Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.
Drugs have been a part of the American story since the very first day Columbus landed in the New World. The Taino Indians 1 Columbus with a gift of tobacco, which would go on to become one of the most important drugs in our history. And if drugs have existed since the beginning, so have drug problems. And so 2 solve those drug problems.
Since the 19th century when Americans first discovered new 3 drugs like heroin and cocaine, the whole society has confronted the problem of drug abuse and addiction.
When the 20th century began, the United States—struggling with its first drug 4 —gradually set up effective restrictions: at home through domestic law 5 and overseas by starting a world movement to limit opium (鸦片) and coca crops. By World War Ⅱ, American drug use had become so rare that it 6 a social problem. The first epidemic was forgotten.
During the 1960s, drugs like marijuana () and psychedelics (迷幻药) 7 , and a new generation embraced drugs. With the drug culture exploding, the government developed new laws and agencies to address the problem. In 1973, the US Drug Enforcement Administration was created to enforce federal drug laws. In the 1970s, cocaine reappeared. Then, a decade later, crack appeared, spreading 8 and violence at epidemic levels.
Today, the DEA’s biggest challenge is the 9 change in organised crime. While local criminals once controlled drug 10 on US soil, today foreign criminal groups control the drug trade in America.