第二十四篇 $lesson$

Preventing Child Maltreatment

　　Child maltreatment is a global problem with serious life-long consequences. There are no reliable global estimates for the prevalence of child maltreatment.Data for many countries， especially low-and middle-income countries，are lacking.

　　Child maltreatment is complex and difficult to study. Current estimates vary widely depending on the country and the method of research used. Nonetheless. international studies reveal that approximately 20%of women and 5-10%of men report being sexually abused as children，while 25-50%of all children report being physically abused. Additionally，many children are subject to1 emotional abuse(sometimes referred to as2 psychological abuse).

　　Every year，there are an estimated 31,000 homicide deaths in children under 15.This number underestimates the true extent of the problem，as a significant proportion of deaths due to child maltreatment are incorrectly attributed to3 falls，bums and drowning.

　　Child maltreatment causes suffering to children and families and can have long-term consequences. Maltreatment causes stress that is associated with disruption in early brain development. Extreme stress can impair the development of the nervous and immune systems. Consequently，as adults，maltreated children are at increased risk for behavioural, physical and mental health problems. Via the behavioural and mental health consequences, maltreatment can contribute to heart disease, cancer，suicide and sexually transmitted infections.4

　　Beyond the health consequences of child maltreatment，there is an economic impact，including costs of hospitalization, mental health treatment, child welfare, and longer-term health costs.

　　A number of risk factors for child maltreatmenthave been identified. These risk factors are not present in all social and cultural contexts, but provide an overview when attempting to understand the causes of child maltreatment.

　　It is important to emphasize that children are the victims and are never to blame for5 maltreatment. A number of characteristics of an individual child may increase the likelihood of being maltreated ,such as being either under four years old or an adolescent ,being unwanted, or failing to fulfil the expectations of parents and having special needs, crying persistently or having abnormal physical features.6

　　詞匯：

　　maltreatment n.虐待 impair vt.損害

　　consequence n.結局，結果 via prep.通過，用

　　prevalence n.流行 transmit vt.傳染，傳播

　　approximately adv.大約，大概 likelihood n.可能性

　　abuse vt &n.濫用;虐待 adolescent n.青春期之男孩或女孩

　　homicide n.殺人

　　attribute vt.歸因于persistently adv.堅持地，持續地

　　disruption n.擾亂

　　注釋：

　　l. be subject to：遭受……

　　2.be referred to as：被當做……

　　3.be attributed to：把……歸因于……

　　4. Consequently，as adults，maltreated children are at increased risk for behavioural.physical and mental health problems.Via the behavioural and mental health consequences，maltreatment can contribute to heart disease，cancer，suicide and sexually transmitted infections.

　　因此，那些曾被虐待的兒童，到了成人期，在行為、生理以及心理等方面出現疾病的危險性大大增加。通過行為和心理上對健康的影響，虐待又會導致其出現心臟病、癌癥、自殺以及性傳播疾病等。

　　5.to blame for：因……怪罪，責怪(某人)

　　6.A number of characteristics of an individual child may increase the likelihood of being maltreated，such as being either under four years old or an adolescent，being unwanted，or failing to fulfil the expectations of parents and having special needs，crying persistently or having abnormal physical features.

　　有幾大特征會增加兒童受虐待的可能性，如四歲以下或正處于青春期，被覺得是多余的，或者不能實現父母的愿望，有特殊要求，不停地哭鬧或者身體有異常等。

　　練習：

　　1. The difficult situation in the global estimates of the child maltreatment is due to the following factors EXCEPT according to the passage.

　　A child maltreatment is a global problem

　　B there is no exact date about low-and mid-income countries

　　C there is a shortage of the professional date collectors

　　D different scientists use different research methods

　　2. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

　　A 20% of women got sexually abused in their childhood.

　　B 25-50% of all children were reported to have been physically abused.

　　C 25-50% of children were psychologically abused.

　　D 60-75%of children were neglected by their parents.

　　3.Many homicide deaths in children under 15 are wrongly categorized into the following types EXCEPT according to the passage.

　　A drowning in swimming B diarrhea

　　C burns D falls

　　4.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as the bad impact caused by child maltreatment?

　　A The child will behave badly in his memory of his childhood when、he grows up.

　　B Child maltreatment hurts his nervous and immune systems.

　　C Child maltreatment damages his early brain development.

　　D The child is easily affected by many diseases in his adulthood.

　　5.The maltreated chidlren often bear all the following characteristics EXCEPT according to the passage.

　　A they frequently and easily cry

　　B they are in infant’s or in adolescent period

　　C they are often neglected by their parents or friends

　　D thev often try their best to meet the requirements from their parents

　　答案與題解：

　　1.C 文中第一段提到了虐待兒童是一全球問題，無法獲得中低收入國家中兒童受虐數字資料，第二段開頭提到了兒童受虐數字難以統計的另外一個原因，即研究方法的差異性，只有專業統計人員是否缺乏沒有提及，因此答案為C。

　　2.B文中第二段對數字有明確說明。

　　3.B 文中第三段指出每年15歲以下兒童死亡大概在31，000人，該數字大大低估了實際情況，是因為有相當多的由于受虐而導致死亡的兒童被歸因為摔死、燒死、淹死。沒有明確指出腹瀉，因此可推斷出該題答案為B。

　　4.A 文中提到虐待兒童會導致其出現身體上的疾病，包括神經系統，免疫系統，大腦發育，以及成年后出現的疾病，但那沒有提到是否會對其記憶力產生影響，因此，答案為A。

　　5.D參見注釋