Английский ЕГЭ - банк заданий - страница 237
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Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12-18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
Video games as social spaces
I imagine most parents of gamers have hollered to their children to stop playing games and be with people. Their children seem totally secluded, sitting all alone, and staring blankly at a screen for hours at a time. Children need to talk to each other, to have conversations, to get out into the world. That’s how we make friends, parents assert. I often hear parents say that video games don’t count as healthy communication; their kids aren’t talking about anything real when they play, they’re just talking about the game or yelling at one another.
Two researchers studied exactly this in 2006. They looked at over 5,800 messages sent while playing an online multiplayer game and examined whether these messages were socio-emotional or task-oriented. Socio-emotional messages are ones which help players connect with one another, such as “Thanks for the help,” and “Wow, that was funny.” Task-oriented messages are focused on the game itself, such as “How do you open this door?”
They found that there were more than 3.2 times as many socio-emotional messages as task-oriented ones. Additionally, these emotion-based messages were over 2.6 times more likely to be positive than negative. That means that, contrary to parents’ fears, the vast majority of the messages people sent while playing were used to interact with others in a positive way. Although the method of communication is different, the messages sent and connections built are the same.
Even if players were to only spend time talking about the game itself, games would still be a great way to bond with other people. Lots of families have weekly “game nights” in which they play board games to spend time with one another. I spent a few hours playing card games with my family last week and, even though most of the conversation was centered on the games themselves, it was undeniably a bonding experience.
Many teens go to each other’s homes to play video games in the same room. Shared experiences like these are so good at helping people connect that some therapists even use tabletop games as group therapy. In fact, research has shown that many people who meet while playing games online do end up spending time with those people.
There is also evidence to suggest that video games can be safe places to experiment with social interactions for vulnerable people, such as the ones with autism spectrum disorders or those with social anxiety. Video games and other online spaces are “safe” for these individuals because they allow people to communicate when they want to, with little or no pressure to respond and without requiring them to be in the same physical space with others.
Successful conversations require a wide variety of skills that many take for granted, such as reading body language, understanding tone of voice, maintaining eye contact, and rapidly responding to information. Online video games can allow players to talk to others and make friends at their current ability level, even when they are not emotionally or physically able to leave their homes. This can help build the skills and confidence necessary to try it in person.
Children and teens are spending more and more time playing video games online with their friends. For most, this is a positive experience, allowing them to communicate with others even when they are unable to physically be with them. This unconventional method of communication is helpful in fostering connections while building the skills and confidence necessary to interact face-to-face. Video games are a large part of the lives of young people and should be recognized as a source of social support.
The word secluded in paragraph 1 (Their children seem totally secluded) most probably means …
Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12-18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
Punctuality
There are few habits as infuriating as someone making us wait. But, despite what may be running through your mind as you’re kept waiting again, it’s unlikely your friends and colleagues are just being selfish or do not care about the time. A look into the causes of lateness (or tardiness) offers a glimpse into a mind that may be malfunctioning.
Perceptions of unpunctual people are almost always negative. “It is easy to perceive them as disorganised, chaotic, rude and lacking in consideration for others,” says Harriet Mellotte, a behavioural therapist in London. “Outside of my clinical practice, others being late can particularly get under my skin!”
But, many late people are at least somewhat organised and want to keep friends, family and bosses happy. The punctually-challenged are often excruciatingly aware and ashamed of the damage their lateness could do to their relationships, reputations and careers. Some excuses are fairly universally accepted –– an accident or ailment, for example. But others aren’t so easy to swallow. Some late people will pass it off as a symptom of being concerned with loftier matters than time-keeping or having the body clock of a night owl rather than a lark.
Personality differences could also dictate how we experience the passing of time. Jeff Conte, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, ran a study in which he separated participants into Type A people (ambitious, competitive) and Type B (creative, reflective, explorative). He asked them to judge, without clocks, how long it took for one minute to elapse. Type A people felt a minute had gone by when roughly 58 seconds had passed. Type B participants felt a minute had gone by after 77 seconds. “Being consistently late might not be your fault. It could be your type. The punctually-challenged often share personality characteristics such as optimism, low levels of self-control, anxiety”, he says.
Dr Linda Sapadin, a psychologist from New York, says some persistent lateness comes from “an obsessive thinking problem”. The procrastinator focuses on a fear attached to the event or deadline for which they are running late. Rather than figuring out how to get beyond the fear, the fear becomes the excuse –– usually expressed with a ‘but’ statement. For instance, you might tell yourself, “I wanted to be on time for that event but I couldn’t decide what to wear; I started to write an article but I was afraid my colleagues would find it not good enough,” she explains. “Whatever comes after the ‘but’ is what counts,” says Sapadin. She suggests changing the word ‘but’ to ‘and’. ‘But’ denotes opposition and blockage; ‘And’ denotes connection and resolution, she explains, so “the task becomes less frightening.”
Dr Sapadin started on her path to punctuality by identifying and adapting the very thing that seemed to always make her late. “Instead of getting angry or upset because a friend or a loved one is always late, you can take a stand and set boundaries,” she says. “Talk about what you will do if the other person isn’t on time. Tell your late friend you’ll go into the movie without them if they’re more than ten minutes late. Tell that colleague who never turns his part of the project in on time that it just won’t be included next time –– and the boss will know about it.”
For me, a turning point came when a good friend drew her line in the sand. I was an hour late for a run in our local park. “That was it,” she said. “The truth is, I’m not going to make any more plans with you.” And so she set in motion the best thing for me: she put an end to my perpetual lateness.
According to the author, the cause of unpunctuality is likely to be that a person…