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
54
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).
If you have just eaten a big meal, the alcohol will be absorbed less quickly,
选项
A、Y
B、N
C、NG
答案
A
解析
本题涉及到了对酒精吸收的问题,因此要定位到What Happens When You Drink这一部分,这一部分的第三句提到A full stomach will slow down alcohol absorption.这就说明吃得越饱,对酒精的吸收越慢。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/hBy7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
StudentswhowanttostudyintheUnitedStatesmayfindthattheirchancesforfinancialaidarelimited.Theyoftenhavetopa
StudentswhowanttostudyintheUnitedStatesmayfindthattheirchancesforfinancialaidarelimited.Theyoftenhavetopa
StudentswhowanttostudyintheUnitedStatesmayfindthattheirchancesforfinancialaidarelimited.Theyoftenhavetopa
StudentswhowanttostudyintheUnitedStatesmayfindthattheirchancesforfinancialaidarelimited.Theyoftenhavetopa
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayentitledMyViewonBestWishesTextMessages.Youshouldwrite
Asisknowntoall,peoplewhosmoke____________(更有可能得肺部疾病).
Thinktwicenexttimesomeoneasksyoufor"fiveminutesofyourtime"—itcouldcostyoumorethanyouthink.ABritishprofess
Thinktwicenexttimesomeoneasksyoufor"fiveminutesofyourtime"—itcouldcostyoumorethanyouthink.ABritishprofess
Noonelikesbadnews,butforsomepeople,nonewsisworse.Peoplewhoaremildlyneuroticarestressedbyuncertaintyevenmo
A、Hedislikedthetopicofthelecture.B、Hedidn’twanttogotothelecture.C、Hethoughttheprofessorwasnotfamous.D、Hew
随机试题
多媒体计算机硬件中,()提供音频信号输入、输出接口。
设函数z=ycosx,则=________
雄激素的作用,哪项是不正确的
心肺复苏后存在室颤时应选择心跳骤停抢救时第一次用药的药物是
关于固有牙槽骨不正确的为()
甲公司为增值税一般纳税人企业,2015年1月1日开始自行建造一条生产线。由于该生产线符合国家相关政策,因此政府给予其300万元的建造补贴款;为建造该项生产线占用一笔专门借款,该借款为2015年1月1日借入,本金为1000万元,年利率为10%,期限为5年;2
简述学校开展心理健康教育的基本途径。
违法主体对违法行为承担的具有强制性的法律后果称为法律责任。()
下列表单的哪个属性设置为真时,表单运行时将自动居中( )。
在考生文件夹下有一个工程文件sjt5.vbp,相应的窗体文件为sjt5.frm,此外还有一个名为datain.txt的文本文件,其内容如下:32437658281298573142536475
最新回复
(
0
)