听播客学英语 85 你能告诉区别吗？

 　　Today we visit Second Life, and we learn the English expression “to tell the difference”.

　　My daughter likes chocolate cake. Last week I made a chocolate cake. I also bought a chocolate cake at the supermarket. I gave my daughter a little piece of each one. “Can you tell the difference?” I asked her. I meant, if you taste both bits of cake, can you say which one is mine and which one is the supermarket’s? So she tasted, and she said that she could tell the difference. The supermarket cake was much better. Oh dear!

　　There was a story in the newspapers last week about two people who cannot tell the difference – the difference between real life and a fantasy¹ world. Their names are David and Amy. They first met each other in an internet chatroom. Then they met in real life, and got married.

　　After they got married, they started spending a lot of time on Second Life. I am sure that you know about Second Life. It is an internet programme which contains a virtual² world – not the real world of your job and your family, but an imaginary³ world. You can go and live in this virtual world. You make an avatar, which is a sort of virtual you. You decide what your avatar will look like, what it will wear and what it will be called. You learn how to move your avatar to different places in Second Life, and how to make things, and how to meet other avatars and talk to them.

　　There was a picture of the real David and Amy in the newspapers. The real David and Amy seem to eat a lot of chips and doughnuts. But, like a lot of other people, David and Amy chose avatars which are young, tall and handsome. They explored Second Life with their avatars. David’s avatar became a night-club owner who travels in a helicopter⁴ gunship. Amy’s avatar became a disc⁵ jockey. In real life, neither David nor Amy had a job. Perhaps they spent too much time on Second Life to be able to work.

　　Then the trouble started. David’s avatar started meeting other women on Second Life. The real Amy was not pleased, but she gave David a second chance. Then David’s avatar met a young, tall, handsome lady avatar called Modesty⁶ McDonnell. They started to spend a lot of time together. The real Amy was furious⁷. Now the real Amy and the real David are getting divorced⁸. And now the real David is engaged⁹ to the real woman whose avatar is Modesty McDonnell. The newly-engaged couple have never actually met in the real world. This is because David lives in England while the real Modesty McDonnell lives in Arizona in America. But perhaps this does not matter. Perhaps the only important thing is that the two avatars love each other.

　　So, there is a real world where real people live, eat, have children and die. And there are imaginary worlds like Second Life. Sensible¹⁰ people can tell the difference between them. David and Amy, it seems, cannot tell the difference.

　　I once spent an afternoon in Second Life. I chose an avatar – young, tall and handsome, just like the real me, of course. Then I had to teach my avatar how to walk and to drive a car. He was useless. He kept walking into walls and into the sea. When he drove¹¹ a car, he hit people and other cars. So I never went back to Second Life.

　　But perhaps I should try Second Life again. Because last night something really terrible happened. The British television viewers¹² – who cannot tell the difference between a beautiful woman and a baby elephant – voted the incomparably lovely Ms Cherie Lunghi off Strictly¹³ Come Dancing. My dreams are in ruins. So – Cherie – if you are listening, get an avatar on Second Life and meet me there, and we will dance together the whole night long.

1 fantasy   

n.幻想，白日梦

参考例句：

• Your husband is living in a world of fantasy.你丈夫正生活在一个虚幻世界。
• The whole story is a fantasy.整个故事只是一个虚构。

2 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

3 imaginary   

adj.想象中的，假想的，虚构的，幻想的；虚数的

参考例句：

• All the characters in this book are imaginary.此书中的所有人物都是虚构的。
• The boy's fears were only imaginary.这小孩的恐惧只是一种想象。

4 helicopter   

n.直升飞机；vt.用直升飞机载送；vi.乘直升飞机

参考例句：

• The helicopter flying at a height of 5,000 meters.这架直升机正在五千米的高空飞行。
• The pilot landed the helicopter in a rice field.飞行员将直升飞机降落在一片稻田里。

5 disc   

n.圆盘；唱片，磁盘；adj.圆盘形

参考例句：

• He hands a metal disc to me.他把一个金属圆盘给我。
• The disc went spinning away into the sky.圆盘旋转着飞入空中。

6 modesty   

n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素

参考例句：

• Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。

7 furious   

adj.狂怒的，暴怒的，强烈的，激烈的

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• His wife was furious with him.他妻子对他大发雷霆。

8 divorced   

adj.离婚的；分开的；不相干的；脱离的v.与…离婚(divorce的过去式和过去分词)；分离；与某人离婚，判某人离婚

参考例句：

• Apparently they are getting divorced soon. 看样子，他们很快就要离婚。
• Many divorced men remarry and have second families. 许多离婚的男子再婚组成了新的家庭。

9 engaged   

a.having agree to get married

参考例句：

• They are engaged in talks with the Irish government. 他们正忙着与爱尔兰政府谈判。
• The old lady engaged herself in making clothes for her children. 这位老太太忙着为孩子们做衣服。

10 sensible   

adj.可察觉的，意识到的，实用的；n.可感知物

参考例句：

• Are you sensible of the dangers of your position? 你觉察到你处境中的危险了吗？
• He was sensible enough to mind his own business.他颇有见识，不去管闲事。

11 drove   

vbl.驾驶，drive的过去式；n.畜群

参考例句：

• He drove at a speed of sixty miles per hour.他以每小时60英里的速度开车。
• They drove foreign goods out of the market.他们把外国货驱逐出市场。

12 viewers   

n.电视观众( viewer的名词复数 )；观看者；勘查孔；看片机（把幻灯片等放大观看的装置）

参考例句：

• The programme attracted millions of viewers. 这个节目吸引了数百万电视观众。
• Television allows viewers to experience an event without any loss of immediacy. 电视让观众可以即时经历某一事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。