In today’s Internet age, the demand for online games continues to grow. Online computer game centers exist in many cities and towns throughout Asia. Facing the pressures of school and life, people tend to the virtual world, expecting a diversion from these problems. Too often, however, they can lead to problems and unhealthy addictions 迷。
This is most clearly seen in the example of South Korea. The country has the world’s highest percentage of high-speed Internet services. It also has a high number of online game players and related problems. In 2002, a young man collapsed(突然晕倒) and died while playing online games. He had been playing almost nonstop for 86 hours at an Internet café. Another young man killed his sister after becoming confused between the online world and real life. A 12-year-old boy stole US $ 16,000 from his father and ran away from home. He did this to continue his obsession(着迷) with an online game. Such problems, however, don’t just happen in South Korea. They are spreading to other parts of Asia, as well.
What kinds of people develop online game addiction? What does the problem look like? Dr. SueHuei Chen, a clinical psychologist, researches Internet addiction. She discovered some signs of at-risk individuals such as lack friendships and good social skills. Those problem individuals feel it so compulsive 难控制的to play online games that they could sacrifice things such as school or family. They feel the need to spend more and more time online. And they become upset if anyone tries to limit限制 their online game playing.
How many problem game players are there? In mainland China, the potential number of problem online gamers is alarming. In 2004, the China daily reported that China had 13.8 million online game players. Furthermore, it stated that 80 percent of these were under 25 and had signs of addiction. Such numbers point toward a growing problem among Chinese young people.
Make sure to keep control over your online game playing. If you don’t control it, it can get control of you.
小题1:What is mainly discussed in the passage?
A．The disadvantages of the Internet.
B．The online game problems in Asia.
C．The popularity of online games worldwide.
D．The cause of online game addiction.小题2:The underlined word “diversion” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to __________.
A．career
B．comfort
C．escape
D．support小题3:According to Paragraph 2, which of the following statements is NOT true?
A．The young killer’s sister was killed in a fictional 科幻 world
B．Online game playing is responsible for the young man’s death.
C．People in South Korea have access to the Internet most easily.
D．The teenage boy stole money because of his playing games online.小题4:What can we learn from the passage?
A．Most people in Asia have developed an addiction to online games.
B．Online game addictions cause many life-and-death arguments in South Korea.
C．Lonely and unsociable people seem to more easily develop Internet addictions.
D．In the year 2004 there were a total of 13.8 million Chinese visiting the Internet.
