Unit 11 Kids and Computers: Digital Danger

Detailed Studies of Paragraphs 1-3

determine:decide, fix sth. precisely; influence decisively

e.g.(1)We have not determined a date for the meeting yet.

(2)Do heredity and environment determine one's character?

(3) The exam results could determine your career.

Through play... children develop the skills and outlooks that determine the adults they will become. :

By playing games ... kids acquire the skills and form the views that will decide what kind of grown-ups they will be.

coordination n. the skillful and balanced movements of different parts, especially parts of the body, at the same time

e.g.: Gym is a sport that calls for a considerable level of coordination of the gymnasts. Your team lost the match for lack of coordination.

fair play: conduct that adheres to rules or is just and equitable, esp. in sports

e.g.: (1) As a referee, you must ensure that there is fair play in the game from beginning to end.

(2) By the way, the opposite of fair play is foul play.

(3) The football was given a red card because of serious foul play.

Athletic activities help kids develop coordination, learn to work as part of a group, and gain confidence and a sense of fair play.

competitive sports activities help children develop their ability to work in collaboration with others, build up their confidence and develop confidence and develop an awareness of playing the game in a fair and honest way.

empathy n. the ability to identify with and understand another person's feelings or difficulties

E.g.: As he grew up in an orphanage, he seems to have great empathy with homeless cats and dogs.

Even solitary activities like reading connect children with the wider world, encouraging a sense of empathy with the greater human family.

Even activities done alone such as reading enable children to have connections with the outside world, inspiring them to develop the ability to identify themselves mentally with people in general.

impact n. a strong effect

e.g.: (1) The new movie made a great impact on the viewers.

(2) He never dreamed of such an impact his experiment produced in the scientific world.

But in very recent years, other forms of entertainment have had an enormous impact on growing children.

Recently, however, other forms of amusement have had a tremendous effect on growing children.

Entering adulthood now are the first Nintendo babies, a generation raised more on Virtual Boy and Mortal Kombat than baseball and Uncle Wiggly.

Becoming adults now are the first group of people who spent their childhood playing Nintendo, a generation of kids who have devoted more time to playing video games than playing baseball and reading stories of Uncle Wiggly.

pundit n. sb. who is an authority on a subject

e.g.:

(1)The boy always assumes the air of a sports pundit.

(2) That film was rated as the best one of the year by panel of well-known television pundits.

As amusing and ingenious as electronic entertainment can be, children --- and society they live in --- are the losers when they rely on these forms of fun.

Though games, shows, etc. provided by electronic devices such as computers and video machines can be enjoyable and original, children --- and society they live in --- are the victims if they indulge in these forms of amusement solely.

desensitize vt. reduce or destroy the sensitiveness of; (fiig.) make sb. unable to care about how other people feel

E.g.: (1)This area of skin has been desensitized.

(2) Children become desensitized when exposed to violence on TV.

Unlike traditional games and toys, "wired" entertainment encourages kids to be unimaginative, socially immature, and crudely desensitized to the world around them.

Different from traditional games and toys, entertainment provided by electronic devices, which is passive by nature, makes children become dull and unoriginal. As a result of spending too much time on such entertainment, children lack emotional development in social communication and may become crudely insensitive to the people around them.

morph v. to transform from one graphic image on screen into another or others, through the use of sophisticated computer software

e.g.: (1) With a click of the mouse, the boy morphed Mickey Mouse into Winnie the Pooh

Next she smashes the pot back into a ball, which may next morph into a snowman, a horse's head, a bunny, a sea serpent, or a skyscraper.

Next she hits the pot very hard and changes it back into a ball, which may next be transformed into a snowman, a horse's head, a bunny, a sea serpent, or a skyscraper.

When she tires of it, she can wad it back into a shapeless mass that awaits her next creative impulse.

When she loses interest in it, she can turn it back into a formless mass, which will be changed into something else when her next whim to play with it occurs.

wad vt. to compress sth. into a small mass e.g.: The passenger wadded up the punched ticket and threw

it away.

spark ν . to give out or produce sparks; stimulate or incite sth.

e.g.: (1) Fireflies were sparking in the gathering darkness. (2) His comment sparked off a quarrel between them. (3) Fear of nuclear war sparked angry demonstrations.

modeling clay: clay used for making models

bake ν . to cook food by dry heat in an oven or on a hot surface, without direct exposure to a flame; undergo the process of being baked; harden clay, etc. by heat

e.g.: (1) She bakes some apple pies in the genuine American style for her Chinese friends. Cookies bake quickly.

papier-mache n. paper pulp used for molding into boxes, trays, etc.

e.g. (1) The word papier-mache is a word of French origin.

tangible adj. able to be touched; able to be realized

e.g. : (1) The beauty in the mirror is not tangible. (2) Apart from free accommodation, other tangible benefits

include a raise in salary and shorter working hours.

I can give my ideas tangible form. :

I can give my ideas a definite form. II I can turn my ideas into definite things.

Detailed Study of Paras 4-10

A video game, on the other hand, is cynically programmed to give the illusion of creativity.

A video game, on the other hand, is designed sarcastically to give its players the false impression that they are being creative because they at least can make choices of their own

at every turn: everywhere or all the time or every time

E.g. : (1) She found her plan frustrated at every turn.

(2) The girl keeps meeting the boy at every turn.

joystick n. control-lever on an aircraft, computer, etc.

peck ν . (try to) strike sth. with the beak; get or make sth. by striking with the beak

e.g. : (1) Hens feed by pecking.

(2) The bird is pecking at the window.

(3) The sparrows are pecking grains.

(4) He is said to be a henpecked husband.

hypnotic adj. of or producing hypnosis or a similar condition; (of a drug) producing sleep

e.g.: (1) The patient is in a hypnotic trance.

(2) He cannot sleep well, but he never takes any hypnotic drug.

unfold ν . (cause sth. to) open or spread out from a folded state; (jig) (cause sth. to) be revealed or made known

e.g.: (1) The garden chair can unfold to make a camp bed.

(2) The eagle unfolded its wings.

(3) The landscape unfolded before us.

Her momentary fun is unsatisfying because it leads not to any genuine sense of achievement but only to the hypnotic experience of watching someone else's creation unfold.

Her fun that lasts only for a brief moment is not satisfying at all because it does not spark any real awareness of achievement but merely the taste of mindlessly watching someone else's created work or game spread out in front of her.

sterile adj. unproductive, producing no useful results; free from germs, bacteria, etc.

E.g.: (1) They had a sterile discussion.

(2) An operating theatre should be completely sterile.

Hand a ball of Play-Doh to a child reared on the sterile adventure of video games, and you're apt to get a blank look and the hesitant question, "What do I do with it?"

If you hand a ball of Play-Doh to a child who spends too much time on exciting but unproductive video games, you are likely to see an expressionless look on his face and to be asked, in an uncertain manner, "What do I do with it?"

the foul line: the line that shows us whether an action is against the rules or not; the line that indicates whether a stroke; kick, etc. is valid or not

e.g. : (1) We thought that we made a touchdown, but the referee said that the ball went over the foul line.

flare v. to become suddenly angry

e.g.: At the meeting, tempers flared and harsh words were exchanged.

Voices are raised; tempers flare.

Voices grow louder and louder and the kids fly into a fit of

anger.

hothead n. an impetuous person, a person who often acts hastily or rashly

e.g.:He is such a hothead that nobody wants to cooperate with him.

stalk vi. walk with slow stiff strides, esp. in a proud, self-important or threatening way

e.g.: (1) He stalked angrily out of the room.

(2) The young man is stalking along the road.

flip a coin: toss it with a sharp movement of the thumb and the forefinger so that it turns over repeatedly in the air; flick it with a quick movement so that it spins in the air

e.g. : He flipped a coin and then grasped it in his hand, asking the boy which side was up, the head or the tail.

give-and-take n. willingness to be mutually tolerant, cooperative,

and forgiving within a relationship

e.g.: (1) If the dispute is to be resolved, there must be some give-and-take.

(2) Husband and wife must know that give-and-take is part of life.

hunch v. bend forward (part of the body, esp. the back and shoulders) into a rounded shape; bend or arch into a hump; thrust out or up to form a hump

e.g.: (1) Stand up straight; don't hunch your shoulders!

(2) She sat all hunched up over the small fire.

(3) The marchers hunched themselves against the biting wind.

Her fingers fly across the keyboard as she races from one dialogue box to another, keeping up multiple conversations.

Her fingers move swiftly across the keyboard as she switches quickly from one chat box to another, managing to talk with several net pals at the same time.

vulnerability n. the state of being open to emotional or physical danger or harm

E.g. (1) Maybe his haughtiness is a cover for a psychological vulnerability

These are peculiar conversations, however, including none of the vulnerability that is part of real-world friendship.

But these are unusual dialogues because the participants are free from the possibility of being hurt or wounded emotionally, which is a common occurrence between friends in real-life situations.

insulting zingers:

wisecracks that insult people; clever sayings or remarks that are intended to hurt sb’s feelings or dignity

caustic put-downs:

sarcastic or biting rebuffs or humiliating criticisms

flame v. to bum with a bright flame; [computer] deluge sb. with offensive or disparaging .;'-

The burning coals started to flame yellow and orange.

The wooded hillsides flame red in autumn. She was accused of flaming the innocent old man

with forged scandals.

at one's convenience: when and where it suits one

e.g.: (1) With a caravan, you can stop at your convenience; you are not dependent on hotels.

(2) These students go to help an old woman do house chores at her convenience.

When company arrives at the house, it's no problem to halt the game briefly.

When guests or visitors show up at the house, they can easily stop the game temporarily.

persist vi. continue to do sth., esp. in an obstinate and determined way and in spite of opposition, argument, failure, or difficulties; continue to exist

e.g.: (1) If you persist, you will annoy them even more.

(2) He persists in believing that he is being persecuted.

(3) They persist with the agricultural reforms despite opposition from the farmers.

(4) Fog will persist throughout the night.

''I'm playing!" is his furious response if the visitors persist in trying to engage his attention.

"I'm playing!" is his irate response if the visitors keep trying to attract or occupy his attention.

Far too often, even his parents, intimidated by the high-priced, high-tech gadget that has sucked their child's humanity away, tiptoe around rather than disturb him.

Far too often, even his parents, scared by the small high-priced, high-tech device that has deprived their child of human qualities, walk about carefully and quietly on tiptoe rather than break his concentration or divert his attention.

carnage n. killing of many people; bloody slaughter, esp. of human beings in battle

e.g.:(1) The battlefield is a scene of carnage. (2) The war led that small country to chaos and carnage. maim vt. to injure or wound sb. so that part of the body can

no longer function properly e.g.: (1) Thousands upon thousands of soldiers and civilians

were killed or maimed in the .Japanese War. (2) They accused the superpower of killing, maiming, and

laying waste.

The game itself is all too likely to be one that presents the most hideous suffering as entertainment, with the player in the role of psychotic killer - maybe in Duke Nukem, with its "twenty-three levels of nonstop carnage!" or Bloody Roar, which offers the player "more ways to m ι crush, and devour your enemies than ever.“

The game itself is very likely to be one that shows the most frightful or horrible suffering as amusement, with the player playing the role of a lunatic killer --- maybe in Duke Nukem, with its "twenty-three levels of nonstop carnage!” or Bloody Roar, which offers the player "more ways to maim, crush, and devour your enemies than ever.”