阅读理解
Vice Vaccines
At first glance, vice vaccines look just great. These injections promise to inactivate drugs such as cocaine, heroin and nicotine in the bloodstream before they reach the brain. Without the "hit", people just won''t come back for more.
It''s true that these vaccines are still being developed, so their full risks and benefits are not yet clear. But all the signs are that for people who are in danger of overdosing, or for addicts who want to get themselves clean but need some help to overcome their craving, the vaccines will be immensely valuable.
But like many new technologies, they also bring difficult choices. Will convicted criminals who steal to feed their drug habit be allowed back onto the street if they agree to be vaccinated, for example? Could a judge even compel these people to be vaccinated?
Perhaps the most controversial debate that vice vaccines have raised is whether they should be given routinely to children, like polio or measles vaccines. This is. not a distant worry. No sooner they have found themselves submerged with requests from worried parents who want their children vaccinated. Is this really what we want for future generations?
For any society that values personal freedom, the answer has to be no. People have the right to choose how to behave, whether it''s good or bad, legal or not. Let not ignore the fact that millions of people take illegal drugs for pleasure without becoming addicted. Administering vice vaccines will mean that youngsters are no longer free to make such choices for themselves. It would be like a return to Pleasantvile.
And, remember, we''re just talking about illegal drugs here. One vaccine under development acts against nicotine, and if its nicotine today, why not caffeine tomorrow? Society''s attitudes to drugs change. Forty years ago, smoking was fine. A century ago, American ship operators were giving stevedores (码头工人) cocaine to speed up their work.
Like it or not, people have been taking mind-altering chemicals since before recorded history. Each vaccine acts only against a specific drug, and stopping people getting high on one drug will simply push them to take others—as addiction researchers have already found. So drug use won''t go away, the drugs will just change.
Opposing the widespread use of vice vaccines for youngsters is not to advocate drug use. By all means let vice vaccines spark a revolution in detox (解毒) clinics. But when it comes to helping children deal with drugs, the way to help them is through education, ensuring that they can follow lifestyles that are incompatible with drug taking, and giving them the tools to spot risks and make informed choices.
The problem of drug abuse is bound up with modern society in complex ways. Simple chemical solutions are unlikely to provide the whole answer.
单选题
The word "hit" in the first paragraph refers to______.