VOA慢速英语2019 电子游戏和暴力之间有关联吗?

Is There a Link Between Video Games and Violence?

Do some kinds of video games cause violence? Scientific studies do not suggest a link.

某些类型的电子游戏会导致暴力吗？科学研究表明两者并无联系。

But the idea that there is a link between violent video games and violent acts reappeared following the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, last weekend.

但是随着上周末德克萨斯州埃尔帕索市发生大规模枪击事件，暴力电子游戏同暴力行为之间存在联系的说法再次出现。

An online statement thought to be written by the El Paso gunman mentioned the combat game "Call of Duty."

被认为是埃尔帕索枪手所写的一份网上宣言提到了战争游戏《使命召呼》。

On Monday, President Donald Trump¹ said that "gruesome and grisly video games" contribute to a "glorification² of violence."

川普总统周一表示，“令人毛骨悚然的、可怕的电子游戏”有助于“美化暴力。”

American politicians have long made similar statements.

美国政界人士一直发出类似言论。

"Politicians on both sides go after video games...it is this weird³ unifying⁴ force," said Patrick Markey, a psychology⁵ professor at Villanova University who studies video games.

维拉诺瓦大学研究电子游戏的心理学教授帕特里克·马基说：“两派政治家都追着电子游戏咬，这是一种怪异的凝聚力。”

Research on video games and violence

研究电子游戏和暴力

Benjamin Burroughs is a professor of media at the University of Las Vegas. "...There is no linkage⁶ to gun violence," he said about video games.

班杰明·伯勒斯是拉斯维加斯大学的媒体学教授。他在谈到电子游戏时表示：“电子游戏跟枪支暴力之间没有联系。”

Burroughs said that some studies show a short-term increase in aggressive thoughts and feelings after playing video games, but nothing that rises to the level of violence.

伯勒斯表示，一些研究表明，玩电子游戏之后的攻击性思维和情绪会短暂提升，但是并未上升到暴力程度。”

"Plenty of gamers...get upset when they lose or feel the game was ‘cheating,' but it doesn't lead to violent outputs," Burroughs said.

伯勒斯说：“很多游戏玩家在打输了之后会心烦，或是认为该游戏在‘作弊’，但是这并不会导致暴力输出。”

In 2006, a small study by researchers at Indiana University found that teenagers who played violent video games showed higher levels of emotional arousal – strong emotions like anger or fear. The teenagers also showed less activity in the parts of the brain associated with the ability to plan, control and direct thoughts and behavior.

2006年，印第安纳大学的研究人员进行的一项小研究发现，玩暴力电子游戏的青少年会表现出更高昂的情绪激发，像是愤怒或恐惧之类的强烈情绪。这些青少年负责计划、控制和指导思想及行为的大脑功能区也更不活跃。

Patrick Markey, the psychology professor, found in his research that men who commit severe acts of violence actually play violent video games less than the average male.

心理学教授帕特里克·马基在他的研究中发现，犯下严重暴力行为的男性实际上比普通男性更少玩暴力电子游戏。

Another study by Markey and other researchers showed that violence tends to go down when a new violent movie or video game comes out. One possible explanation: people are at home playing the game or in theaters watching the movie.

马基和其他研究人员完成的另一项研究表明，当一部新的暴力电影或电子游戏问世时，暴力事件往往会下降。一种可能的解释是：人们都在家里玩游戏或在电影院看电影。

Markey believes that video games might excite people, but they do not change who people are. "It is like going to see a sad movie," Markey said of playing video games. "It might make you cry but it doesn't make you clinically depressed," he said.

马基认为，电子游戏可能会激发人们的情绪，但是它们不能改变人们的本性。马基谈到玩电子游戏时说：“这就像是看一部悲伤的电影，它可能会让你哭泣，但是不会让你被诊断为抑郁。”

Words in This Story

gruesome – adj. causing horror or disgust

grisly -- adj. causing horror or fear : very shocking

glorification – n. honoring or praising

weird -- adj. unusual or strange?

output – n. technical something (such as power, energy, or information) that is produced by a machine or system

clinically – adv. of or relating to a clinic

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 glorification   

n.赞颂

参考例句：

• Militant devotion to and glorification of one's country; fanatical patriotism. 对国家的军事效忠以及美化；狂热的爱国主义。
• Glorification-A change of place, a new condition with God. 得荣─在神面前新处境，改变了我们的结局。

3 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

4 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

5 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

6 linkage   

n.连接；环节

参考例句：

• In their monographic treatment of linkage,they have emphasized this especially.他们在论连锁的专题文章中特别强调了这点。
• Occasionally,problems with block inheritance or linkage are encountered.有时会遇到区段遗传或连锁问题。