首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Alcoholism In the United States alone, alcoholism affects millions of people and costs the country billions of dollars each
Alcoholism In the United States alone, alcoholism affects millions of people and costs the country billions of dollars each
admin
2010-10-14
20
问题
Alcoholism
In the United States alone, alcoholism affects millions of people and costs the country billions of dollars each year.
What is Alcoholism?
People who drink regularly enough to affect their family or work responsibilities and who drink in a way that puts ~them in dangerous situations are said to abuse alcohol. Although they use alcohol in an unhealthy way, people who suffer from alcohol abuse do not necessarily develop a physical dependence upon alcohol.
Alcoholics, on the other hand, have a chronic disease. They are physically dependent upon alcohol. They feel a need to drink, almost in the same way that most people feel the need to eat. And once alcoholics start drinking, they are unable to stop. They develop a tolerance to alcohol, requiring more and more drinks to feel the same effects. When an alcoholic tries to cut down or stop drinking, he or she experiences the symptoms of withdrawal: sweating, nausea, shakiness, anxiety and delirium tremens.
More than 17 million Americans abuse alcohol or are alcoholic. Alcoholism affects men more than women: About 10 percent of men, compared to 3 to 5 percent of women, become alcoholics over the course of their lifetime. Alcoholism is more prevalent among younger people than among older people.
How Does Someone Become an Alcoholic?
Why is it that some people can drink socially and not become addicted while others become alcoholics? The reason has to do with a combination of genetic, physiological, psychological and social factors.
Genes may be an important factor triggering the development of alcoholism. Research has indicated that children of alcoholics are four times more likely to become alcoholics themselves; and while this statistic is at least partly due to environmental factors, scientists have determined that there is a genetic link.
Physiologically, alcohol alters the balance of chemicals in the brain. It affects chemicals in the brain’s reward center. The body eventually craves alcohol to restore pleasurable feelings and avoid negative feelings. People who already suffer from high stress or psychological problems such as low self esteem and depression are at higher risk for developing alcoholism.
Social factors such as peer pressure, advertising and environment also play an important role in the development of alcoholism. Young people often start drinking because their friends are doing so, Beer and liquor ads on television tend to portray drinking as a glamorous exciting pastime.
What Happens When You Drink
When you take a drink, about 20 percent of the alcohol is absorbed in your stomach; the remaining 80 percent is absorbed in your small intestine. How quickly the alcohol is absorbed depends upon the concentration of the alcohol in the drink and whether you’ve just eaten a big meal. A full stomach will slow down alcohol absorption.
After the alcohol is absorbed, it enters your bloodstream and is carried throughout your body. As the alcohol acts upon the body, the body is simultaneously working to remove it. The kidneys and lungs remove about 10 percent of the alcohol in the urine and the breath. The liver breaks down the rest of the alcohol into acetic acid.
After just a few drinks, the physical effects of alcohol become apparent. These effects are related to the blood alcohol concentration(BAC). The BAC goes up when the body is taking in alcohol faster than it can release it.
Alcohol and the Brain
Alcohol affects brain chemistry by altering levels of neurotransmitters(神经传递素). Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit the signals throughout the body that control thought processes, behavior and emotion.
In the short term, alcohol can cause blackouts -- short-term memory lapses in which people forget what occurred over entire stretches of time. The long-term effects on the brain can be even more damaging.
Long-term drinking can leave permanent damage, causing the brain to shrink and leading to deficiencies in the fibers that carry information between brain cells. Many alcoholics develop a condition called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and experience mental confusion and lack of coordination, and they may also have memory and learning problems.
The body responds to the continual introduction of alcohol by coming to rely on it. This dependence causes long-term, debilitating changes in brain chemistry. The brain accommodates for the regular presence of alcohol by altering neurotransmitter production. But when the per son stops or dramatically reduces his or her drinking, within 24 to 72 hours the brain goes into what is known as withdrawal as it tries to readjust its chemistry. Symptoms of withdrawal include disorientation, hallucinations, delirium tremens(DTs), nausea, sweating and seizures.
Alcohol and the Rest of the Body
Over time, alcohol can inflict serious damage on other body parts as well.
Liver: The liver is particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol because it is the organ in which alcohol and Other toxins are metabolized(broken down into less harmful substances to be removed from the body). Drinking over a long period of time can lead to alcoholic hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver. Symptoms of this condition include nausea, vomiting, fever, loss of appetite, abdominal pain and jaundice(a yellowing of the skin).
Heart: Because alcohol lowers blood pressure, the heart overcompensates, and the heart muscle can eventually become damaged as a result. Prolonged drinking increases the risks for heart disease, high blood pressure and certain kinds of stroke.
Stomach: Alcohol irritates the lining of the stomach and intestines, causing vomiting, nausea and eventually ulcers.
Cancer: Research indicates that long-term drinking increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx and esophagus.
The effects of alcohol are even more marked in adults over 65, because their bodies don’t metabolize alcohol as well as those of younger adults. Women also have more difficulty metabolizing alcohol than men, because [hey are typically smaller and lighter in weight.
Treatment for Alcoholism
In the United States, approximately 2 million people get help each year for alcoholism. Alcoholism treatment may include:
Detoxification: This involves abstaining from alcohol in order to get alcohol completely out of a person’s system, and it takes anywhere from four to seven days.
Pharmaceuticals: People can take drugs such as disulfiram or naltrexone to prevent a re lapse once they’ve stopped drinking. In 2004, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration also approved the drug acamprosate, which suppresses cravings by targeting the brain chemicals affect ed by alcohol.
Counseling: Individual or group counseling sessions can help a recovering alcoholic identify situations in which they may be tempted to use alcohol and find ways of circumventing the urge to ’drink in those situations. One of the most recognizable alcoholic recovery programs is Alcoholics Anonymous(AA).
People with physical deficiencies are more likely to develop alcoholism.
选项
A、Y
B、N
C、NG
答案
C
解析
文章中What is Alcoholism?这一部分对酒精中毒、酗酒者、酗酒者意图戒酒时的症状以及美国的现状作了介绍,但并未提到什么样的人会更容易酒精中毒。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/QBy7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
StudentswhowanttostudyintheUnitedStatesmayfindthattheirchancesforfinancialaidarelimited.Theyoftenhavetopa
StudentswhowanttostudyintheUnitedStatesmayfindthattheirchancesforfinancialaidarelimited.Theyoftenhavetopa
StudentswhowanttostudyintheUnitedStatesmayfindthattheirchancesforfinancialaidarelimited.Theyoftenhavetopa
StudentswhowanttostudyintheUnitedStatesmayfindthattheirchancesforfinancialaidarelimited.Theyoftenhavetopa
A、GiveJackadifferentoffice.B、Complaintothedepartmenthead.C、Movethesuppliestothestorageroom.D、Trytogetaroom
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayonthetopicofTheBridgeBetweenPeople.Youshouldwriteat
Thinktwicenexttimesomeoneasksyoufor"fiveminutesofyourtime"—itcouldcostyoumorethanyouthink.ABritishprofess
Thinktwicenexttimesomeoneasksyoufor"fiveminutesofyourtime"—itcouldcostyoumorethanyouthink.ABritishprofess
A、Peopleandcrops.B、Lifeandwealth.C、Povertyanddeath.D、Agricultureandbridge.B文章中列举了从古至今河流给人们带来的好处,文章将其总结为:Innationsa
随机试题
A.安徽B.广西C.浙江D.河南E.吉林、辽宁、黑龙江蛤蚧药材的主产地是
自动血培养检测系统判断血液中有无微生物存在的依据是
下列不是CT扫描注意事项的是
刺四逢疗法,刺后可用手挤出
一般情况下,合同中所指的索赔是指( )所提出的索赔要求。
员工处理与领导的关系时,正确的做法是()。
人民警察内务建设的基本方针是()。
在一项实验研究中,研究者想要将样本量由30曾加到60,下列选项会增大的是
Theuseofcomputergraphics(1)manydiversefields.Applications(2)fromtheproductionofchartsandgraphs,tothegenerationof
流行的移动硬盘或优盘进行读/写利用的计算机接口是()。
最新回复
(
0
)