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VOA标准英语2008年-US Army Suicide Rate Continues to Rise

时间:2008-06-16 06:20:12

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By Al Pessin
Pentagon
29 May 2008

The U.S. Army reported Thursday that the suicide rate among its soldiers continued to rise last year, and is now nearly double the rate recorded before the invasion of Iraq. But they say last year's increase was not as sharp as the two previous years. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

The army says it has confirmed that 115 active-duty soldiers committed suicide last year, with two more investigations1 still pending2. That is a rate of nearly 19 per 100,000 soldiers. The rate was just under 10 per 100,000 in 2002, before the Iraq invasion, and has been rising steadily3, except for one year, ever since. The rates for the last two years are the highest since record keeping began in 1980.

Army officials say the military suicide rate is still lower than the rate for people of similar age and education level in the rest of American society. But they say it is too high because the Army should be able to provide mental health care and other support to its troops.

Officials say personal issues such as relationship problems, trouble at work and legal or financial difficulty are among the main causes of suicide in the military, just like among the civilian4 population.

But Colonel Elspeth Ritchie, a psychiatrist5 in the Army Surgeon General's office, acknowledges that the stress of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is also part of the reason for the rising suicide rate in the Army.

"We see a lot of things that are going on in the war which do contribute," said Colonel Ritchie. "Mainly is the long-time and multiple deployments away from home, the exposure to really terrifying and horrifying6 things, the easy availability of loaded weapons and a force that's very, very busy right now. And so all of those together, we think, are part of what may contribute, especially if somebody is having difficulties already."

Still, officials report 26 per cent of the soldiers who committed suicide last year had never been deployed7 to Iraq or Afghanistan.

The Army says it is working hard to improve access to mental health care among the troops, to reduce the stigma8 often attached to seeking counseling, and to train soldiers to recognize signs of stress in themselves and their comrades. But senior officers also acknowledge there is much more work to be done to help soldiers deal with personal problems compounded by the stress of combat.


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1 investigations 02de25420938593f7db7bd4052010b32     
(正式的)调查( investigation的名词复数 ); 侦查; 科学研究; 学术研究
参考例句:
  • His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查,但没有发现什么。
  • He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。
2 pending uMFxw     
prep.直到,等待…期间;adj.待定的;迫近的
参考例句:
  • The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
  • He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。
3 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
4 civilian uqbzl     
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
参考例句:
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
5 psychiatrist F0qzf     
n.精神病专家;精神病医师
参考例句:
  • He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
  • The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。
6 horrifying 6rezZ3     
a.令人震惊的,使人毛骨悚然的
参考例句:
  • He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
  • The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了,真不堪细想。
7 deployed 4ceaf19fb3d0a70e329fcd3777bb05ea     
(尤指军事行动)使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 ); 施展; 部署; 有效地利用
参考例句:
  • Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
  • The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。
8 stigma WG2z4     
n.耻辱,污名;(花的)柱头
参考例句:
  • Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
  • The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

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