English Unlimited HAK/HUM 2, Schulbuch mit Audio-CD und CD-ROM

55 Safe and healthy 04 LANGUAGE SKILLS EXPLORE LOOK AGAIN EXTRAS Read the text about binge drinking below, then answer the questions (1–6) using a maximum of four words. Write your answers in the spaces provided. The first one (0) has been done for you. Do you agree with the article that it is mostly teenagers who binge drink? Present your ideas to the other groups and discuss them. How can people be taught to deal with alcohol properly? Go on the internet and find out more about this topic. In groups of three, come up with four ‘guidelines’ for responsible drinking. 46 47 TIP: Only use the information in the text to lead you to the correct answer. Don’t let your opinion influence you when deciding on what the answer should be. 0 Where do adults commonly consume alcohol? Q1 How much alcohol consumption do most people still see as normal? Q2 What effect can role models have on teenagers’ attitudes to alcohol? Q3 What do most countries agree on concerning teenage alcohol consumption? Q4 What has the biggest impact on teenagers’ control of drinking? Q5 What can be the consequence of binge drinking? Q6 Which type of alcoholic beverage do teenagers seem to favour today? at social events 48 a b For many adults, consuming alcohol at office gatherings and social events has become something completely normal and acceptable. Many also have a drink to unwind after work or a glass of wine or beer with dinner, not to forget a little ‘nightcap’ before going to bed. In other words, in our society, alcohol is a socially accepted drug, and it seems harmless enough to have a drink now and then or even every day. However, this tolerant attitude towards alcoholic beverages might signal to children and teenagers that it is perfectly OK, even desirable, to drink at certain times, such as parties or birthday celebrations. They might even assume that they have to consume alcohol in order to have a good time or be accepted and blend in with the crowd. Although most states agree that teens should not drink before they reach a certain age and are mentally and physically mature, this age varies considerably from country to country. While America has set 21 as the legal drinking age, Australian teenagers are officially allowed to drink at 18, while inmost European countries, teenagers are permitted to consume alcohol as early as 16. The fact that teenagers often see drinking alcohol as a rite of passage to become part of the adult world does not automatically mean that they will resort to alcohol abuse. Depending on how responsibly their role models – friends, parents or siblings – handle alcohol, youngsters will be more or less likely to lose control. Any addictive behaviour that is displayed by a family member – no matter whether connected to alcohol, drugs or medication – may result in similar problems faced by the teenagers born into such families. Thus, young adults who never learn to monitor and limit their consumption habits tend to overdo it, especially when they go out in groups. An alarming development that can be observed among young Europeans is so-called ‘binge drinking’, which means drinking large amounts of alcohol within a relatively short time. As countless incidents in European countries show, binge drinkers, who cause their blood alcohol levels to rise dramatically in the course of an evening or night, often find themselves in hospital the following morning. Not only is this a dreadful waste of public resources, it may also, sadly, end in the young party-goer’s death. A further worrying trend is that young adults seem to prefer hard drinks like vodka to more traditional drinks such as beer or wine. Since most teenagers have little to no experience with the number of drinks they can safely consume, consequences again range from a bad but relatively harmless hangover the next day to the above-mentioned hospital stay or even fatal consequences. No matter whether they are trying to impress their peers, act grown-up or want to escape from the real world for a little bit, alcohol is always a bad choice for youngsters. Binge drinking Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv