Galvanized by the April tragedy at Virginia Tech, in which Seung Hui Cho killed 32 students and faculty members and then committed suicide, colleges and universities around the country are urgently taking stock of the reach and effectiveness of their mental-health services. The goal is not just to avoid another catastrophe caused by a deeply troubled student who fell through the cracks. It's also to face up to the needs of today's students, who increasingly struggle with eating disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. The rate of depression among college students has doubled in just 15 years; last year, some 45 percent of all students said they've sometimes felt too depressed to function, according to an annual survey by the American College Health Association. Nine percent of college students seriously considered suicide.
“Some of the key questions that Virginia Tech has brought out are: When do you recognize that a student's having serious problems? What steps do you take, and how do you coordinate care?” says Richard Kadison, director of mental-health services at Harvard University and author of College of the Overwhelmed. Last week, Kadison and other campus psychiatrists from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C., to map out a better way to meet the demand.
Many schools are finding that change will be a significant challenge. About 65 percent of campus counseling centers still have no relationship with the health center, for example, making it difficult to manage illnesses that require medication. Just 59 percent have a psychiatrist available.
And the funds necessary to add expertise can be hard to find. Days after the Virginia Tech slayings, Florida public university administrators asked for $3.5 million to hire more psychologists and campus police officers and to set up interdisciplinary teams that would identify troubled students. The Legislature denied the request. The ratio of counselors to students at the University of South Florida is 1 to 3,500; at Cornell, there's a counselor for every 800 students. Experts say that parents should check out the mental-health resources when they send their child to school and make sure that the counseling office is aware of any history. “Continuity of care is really important, so that people don't fall through the cracks and have unnecessary stresses and strains,” says Jerald Kay, chair of psychiatry at Wright State University Medical School.
The thrust of the movement at institutions in the lead has been to redouble efforts to identify students in need of help and then make that help available. Some, like Cornell and Wisconsin, are adding counseling offices in dorms and academic buildings so students have ready access; Cornell has two counselors on staff whose sole job is to talk with faculty and staff and pick up the first inklings of trouble. The University of Illinois requires anyone who threatens or attempts suicide to have a four-session mental-health evaluation. And early-warning systems that involve the entire university community are a priority on many campuses. At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., for example, faculty and staff can log concerns about academic problems or behavioral issues on a website, which is monitored by an intervention team of representatives from the dean's office, faculty, housing staff, campus police, and counseling center. The team meets regularly to decide on an appropriate response.
1. The word “galvanized” (Line 1, Paragraph 1) most probably means _____.
[A] encouraged
[B] warned
[C] stimulated
[D] inspired
2. Seung Hui Cho committed a serious crime because _____.
[A] he felt bitter since the university failed to provide him with qualified mental service to tackle his depression
[B] he was deeply troubled by the April tragedy at Virginia Tech
[C] he suffered from severe mental disorder and finally collapsed down
[D] he was deeply troubled by the cracks that he fell through
3. The change will be a challenge for many schools because _____.
[A] the number of students who declare that they are struggling with depression far exceeds the schools' estimate
[B] most of them are short of resources supplying counseling service
[C] the Legislature do not encourage them to change the present status
[D] students' mental problems are usually too subtle to manage and control
4. The ratios of counselors to students mentioned in the fourth paragraph implies that _____.
[A] the government have not provided enough funds for mental health on campus
[B] students of the University of South Florida are not seriously mentally troubled as those of Cornell
[C] mental-health resources of University of South Florida are not so good as those of Cornell
[D] it is necessary for the University of South Florida to improve its mental-health services
5. Which one of the following measures is NOT taken by institutions to solve the problem?
[A] More counseling centers are set up in schools and the access to them is much easier.
[B] Websites are established for students to release their depression and report anonymously their own problems.
[C] More psychiatrists are available for students.
[D] Precautionary systems are launched in many universities and are given significant emphasis.
1. The word “galvanized” (Line 1, Paragraph 1) most probably means _____.
[A] encouraged
[B] warned
[C] stimulated
[D] inspired
1. galvanized這個詞(第一段第一行)最有可能的意思是 _____。
[A] 受到鼓勵的
[B] 受到警告的
[C] 受到刺激的
[D] 受到激發(fā)的
答案:C 難度系數(shù):☆☆
分析:猜詞題。根據(jù)上下文,全國的大學都立即開始審視自己的心理衛(wèi)生服務(wù)的范圍和效果,這是因為弗吉尼亞科技學院在4月份發(fā)生了一起慘案——Seung Hui Cho殺死了32名學生和教師,然后自殺了。那么,這些大學顯然在以前沒有關(guān)注這方面的情況,這起事故對他們是一個刺激,因此,選項C最為契合。
2. Seung Hui Cho committed a serious crime because _____.
[A] he felt bitter since the university failed to provide him with qualified mental service to tackle his depression
[B] he was deeply troubled by the April tragedy at Virginia Tech
[C] he suffered from severe mental disorder and finally collapsed down
[D] he was deeply troubled by the cracks he fell through
2. Seung Hui Cho犯下如此大的罪行是因為 _____。
[A] 學校沒有為他提供合格的心理服務(wù)來治療他的抑郁,使他心中怨恨
[B] 他深深地受到弗吉尼亞科技學院4月份發(fā)生的慘案的影響
[C] 他受到嚴重的精神失常的困擾,并最終精神崩潰
[D] 他深深地受到自己精神崩潰的困擾
答案:C 難度系數(shù):☆☆☆☆
分析:推理題。根據(jù)文章第一段,在Seung事件結(jié)束后,各學校紛紛審視自己對學生精神問題的監(jiān)督情況,由此可以推斷,兇手是因為自己精神出了問題才釀成這起事故的。因此,選項C最為符合題意。選項A顯然沒有正確地指明Seung犯罪的根本原因。B也是明顯錯誤,因為他本身就是弗吉尼亞科技學院慘案的主犯。選項D則是顛倒了因果關(guān)系,也是錯誤選項。
3. The change will be a challenge for many schools because _____.
[A] the number of students who declare that they are struggling with depression far exceeds the schools' estimate
[B] most of them are short of resources supplying counseling service
[C] the Legislature do not encourage them to change the present status
[D] students' mental problems are usually too subtle to manage and control
3. 對于許多學校來說,這種變化是一個挑戰(zhàn),這是因為 _____。
[A] 那些承認他們情緒受到壓抑的學生人數(shù)遠遠超過了學校的估計
[B] 大多數(shù)學校十分缺乏提供咨詢服務(wù)的資源
[C] 立法機構(gòu)不鼓勵他們改變目前的狀況
[D] 一般來說,學生們的精神問題都非常微妙,很難管理和控制
答案:B 難度系數(shù):☆☆☆
分析:細節(jié)題。第三段一開頭就指出,這種變化對于許多學校來說都是一種挑戰(zhàn),而聯(lián)系上下文可以看出,這種變化指的是要改變目前心理咨詢的現(xiàn)狀。第三段緊接著提到了一個例子,就是許多學校沒有心理咨詢服務(wù)。那么可以看出,主要是因為目前咨詢服務(wù)十分薄弱,所以才是一個挑戰(zhàn)。因此,選項B為正確答案。
4. The ratios of counselors to students mentioned in the fourth paragraph implies that _____.
[A] the government have not provided enough funds for mental health on campus
[B] students of the University of South Florida are not seriously mentally troubled as those of Cornell
[C] mental-health resources of University of South Florida are not so good as those of Cornell
[D] it is necessary for the University of South Florida to improve its mental-health services
4. 第四段中提到的咨詢師和學生的比例意味著 _____。
[A] 政府不能為學校的心理健康提供足夠的資金
[B] 南佛羅里達大學學生的心理健康存在的問題沒有康奈爾大學的學生嚴重
[C] 南佛羅里達大學的心理健康資源沒有康奈爾大學的好
[D] 南佛羅里達大學有必要改善自己的心理健康服務(wù)
答案:D 難度系數(shù):☆
分析:推理題。根據(jù)上下文,在提出這個比例之前是提到了佛羅里達州的公立大學申請資金被立法機構(gòu)駁回的情況,而后面又馬上提到南佛羅里達大學顧問與學生的比例和康奈爾大學的比例作比較,可以看出南佛羅里達州大學確實需要更多的精神病醫(yī)師,其服務(wù)需要改善。因此,選項D是正確答案。
5. Which one of the following measures is NOT taken by institutions to solve the problem?
[A] More counseling centers are set up in schools and the access to them is much easier.
[B] Websites are established for students to release their depression and report anonymously their own problems.
[C] More psychiatrists are available for students.
[D] Precautionary systems are launched in many universities and are given significant emphasis.
5. 下列哪項措施不是各機構(gòu)為了解決該問題而采取的?
[A] 學校成立了更多的咨詢中心,使學生們能夠更加容易地得到相關(guān)服務(wù)。
[B] 為學生建立了網(wǎng)站來舒緩他們的消沉情緒,并使他們能夠匿名報告他們的問題。
[C] 有更多的精神病醫(yī)師可以為學生服務(wù)。
[D] 許多大學已經(jīng)設(shè)立了預(yù)防系統(tǒng)并給予了高度的重視。
答案:B 難度系數(shù):☆☆☆
分析:細節(jié)題。文章最后一段講述了學校采取的一些措施。選項A,文章提到了一些學校增加了咨詢辦公室。選項B,文章提到的網(wǎng)站是供學生和教員將學術(shù)問題和行為問題放在上面的,該網(wǎng)站由系主任辦公室、教職工、住宅管理職員、校園警察和咨詢中心的代表組成的干涉小組來監(jiān)控。該網(wǎng)站不是讓學生舒緩消沉情緒的,文章中也沒有提到是否匿名,因此該陳述不正確。C,也提到了這一點。D,最后一段提到了涉及整個大學體系的預(yù)警系統(tǒng)在許多學校都是優(yōu)先的,因此,該選項也是正確的。所以,選項B為正確答案。
弗吉尼亞科技學院4月份發(fā)生了一起慘案,Seung Hui Cho殺死了32名學生和教師,然后自殺。該慘案的教訓使得全國的學院和大學都立即開始審視本校提供的心理衛(wèi)生服務(wù)的范圍和效果。這樣做不僅是為了避免精神失常的學生再次引發(fā)慘案,也是為了應(yīng)對目前學生的需求,特別是那些有飲食不規(guī)律、精神分裂癥、狂躁和抑郁交替癥以及消沉的學生。根據(jù)美國大學健康協(xié)會的年度調(diào)查,僅僅在15年內(nèi),消沉的大學生的比率翻了倍;去年有大約45%的學生稱他們有時感覺過于壓抑而無法正常生活。9%的大學生曾認真考慮過自殺。
“弗吉尼亞科技學院引發(fā)的主要問題是:你什么時候能辨認出學生有嚴重的問題?你會采取什么措施?你如何適時地對他進行關(guān)照?”哈佛大學心理衛(wèi)生服務(wù)中心主任及《被毀壞的大學》的作者Richard Kadison說道。上周,Kadison和來自全國其他大學的精神病專家齊聚在華盛頓特區(qū),希望可以找到滿足這種需求的更好方法。
許多學校發(fā)現(xiàn),變化是一個非常大的挑戰(zhàn)。比如,大約65%的學校咨詢服務(wù)中心和健康中心之間仍舊沒有聯(lián)系,這使得控制需要藥物治療的疾病非常困難。只有59%的學校擁有一個精神病醫(yī)師。
提高專業(yè)技術(shù)所必需的資金也很難找到。弗吉尼亞科技學院慘案發(fā)生后沒幾天,佛羅里達公立大學的管理層就申請了350萬美元資金,用于雇用更多的精神病醫(yī)師和校園警官,并建立跨學科團隊,以便發(fā)現(xiàn)有問題的學生。立法機構(gòu)否決了這一申請。南佛羅里達大學顧問和學生的比例為1比3500;在康奈爾大學,每800名學生有1位顧問。專家稱,家長應(yīng)當在送孩子上學時考察學校的心理衛(wèi)生資源,確保咨詢部門知道每個學生的歷史。“持續(xù)關(guān)心是非常重要的,這樣可以確保學生不會有嚴重的問題,不會有不必要的壓力和緊張。”賴特州立大學醫(yī)學院精神病學主席Jerald Kay這樣說。
一些帶頭開展行動的機構(gòu)已經(jīng)開始加倍努力去發(fā)現(xiàn)需要幫助的學生,并準備隨時提供幫助。一些大學,如康奈爾和威斯康辛大學在宿舍和學院大樓中都增加了咨詢辦公室,使學生可以隨時咨詢。康奈爾大學有兩個顧問,其主要工作就是與教職工交談,以找出問題的最初跡象。伊利諾伊大學要求那些可能或試圖自殺的學生參加長達四個學期的心理健康評估。涉及整個大學體系的預(yù)警系統(tǒng)在許多學校都是優(yōu)先的。比如,在紐約州特羅伊市的Rensselaer工學院,全體教職工可以將學術(shù)或行為問題放在網(wǎng)站上,該網(wǎng)站由系主任辦公室、教職工、住宅管理職員、校園警察和咨詢中心的代表組成的干涉小組來監(jiān)控,該小組會定期會面,以給出適當?shù)幕貞?yīng)。