ANGLAIS niveau 2 What Is Addiction? Opinion 1 (M. Lewis

Département LANSAD
ANGLAIS niveau 2
EXAMEN (session 1) – 2ème semestre 2013/2014
Samedi 17 mai 2014
Durée : 2 heures – aucun document autorisé
What Is Addiction?
Heroin use and the abuse of prescription drugs1 continue to afflict a large proportion of the population. But what causes the
addiction that lets drug abuse flourish2? Is addiction a disorder, a matter of human fragility or something else?
Opinion 1 (M. Lewis, neuroscientist) :
Bad Habits3 Can Be Learned and Unlearned
I suggest that calling addiction a disease is a mistake for two reasons.
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First, yes, the brain is affected, but the brain’s capacity to change exists because the brain is designed to change. Thus, new
skills, new knowledge and new goals can emerge : so just because an addict's brain is changing doesn't mean that s/he is
sick.
Second, the statistics indicate that many, perhaps most, addicts recover without treatment of any kind.
Is addiction a choice, then, or a series of rational choices ?
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Frequently, actions result from rapid automatic processes, with little or no reflection. Even if our intentions seem to precede
our actions, it's often the contrary. We may construct intentions, we may feel that we are in control, when actions are
already happening.
Addiction is caused by the repeated pursuit of highly attractive goals and ignorance of alternative goals. It results from
learning processes that are normal. It involves brain changes because that's how learning works.
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If they want to win the battle, addicts need to modify their environments, change their opportunities, so that temptations are
minimized and habits are forgotten. They have to reprogram themselves. For example, they can learn not to drive by the
liquor store4 on their way home from work.
Opinion 2 (P. O'Connor, philosophy professor):
No Quick Fix or Simple Approach Works
Addiction is a disease but a type of disease influenced by a person’s choices. The progression of the disease limits an
addict’s choices.
There may be a genetic predisposition to addiction, which an individual can not control. But a predisposition does not make
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Médicaments délivrés sur ordonnance
To flourish : s'épanouir, se développer
habitudes
Magasin de vente d'alcool.
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an addiction. An addiction is a consequence of thousands of choices combined with biological and chemical factors. The
pleasure mechanisms in an addict’s brain are re-organized in favor of compulsion and impulsivity. Ultimately, a person may
lose the ability to make decisions.
Sometimes it it difficult to find alternative choices to addiction. For example, it is difficult to make “better” choices when
health care and social services are absent, when treatment options are limited or non-existent and when there is little social
or familial support.
Nobody decides to become an addict. People start using drugs for many reasons — to have fun, be more social, fit in5, relax,
rebel or escape sad realities and painful emotions. But one day, a person’s drug use and attitudes change. Addiction
becomes a way of life that is harder and harder to stop.
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In terms of treatment, there is no universal approach. Addiction has biological, chemical, social, psychological and, some
would say, spiritual dimensions. Any effective treatment needs to be holistic and recognize this.
As the pharmacological treatments of depression show, medication can be very helpful and treat chemical imbalances, but
one still needs to learn the skills or ways of living healthfully and happily.
As a society, we look for quick fixes. There is no easy or quick fix to addiction. It takes time to develop, and it takes even
more time to learn how to live without the substances.
[The above documents have been excerpted and adapted from a New York Times 'Room for debate' column published in February 2014. The
other expert opinions featured in this column have been deliberately omitted for the purposes of simplicity and accessibility ]
QUESTIONS SUR LES DOCUMENTS
Total 30 points
1. Part One : Vocabulary, syntax, grammar
1A – Part One A - Retrouvez dans les documents le mot ou l’expression dont l’équivalent est dans la colonne de gauche du tableau : (3
points)
Exemple :
To affect
= to afflict (l.1)
Error
Ability, capacities
To heal, to be cured
Objective, target
Method
Disorder, disproportion
1B – Part One B – identifiez dans les textes : (4 points)
a. un verbe modal dénotant la probabilité
b. une forme du possessif ou génitif
c. un adjectif au comparatif
d. une forme équivalente au 'on' français
1C – Part One C - Posez la question correspondant à la partie soulignée de la phrase. (3 points)
Exemple :
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s'intégrer
The statistics indicate that many addicts recover without treatment of any kind.
→ What do the statistics indicate ?
a. The progression of the disease limits an addict’s choices.
b. People start using drugs for many reasons
c. People start using drugs for many reasons.
2. Part Two : Compréhension
2A - Part Two A: [6 points]. Choisissez l'affirmation la plus proche du message du texte. Justifiez chaque réponse par un
très court extrait.
Q1 : Document 1 :
a. it is unusual for the brain to change under the influence of addiction
b. it is not unusual for the brain to adapt under the influence of new conditions
c. the brain always adapts to new learning conditions
Q2 : Document 1 :
a. to be an addict means not to be in control of choices
b. we choose our own addictions rationally
c. addicts make stupid choices
Q3 : Document 1 :
a. you cannot win against addiction
b. what has changed can be 'unchanged'
c. addicts should go to work instead of going to the liquor store
Q4 : Document 2 :
a. genetic factors are not the only parameters that explain addiction
b. an addict may or may not decide to accept pleasure
c. genetic factors influence a person's pleasure mechanisms
Q5 : Document 2 :
a. social services do a bad job for victims of addictions
b. broken families explain most addictions
c. low-quality social environments increase the risk of addictions
Q6 : Document 2 :
a. Treatment should always be based on medication and psychotherapy
b. Treatment should always be based on individual circumstances and history
c. Treatment should always be based on spiritual healing and medication
2B – Part Two B – Restitution ( 4 points)
Paraphrasez en français le message de chacun des auteurs. N'écrivez pas plus de cinquante mots pour chacun.
3. Part Three: Writing. [10 points]
Prenez position par rapport aux opinions des deux experts, en utilisant des exemples (réels ou fictifs) de manière à
argumenter votre point de vue de manière claire et convaincante. Ecrivez 100 mots au minimum. En anglais.