合法药物 Legalising drugs

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. In this programme we talk about a story in the news and learn some new vocabulary while we’re doing it. I’m Neil and joining me today is Jen. Hi there, Jen.
大家好，欢迎来到BBC英语学习栏目六分钟英语，在今天的节目中，我们谈一谈新闻故事，学习一些新的词汇。我是Neil，和我一起的是Jen。你好呀，Jen。
Hello Neil.
你好Neil。
Now, we have a very controversial topic this week – drugs.
本周的话题非常具有争议性，关于药物。
Yes, that’s a subject which usually provokes some strong opinions.
是的，这是一个经常能引起一些强烈意见的话题。
A new report published in the UK is suggesting that by taking away the criminal penalties for some illegal drug use, you can reduce the number of people who get sent to court for drug crime every year.
在英国发表的一份新报告暗示，通过减少一些对使用非法药物的犯罪罚款，可以减少每年由于药物犯罪而进法院的人数。
This sounds like an introduction to our quiz question...
听起来像是对我们小测试问题的一个介绍哦...
Yes you’re right! I want to know how many people get sent to court in the UK every year for drug-related offences. Is it:
你说得对！我想知道每年在英国有多少人因为与药物相关的罪行而被送入法庭，
a) 4,200
4200人
b) 42,000
42000人
c) 420,000
42万人
Well I think it might be quite high. I’ll go with c) 420,000.
好吧，我想应该是相当高，我选42万人。
OK then, we will find out at the end of the programme. Now Jen, what do you think is more harmful: illegal drugs or junk food?
好的，在节目最后我们将找到答案。现在，Jen，你认为哪个更有害？非法药物或垃圾食品？
My reaction would be to say illegal drugs. Am I right?
我的反应是选非法药物，难道不是吗？
Let’s listen to the first part of this report from the BBC’s John McManus. What does the study from the UK Drug Policy Commission say about drug use and social problems?
让我们听听来自John McManus的这份报告的第一部分。来自英国药物政策委员会的研究对药物使用和社会问题是怎么说的？
Monday’s report from the UK Drug Policy Commission says the way to reduce this number is to make some offences less serious.It says that drug use doesn’t always lead to social problems, and that taking illegal substances can sometimes be tolerated by society, in the same way that gambling and eating junk food are.
来自英国药物政策委员会的星期一的报告称，减少这个数目的方法是使一些罪行不太严重。报告称，药品使用并不总是导致社会问题，服用非法药物有时被社会所容忍，和赌博和吃垃圾食品是一样的。
The report says that drug use doesn’t always lead to social problems and that taking illegal substances can sometimes be tolerated – meaning accepted – by society.
报告称，药品使用不总是导致社会问题，服用非法药物有时是被社会接受的。
The report compares taking drugs to other vices, such as gambling and eating junk food. Can you explain what a ‘vice’ is?
该报告把滥用药物与其他恶习，比如赌博和吃垃圾食品相比较，你能解释一下什么是“vice”吗？
Yes, a vice is a bad habit or type of behaviour: things such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol, swearing… gambling or betting. Oh and taking drugs, of course.
是的，vice是指坏的习惯或一种行为，比如抽烟、饮酒过度、骂人、赌博或打赌。当然，滥用药物也是一样的。
So, the argument is that a limited amount of drug taking is on a par with other bad habits which are not usually considered as dangerous as drug taking.
所以，讨论的部分就是限制服用药品的数量等同于其他坏习惯，这些坏习惯通常不会被认为会像滥用药物那么有害。
Yes, that’s right. Now, what are the implications of this report? Implications are the conclusions you can draw from something, such as a piece of research like this.
没错，是这样的。那目前，这篇报告的内在意义是什么呢？implications就是你可以从一些东西中总结出的结论，比如像这样的一项研究。
The implications of this report are that a lot of money could be saved if we didn’t send so many people to court for small-scale drug use.Do you know how much the UK spends on tackling drugs every year?
这篇报告的内在含义是如果我们不因为小规模的药物使用把这些人送入法庭，那我们将存下很多钱。你知道英国每年在处理药品问题上要花多少钱吗？
Hang on here, Jen, I’m the quiz master!
停在这里，Jen，我是问题大师！
Go on, have a guess! Millions or billions?
继续，猜一猜！数百万还是数十亿？
OK, I’ll go high like you did - billions?
好的，我准备往高了猜——数十亿？
Yes, billions of dollars is spent. Here’s the UK Drug Policy Commission’s Chief Executive, Roger Howard.What does he think the UK should do to save money and send fewer people to court?
是的，花了数十亿美元。这里是英国药物政策委员会首席执行官Roger Howard。他认为英国应该做点什么来节省钱，使更少的人进法庭？
We do say that if you look at other countries like the Czech Republic, if you look at Switzerland, if you look at Portugal and if you look in places in South America, these… a number of countries have taken away the criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of drugs.Now we think that can be tried in this country, and to keep within the international conventions you can replace that with civil penalties.
我们这样说，如果你看看其他国家比如捷克共和国，瑞士、葡萄牙和南美洲的一些地方，很多国家都已经减少了对存放很少量毒品的犯罪罚款。现在我们想想可以在英国尝试这种办法，和国际公约保持一致，用民事处罚来替代犯罪罚款。
He thinks that criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of drugs should be removed.
他认为应取消对于拥有少量毒品的刑事处罚。
He says it’s worked in the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Portugal and South America and that it should be tried in the UK.
他认为这么做在捷克共和国、瑞士、葡萄牙和南美是行得通的，也应该在英国进行尝试。
But in order to keep within international conventions – meaning agreements - civil penalties should be introduced.
但是为了和国际条约保持一致——意思是同意民事处罚应该被引入。
But does everybody agree?
但是每个人都愿意吗？
Good question! Listen to the last part of this report from the BBC’s John McManus.
问得好！来听最后一段报告。
The report, which recommends replacing jail sentences with fines or drug treatment orders, says that much official government policy towards drug users has been formulated without any real evidence as to whether it works.The authorities though, say that their approach has led to drug use dropping to its lowest levels since records began.
该报告，建议用罚款或药物治疗取代判刑出发，称在没有任何真正的证据证明其可行的情况下，很多关于吸毒者的政府政策都被规划出来。虽然当局称他们的做法已经导致药物使用降到了自有记录以来的最低水平。
No, not everybody agrees. The report recommends replacing jail sentences with fines or drug treatment orders.It also says that there’s no real evidence that current drug policy has worked.
是的，不是每个人都同意。该报告建议以罚款或药物治疗取代判刑。并认为没有真正的证据表明目前的药物政策是可行的。
But the authorities disagree. They say their approach has led to drug use dropping to its lowest level since records began.
但是当局不同意。他们说他们的做法已导致药物使用降到了自有记录以来的最低水平。
No doubt the debate about how to reduce drug use will carry on for a long time.We’d be interested in hearing your opinion. Why not check out our Facebook page and leave a comment?
毫无疑问，关于如果减少药物使用的辩论将持续很久。我们很乐意听你的意见。为什么不看我们的脸书页面并留下评论呢？
Before we go, Neil, aren’t you going give the answer to the quiz?
在我们开始之前，Neil，你能给出问题答案吗？
Oh yes, of course. I asked how many people get sent to court in the UK every year from drug-related offences. Is it:a) 4,200b) 42,000c) 420,000
是的，当然。我问英国每年有多少人因为与药品有关的罪行被送入法庭，4200人42000人42万人
I thought it was quite high: I said c) 420,000.
我认为会非常高，选42万人。
Well, you must have a very low opinion of the British population. It is high but it’s not that high. The answer in b) 42,000. Just time now for a recap of some of the words we heard in today’s programme:
嗯，你一定对英国的人口了解不深。它很高但是没这么高，答案是B。现在是回顾今天节目中所学到的一些词汇时间。
tolerated, vices, gambling, on a par with, implications, conventions, civil.
容忍，恶习，赌博、 等同于，内涵，公约，民事的。
Join us again soon for more 6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.
欢迎加入更多的BBC六分钟英语。