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  3. The phrase "everybody’s doing it" is very much at the center of the concept of peer pressure. It is a social influence exerted o

The phrase "everybody’s doing it" is very much at the center of the concept of peer pressure. It is a social influence exerted o

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问题     The phrase "everybody’s doing it" is very much at the center of the concept of peer pressure. It is a social influence exerted on an individual in order to get that person to act or believe in a similar way as a larger group. Most people experience it in some way during their lives. The following excerpt is about peer pressure and alcohol. The author presents his opinion on peer pressure. Read the excerpt carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should:
    1. summarize briefly the author’s opinion;
    2. give your comment.
    Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
                        Peer Pressure
    In the United States, over 80% of college students have at least one alcoholic drink over a two-week time period. Of these college students, 40% are binge drinking (i. e., having four or more drinks) on occasion, which greatly surpasses the rate of their non-college peers. Research suggests that this discrepancy between college students and their non-college peers is largely due to the college environment. More specifically, college students must experience a transitional period from depending on their parents at home to depending on their peers on campus. Peer interactions may be essential for college students in that peers provide the guidance and support needed to circumvent this transitional period. In addition, the freshman population is particularly reliant on peer groups because they are new to the college environment and are attempting to adapt to the college lifestyle. Although peers may be an essential coping mechanism during this transitional period, the increase of peer involvement in a student’s everyday life may influence the increase of peer pressure as well.
    Peer pressure, or the direct or indirect encouragement from one’s own age group to engage in activities that they may or may not want to engage in, is a major factor in the development of students’ risk-taking behavior (e. g., alcohol use, drug use, and tobacco use). Peers act as an influential model by introducing, providing, or pressuring risky activities (i.e., alcohol use) to other peers. By modeling the behavior of their peers, college students are viewing alcohol use as a positive and socially acceptable experience. However, what college students fail to take into consideration are the negative consequences that are related to alcohol use, especially within a peer group context. For example, the leading cause of death for adolescents 17 to 20 years old is alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). In addition, about 400,000 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 have unprotected sex due to drinking. More than one fourth of those students report being too intoxicated to know if they even consented to have sex (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). Therefore, it is imperative to understand peer pressure, as well as which groups of college students are more susceptible to it, in order to decrease these negative consequences from occurring.
    The social identity theory may help to explain why college students are influenced by peer pressure. The social identity theory suggests that a significant portion of an individual’s self-concept is formed through their peer groups, with the in-groups being viewed more positively than the out-groups. In a college environment, it is essential for students to be associated with the in-groups in order to be socially accepted. Out-groups, such as freshmen college students and non-drinkers, may lack the social support needed during this transitional period because they are not fitting in with the majority of their peers. More specifically, non-drinkers would be considered an out-group because they are not participating in the normative behavior of alcohol use. Subsequently, students who enter college determined to remain non-drinkers often give in to peer pressure in order to become a part of the in-group. This experience of feeling like an out-group is prevalent in freshmen college students as well. Freshmen are highly at risk for alcohol consumption because they are adapting to the college lifestyle and attempting to develop new friendship. Furthermore, vulnerable college groups ( e. g. , freshmen and non-drinkers) will give in to peer pressure in hopes to be socially accepted and have a successful transition to college.
    Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.
选项
答案 My Views on Peer Pressure Frequently seen in college, peer pressure affects college students in various ways, alcohol consumption is just one of them. It is sometimes followed by motor vehicle crashes or unprotected sex. The social identity theory explains that, a large portion of individuals’ life-concepts are dependent on their peer groups, so they are eager to quickly get involved in the group and become one member. Unfortunately, freshers and vulnerable college groups are more easily to be influenced. Human beings are social animals and therefore, they, especially the teens or the young will succumb to peer pressure, whether it’s positive or negative. It is very easy to get caught up in the moment when ugly and unexpected situations turn up and peer pressure kicks into high gear. What we need to be aware of is that it’s natural for one to be influenced by peers. In most cases, it’s due to the age and shouldn’t be classified as good or bad. The first thing one needs to know to avoid negative peer pressure is to learn to tell right from wrong. Choosing friends by making smart choices is the key to greeting the positive effects of peer pressure and keeping the negative ones at bay. One will probably forget that he has to live with the choices made inside a group. However, if it is contrary to one’s character or core value concept it will result in distress later and he will feel regret or even guilty. Besides, a strong support from family members or teachers is likely to help the young stay away from falling prey to negative peer pressure. Learning to shield from negative peer pressure needs to be taught. The common but inadequate solution is to isolate the young from peers, but the ideal solution is to teach them to make good choices in life.
解析 朋辈压力是青少年经常遇到的人际交往问题之一，对青少年的行为方式产生了很大的影响。题目要求简要概括材料中的观点，并发表自己的评论。在具体行文方面，首段高度归纳材料大意；接着根据材料进行背景延伸，指出无论是积极的还是消极的朋辈压力，都应视其为自然情况；在段落发展和结论中，应着力于如何处理消极的压力。注意使用恰当的连接词。
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