楼 主 当代美国大众话题.docx

1、楼 主 当代美国大众话题楼 主 当代美国大众话题 Deadly drinking狂喝滥饮Bart: Theres a new resurgence in binge drinking (聚众饮酒作乐）among American college students.Lisa: Yes, Ive head about it. So what?.Bart: Unfortunately, college women are gaining ground on （追上，接近，逼近.) men for the title of campus drunk.(校园酒鬼的称号）Lisa: Really? Dri

2、nking among college students has been going on for decades. Why are women drinking more now? Bart: I dont know, but the percentage of college women drinking to get drunk has more than tripled over the past 15 years, says a new report from Columbia University.Lisa: I guess thats really not that surpr

3、ising. Women are beginning to assert themselves more in every aspect of society.Bart: I know a lot of people are shrugging this off （对某事听之任知，不予重视）as just a teenage rite of passage, but its more serious than that. I read in USA TODAY that alcohol is involved in 90% of all rapes, 80% of all vandalism

4、（蓄意破坏公物或他人私有财产的行经）cases, 40% of all academic problems and 28% of all dropout （辍学）problems.Lisa: I have to admit, that is shocking! I never realized that booze （酒，痛饮）was so connected with crime.Bart: Whats even worse is that as many as 360,000 of todays undergraduates ultimately will die from alcohol

5、-related causes - more than will get advanced degrees. Lisa: Thats downright （彻底地，十分地）depressing. Ill bet that fraternities （大学男生联谊会）and sororities （大学女生联谊会）have a lot to do with that. Bart: Youre right. Students in frats （fraternities 的缩写）report drinking three times as much as the average student.

6、Also studies show that 25% of freshmen admit to binge drinking in comparison to 20% of seniors.Lisa: Arent there any campuses that are trying to do anything about this problem?Bart: Yes, as a matter of fact, the University of Maryland found that 30% of its students actually preferred alcohol-free so

7、cial events. Officials offered cash awards fro groups sponsoring the best alcohol-free party. hey, would you like something to drink.Lisa: Yeah, just as long as its doesnt have any alcohol, sugar or caffeine in it!第 2 楼 100 Billion Burgers 千万汉堡Mike: Lets go get something to eat.Emi: Oh, Im starving.

8、 hey, theres a McDonalds up ahead.Mike: Theres always a McDonalds up ahead. Everywhere you turn theres another blasted McDonalds.Emi: Whats wrong with that? Hey, theyre convenient. Mike:Theyre too convenient! Anything would be convenient if it could be found on every street corner. Im just plain sic

9、k of seeing the Golden Arches everywhere I turn.Emi: I like McDonalds Mike: Im sick of McDonalds. Did you know that theres over 8,000restaurants in the U.S. alone and over 11,000 franchises (专卖店）worldwide? By the year 2020, everyone will eat at McDonalds everyday!Emi: Theyre definitely everywhere. B

10、ut they must be doing something right; theyve sold over 100 billion burgers. Theyre even in Japan. Did you know they even put special Japanese sauces on some of their burgers in Japan?Mike: They do not.Emi: Yes. they do. I promise.Mike: Whatever. I just dont think their food isnt all that great.Emi:

11、 But at least their product is consistent; you know exactly what youre going to get every time you go there.Mike: Did you know that their mascot, （吉祥物）RonaldMcDonald is now recognized by 96 percent of all American schoolchildren? They are the largest minimum-wage employer in America and own more rea

12、l estate than any other company on earth.Emi: I heard that a person working at a McDonalds in Moscow makes more than the average Russian doctor does. Mike: Thats disgusting! But I do believe in capitalism, so I guess thats okay. The average McDonalds franchise rakes in （捞钱，敛财）over $ 1 million dollar

13、s a year. They say that one in every seven American millionaires got their start at McDonalds.Emi: All this food trivia is making me hungry. Lets hurry and find a fast food place.Mike: Okay. What do you feel like eating?Emi: Ive got this intense craving for a Big Mac.Mike: I just lose my appetite.第

14、3 楼 Breast Implants 隆胸话题Lisa: Whats the matter?Sara: Im not happy with the way I look.Lisa: whats wrong?Sara: Im too flat-chested.(胸部扁平的） Lisa:But you still look beautiful.Sara: Thats easy for you to say. youve got nice figure （体型）. Guys look at you when you go by.Lisa: Oh, come on.Sara: Dont be mod

15、est. Ive noticed how guys look at you. I swear Im gonna get breast implants （隆胸填充物）Lisa: Dont be so hasty. Do you know how much those things cost? Sara: I have no idea.Lisa: A mammoplasty （乳房整形）can cost anywhere from $2,000 - 4000!Sara: I can afford it.Lisa: What about all the health risks associate

16、d with silicon implants （硅填充物）including leaking of the implant, and the fact that implants may hinder breast-cancer detection.Sara: I know the risks. But I also know about 2 million women have already had surgical breast implants and about 100,000 more women get implants every year. Besides, implant

17、s are getting safer all the time. They can be filled with salt water instead of silicon.Lisa: I guess I cant talk you out of it.Sara: Well, what would you do if you were me?Lisa: I dont know. Maybe Id wear a push-up bra.（定型乳罩） But Im not sure that Id opt for cosmetic surgery.（整形手术）. I think the risk

18、s are too great. Sara: Well, I think the benefits outweigh the risks. And what about women who have this surgery to counter the trauma (创伤）of a mastectomy（乳房切除术）？ A lot of them swear that it saved their self esteem.Lisa: Those women are in the minority. Clearly, 80% of women who have implants want a

19、 larger bra size. Im simply not sure that breast implants are going to change your life.Sara: Well, theyll make me feel better about my appearance and that will definitely be worth it. But I know what men look at first in a women, and I know that bigger breasts will attract more men to me.Lisa: Mayb

20、e so. But what kind of men will they attract?Sara: Thats a good question. I want a man to love me for who I am, not just for my physical appearance.Lisa: Now youre starting to think. But if you would like to know the effect of how you would be treated with breast implants, you should wear a special

21、bra that gives you the same figure size that you wish to obtain from cosmetic surgery. If you like the reaction you get., then you would be in a better position to make up your mind.Sara: Thats an interesting idea. But cmon. The main reaction is going to be more attention from men.Lisa: Believe me.

22、everyone who knows you will notice. But attention from men isnt everything. It can be a distraction, even a danger. After all, you can only have a significant relationship with one man. The main man in your life will love your figure, but he may not love all the attention you get from other men. Als

23、o, it may change you.Sara: What do you mean?Lisa: A new figure may make you want to see just how much more attention you can get from men.Sara: I never thought of that before. Im amazed at how you seem to have pre-thought of every angle in this issue.Lisa: Well, to tell the truth, I have implants.Sa

24、ra: I should have known.Lisa: If you tell anybody Ill kill you.第 4 楼 Car Accident 交通险况Teacher: Does everyone wear a seatbelt each time they drive or ride in a car?Mike: No. Seatbelts are for wimps(古板的人,谨小慎微的人）. Besides, Im a great driver.Teacher: The chances of being injured in a car accident this y

25、ear are 1 in 75. I think thats worth talking about.Lisa: Have you ever been involved in an auto accident? Teacher:Only once. My car hydroplaned （在积水的路面上行驶）on a rainy night and went off the road. Fortunately I was wearing my seatbelt.Lisa: Last December my brother died in an accident. He was in the b

26、ack seat of his friends jeep when it rolled. he wasnt wearing a seatbelt.Teacher: Fastening your seatbelt should be an automatic thing as soon as you get into your car. But too many people still refuse to wear a seatbelt.Lisa: I wouldnt think of going anywhere without wearing a seatbelt.Mike: Its ju

27、st hard for me to get in the habit of wearing one.Teacher: All it takes is one close-call （侥幸脱险，死里逃生）and youll wear your seatbelt. You really ought to think twice about not wearing one the the next time your got in a car. It may save your life.Lisa: The doctors said it would have saved my brother.第

28、5 楼 Coke Addict 可乐瘾君Mike: Lets go get a coke. I gotta have some caffeine.Susan: How many cokes have you had today?Mike: This is my third. I have 3 or 4 cokes everyday. Im a Coke addict.Susan: You should really try to cut down. Mike:Why? I love it. Okay. I admit it. Im hooked on caffeine.Susan: Its n

29、ot just the caffeine, but the amount of sugar thats in soft drinks. All that sugar and caffeine cant be good for you.Mike: Oh, I know it. But I just cant stop. Ive had this caffeine habit for years.Susan: Have you ever tried to cut down?Mike: Actually I have. If I go a day without a coke my body get

30、s shaky and I feel tense.Susan: It sounds like youve got a real problem. But youre not alone. Have you ever gone to a doctor or tried to get help?Mike: I never have. Ive thought about it, but just havent taken the time.Susan: What are you doing after work? Ill take you toa place that can help you.Mi

31、ke: You sure seem to know a lot about addictive habits.Susan: I do. I used to drink 5 cokes a day myself!Mike: Hey, I appreciate you helping me. I really do.Susan: No problem. Thats what friends are for.第 6 楼 Couch Potatoes 电视懒虫Ted: Hi, Nobuaki! Its good to see you again.Nobuaki: yes, its been a while. Hey, youve gotten bigger since the last time Ive seen you.Ted: Yeah, ever since I got married Ive been putting on weight. My wifes a good cook.Nobuaki: I