actually ate healthily – the rest were “unable or unwilling to bridge the gap between awareness and actual behaviour”. The survey concluded that giving dire warnings about health simply does not work. People understand the theory, but can’t or won’t translate it into practice.
但是,问题真的在于我们无法理解关于健康的“信息”吗?据苏格兰食物标准局2001年消费态度的调查。这份调查发现,48%的苏格兰人完全意识到了什么是健康饮食,只有23%的人实际上吃得健康---其余的无法或不愿意在意识和实际行动之间建立桥梁。调查得出结论,简单给出吓人的健康警告没有用处。人们理解原理,但是不能或不会付诸行动。

So, how can we persuade this rather unhealthy nation to give up their cigarettes, alcohol and fried food? Personally, I have no idea. But I should admit that, as I wrote this, I smoked two cigarettes and drank one cup of sweet, milky tea. My dinner tonight will be a healthy vegetable dish, but today’s lunch was most certainly fried. I checked my last Saturday night’s alcohol consumption on the “Drinkaware” website, and I’m afraid to say I wasn’t a responsible drinker.
那么,我们该如何说服这个相当不健康的国家放弃他们的烟,酒和油炸食物呢?我个人没有想法。但是我承认,在我写这篇文章的时候,我抽了两根烟,喝了一杯甜的加了牛奶的茶。我今晚的晚餐会是一份健康的蔬菜,但是今天的午餐几乎是油炸的。我在“Drinkware”网站查了我上个周六晚的喝酒消费,恐怕得说我不是一个负责任的饮酒者。

Evidently I’m a living stereotype. I’m one of the at least 25% of Scots who are fully aware of what a healthy lifestyle is, but can’t “bridge the gap between awareness and actual behaviour.
”很明显,我是活生生的例子。至少有25%的苏格兰人意识到健康生活方式但不能在意识和实际行动之间建立桥梁,我是其中的一个。

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