节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-01-17
难易度:Medium
关键字:empire, hooked, spice something up, fantasy, negotiate
(Music).
Welcome back, friends.
Many studies have been conducted on whether or not video games cause violence.
For example, even though violence in video games continues to increase, the
violence in America has decreased.
What do you think, is it caused by video games or not?
Well, join us on line 14 as we continue this discussion.
(Music).
Are Violent Video Games Worthwhile?
I just don't see what you get out of playing violent games when so many other
great games are available.
The violent games help me deal with stress.
They do?
There are other ways of dealing with stress, like exercising.
Why not try that?
I'm not an athlete like you.
I prefer to relieve my stress in a fantasy on a screen.
With video games I can do things that matter and be rewarded for it.
Aren't you worried that playing those games won't teach you any real-life
skills?
You should learn how to negotiate with people.
Look Greg, we're never going to agree - so let me choose my games here.
The strategy game aisle is over there.
All right. So Ted says he gets to work with a lot of other people online when
he's playing video games.
And that's why he's hooked.
But Greg still doesn't agree.
He says that video games have a lot of violence.
And that's not something you should hooked to.
Now Greg says: I just don't see what you get out of playing violent video games
when so many other great games are available.
This makes a lot of sense.
There are thousands of video games out there to choose from.
Why do you need to play violent ones?
Right. Yeah, you're right.
While so many games are violent, still there are many that are not, and many of
those are great games.
So this is a wonderful question to ask.
It is! Well, Ted has an answer for him.
He said: The violent games help me deal with stress.
Ryan, how do you deal with stress?
Well, there are many ways to deal with stress.
Often I go home, I'll read a book, try to relax.
But many times people need to express their stress.
They need to go; and guys, especially, want to play violent video games.
Well, I know that my way of getting rid of stress is a physical thing as well: I
like to swim laps.
So even though I don't battle it out on a video game, I am creating energy to
help me get it out.
And that can maybe be more helpful than violent video games.
But Ted is making a good point here: We need to get stress out of our bodies.
Right. Now we've got some more information on how violent video games might be
able to help people deal with stress.
Bryan, this week our viewer Alice in Tainan asked:
Dear Bill and Bryan.
My son plays video games all the time.
And all the games he plays are violent ones with a lot of shooting and killing.
Are there any other kinds of video games you can suggest for little Timmy?
Oh. That's a great question, Alice.
And to answer this one, Bill, I think we're going to need to go to...
Information Station.
So, what do we have here today, Bill?
Oh, Bryan. This is my new invention.
The Omni Tron 5000.
It is the world's first non-violent video game system, and it includes every
game ever made.
Really! So Bill, you never need to buy another video game?
That's right.
Every game you ever will want to play is built into the Omni Tron 5000, except
violent video games.
Well, it sounds fun, Bill.
Why don't we test it out?
Yeah, sure.
Uh, here, take this controller.
OK.
And let me see, all I have to do is press this button.
And... voila!
Hey, we're playing some kind of a ball game.
Uh, what is this called?
This is called Pong, the world's first video game.
So all we do is keep this little ball going back and forth?
That's right.
It's like playing ping-pong, but only better.
Bill, I think this game is really boring.
Are there any other exciting games on the Omni Tron? Something more realistic?
Of course, Bryan.
Let's see.
How about Hamburger Wars?
Hamburger Wars?
That's a weird name.
Well, Tim is trying to hit the opponent with hamburgers.
I see. It's making me hungry.
Here! See if you can stop this hamburger, Bill.
Oh... nice shot, Bryan.
Let's see what other games we have here.
Hmm, let me see.
I think this one is called Pig Attack.
Pig Attack! Awesome!
I get to use a weapon. I like it.
Ha...
Wait, wait! The Omni Tron 5000 isn't supposed to have violent video games on it.
I can't stop the pig!
Oh, Bill, I see your problem.
You don't have the Omni Tron 5000.
This says it's the Omni Tron 6000.
What?
Oh. I guess you're right.
Well, so you can see, Alice, there are several other kinds of games, games that
are not violent.
Make sure that you do try them all out.
That's right, Alice.
Thanks for your question.
Well, for all of us here, we'll see you next time on...
Information Station.
Now Greg asked: Do they?
Do video games really help get rid of stress?
Right. He says there are other ways of dealing with stress, like exercising.
Just a minute ago, Kaylah was saying that she swims when she feels stressed.
So Kaylah, that's another way to get rid of it.
That's right.
And Greg suggests: Why not try that, Ted?
He's trying to give him some other option to not have to play video games.
But Ted says: I'm not an athlete like you are, Greg. I prefer to relieve my
stress in a fantasy on a screen.
Hmm, interesting.
I'm not much of an athlete myself, but I still enjoy swimming very much.
Some people just don't like any sort of exercising.
Well, they like to get rid of it in another way.
They release their stress in a fantasy world.
Right. And "fantasy" is referring to something that you would like to imagine
happening but probably won't happen.
You would usually see this like in a science fiction.
That's right.
Or we tell fantasy stories; we call those fairy tales.
They're stories that are not real, but they are fun to imagine and think about.
Exactly. So Ted likes to watch these on screen when he's playing video games.
And he says: I can do things in video games that matter, and I will be rewarded
for it.
This is interesting.
A lot of times we feel like the work that we do doesn't have much value, or
we're concerned that it doesn't matter.
When he's playing video games in this fantasy world, what he does is very
effective, and he can see the rewards right away.
Now Ryan, in real life, we don't have that option.
Most of the time we have to wait to see what kind of reward will come from it.
But this is how Ted likes to deal with things.
Exactly. In the video games that Ted is playing, he is getting rewarded for what
he thinks matters.
And so that helps him deal with stress.
But Greg still has some arguments.
He says: Aren't you worried that playing those games won't teach you any
real-life skills?
Right. He's playing these games; it matters in the games, but they might not
teach you skills that you can use in real life.
And so he says: You should learn how to negotiate with people.
That's right. You need real-life skills.
And if you interact with people, that's the most effective way to do that.
So he suggests learning to negotiate with people as being one of those things
that you could miss if you're not interacting.
Yes. Now "negotiating" is an important... important thing to learn that is when
you're having discussions with people in order to try and reach an agreement.
Now these are formal discussions.
This is not just a conversation at the table, but something that is important.
Ted says: Look Greg, we're never going to agree - so let me just choose my games
here.
Yeah, he says: The strategy game aisle is over there. Bye-bye.
Right. So he's saying that, you know, we might not agree on this, we've had a
good discussion about it, but it's time for us to move on.
And it's time for you to move on to the Chat Room.
No... Bryan, I don't think so.
I think the Red Sox are a better team.
Are you out of your mind, Ken?
The Yankees are way better than the Red Sox.
No way! The Red Sox are better.
Look Ken, we're never going to agree.
So let's just drop this whole thing, OK?
OK, Bryan.
Hey, why did you tell me to look just now?
What did you want me to look at?
Oh. I wasn't to tell you look at anything in particular.
When I said, "Look," I was just using a filler.
A filler?
Yes, that's right.
A filler is a word or sound that is spoken in conversation to signal to others
that you've paused to think but have not yet finished speaking.
So a filler has no meaning.
That's right.
Fillers are meaningless.
Can you give me another example?
Sure.
A lot of young people often use the word "like" in their speech.
When a teenager describes something, he might say: I'm like where have you been,
and he was like yeah, whatever.
OK. I know exactly what you're talking about.
That's really annoying.
Yes, it is.
Another one you'll often hear is: you know.
Oh, yeah, I hear people say that a lot.
So "look" is used the same way?
Yes. But "look" is often used defensively, especially in explanations.
So when I said, "Look," I was trying to get your attention and explain something
to you.
Well, you certainly got my attention.
Look, I think we should avoid talking about Major League Baseball from now on.
OK. That's... perfectly fine with me.
(Chinese).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And I hope you're hooked on our program.
I'll see you next time. Bye-bye.
A popular idiom from the world of computers is: Garbage in, garbage out.
Apply to the study of human behavior, what we put into our brains - what we read
and look at and listen to - will come out through what we say and how we behave.
So how does this relate to violent video games?
Can we blame violent video games for juvenile crime, school shootings and
bullying?
Do they teach young children that violence is an acceptable way to express anger
and resolve conflicts?
Please take some time and talk about it.
And then join us tomorrow for a new lessonabout "germ shields." OK, friends,
have a great day!