Teen Brains and Drugs
毒品对青少年大脑的影响(1/2)
Teen Drugs and Brains
New research shows the danger that drugs and alcohol pose to teenagers’ brains
Teenagers who drink, smoke and use drugs can derail their brain development and set themselves up for lifelong addiction. That might not sound like news to you. But truth is, until recently, most of what science has known about addiction in teenagers has been extrapolated from research in adults. Now, new brain-imaging studies have shown that the teenage brain is a rapidly changing organ and doesn’t work the way an adult brain does. Researchers now believe that drugs and alcohol can disrupt that massive renovation vulnerable to drugs and easier for teens to get addicted.
Not just genetics?
Scientists say an addiction that starts early in life is harder to kick than one that starts later. Nearly half of kids who are regular drinkers before age 14 will become alcoholics, said Dr. Danielle Dick, a clinical psychologist and geneticist at Washington University.
In adults, genetics are more than 50 percent responsible for addiction to alcohol. So people have long assumed that genes are the biggest reason kids drink, too. But new studies of twins in Finland and the U.S. state of Missouri showed no evidence that genetics contributed to alcohol-dependence in 14-year-olds, Dick said.
What role do parents play?
Parents who strictly monitor their teens’ behavior are one of the most influential forces preventing kids from using drugs and alcohol. Parental monitoring is one of the most consistent predictors of whether teens start using alcohol or other drugs. That means more than just having a good relationship with your kids. What works is knowing where children are, whom they are with and what they are doing. Children with the highest level of parental monitoring were less likely to start drinking or using drugs, Dick said.
Specialized Terms
Extrapolate (v) 推断 to guess what might happen from information that is already known
Genetics (n) 遗传学 the study of how, in all living things, the characteristics and qualities of parents are given to their children by their genes
Vocabulary Focus
Set someone up (v) to establish someone in a position
Renovation (n) restructuring something for improvement
Kick (v) to give up something harmful that one has done for a long time
Discussion Question
Now, parents have evidence to persuade kids to kick drugs, smoke and alcohol, but the more parents said not to do something, the more exciting that is, don’t you think so?
Extra Exercise
1. Translate the following sentence into Chinese, ‘Parental monitoring is one of the most consistent predictors of whether teens start using alcohol or other drugs.’
2. According to the recording, what the meaning of ‘You set someone up with someone’?
文 本 下 载 参加讨论组 查看节目单 视频下载 学习方法