A
Many people all over the world enjoy an alcoholic drink, such as wine or beer, during dinner. Many people raise a glass of alcohol to celebrate a wedding or a birthday. And having drinks after work with friends and co-workers is called “happy hour”.
All these situations are considered “social drinking” because they happen at social events. But when does “social drinking” become problem drinking?
According to the World Health Organization alcohol abuse kills 3.3 million people each year. That is six percent of all deaths around the world. And in a new report on alcohol use around the world, the WHO says alcohol can create dependency, or addiction, in some people. The report also warns that alcohol use can increase the risk of developing more than 200 diseases, including some kinds of cancers. And, the WHO says alcohol abuse can put people at greater risk of infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis(肺结核), pneumonia (肺炎)and HIV.
WHO Mental Health and Substance Abuse Director Shekhar Saxena says the organization is concerned about drinking among young people between the ages 15 and 19. And it is most concerned about “binge-drinking”, or an extended period of heavy drinking.
The report concludes that worldwide 16 percent of drinkers over the age of 15 engage in binge-drinking, which is much more harmful than other kind of drinking and causes the most harm in terms of accidents, self-harm and harm to others. High income countries have the highest alcohol consumption and also the highest prevalence(盛行) of binge-drinking.
The report also found that the highest rates of alcohol-linked deaths are in Europe, followed by the West Pacific and then the Americans. The report also finds Europe is the area with the highest alcohol use. Central and Eastern Europe are especially high.
The World Health Organization suggests ways countries can protect people from alcohol abuse. These include increasing taxes on alcohol sales, raising the drinking age limit, and controlling the marketing of alcoholic beverages.
21. What can be inferred from Paragraph 1?
A. Alcohol abuse will cause many health problems.
B. “Social drinking” has become a serious issue.
C. It is urgent to protect people from alcohol use.
D. Alcohol drinking is popular at social events.
22. According to WHO, alcohol abuse can possibly cause the following problems except__________.
A. addiction B. death C. depression D. cancer
23. What is the main idea of the text?
A. Alcohol abuse is popular.
B. Alcohol drink can kill.
C. Alcohol drinking should be banned.
D. Alcohol abuse has ways to cure.
