VOA标准英语2010年-South Korean Students Battle Cyber-Bul

In recent years there has been a string of high-profile celebrity¹ suicides in South Korea. Authorities say many have been the result of hateful messages posted on-line. Cyber-bullying³, as it is called, is a big concern in South Korea, one of the world's most wired countries. Some students are trying to counter bullies⁴ by flooding online forums⁵ with positive comments.

 

Students at the Hogook Middle School in Ilsan, just outside of Seoul, have a unique assignment.

Their task is to go online to message boards and other forums and write positive, cheerful comments. Teachers and other adults hope those comments will discourage others from leaving vicious and negative remarks. 

Student Kim Hee-joo, 15, says on her school's homepage she writes thank you messages to friends, family and teachers. And also she sees people making bad comments about celebrities⁶, she leaves nice messages, because when people see positive comments they are more likely to stop saying bad things and change their attitude.

The Hogook school is participating in a nationwide program called the Sunfull Movement. It is a play on words in Korean meaning good reply.  The aim is to stop cyber-bullying and create a more positive atmosphere on the Internet.

Online attacks are an increasing problem in South Korea, one of the world's most connected nations. The National Police Agency receives tens of thousands of complaints every year, but there is not much that can be done to stop it, since attackers are often anonymous⁷. In the worst cases, authorities say cyber-bullies have pressured some celebrities and ordinary people to take their own lives. 

That is why the Sunfull Movement's founder⁸, Min Byoung-chul, an English professor at Seoul's Kunkuk University, began the program three years ago.

Min says research indicates many of the attackers are under the age of 30.

"Young kids, they're stressed out because of schoolwork, they have to prepare for their college entrance examinations, they just write whatever they feel. That's one of the ways, so to speak, [to release] their frustration⁹ and stress," explained Min.

Lee Jae-ho, 16, was a victim of cyber attacks. He began receiving nasty messages on his homepage on a social networking site. Lee says once a bully² begins an attack, it causes a chain reaction. 

He says some people in South Korea just take pleasure in abusing others anonymously¹⁰. And then other people see the negative comments and join in.

South Korea is not alone in combating cyber-bullying. An Australian high school recently suspended students for posting hateful comments about a teacher on Facebook. And lawmakers in one U.S. state are trying to make attacks using social media illegal following the suicide of a young girl who received abusive messages online.

The Sunfull Movement's founder Min Byoung-chul says South Korea, with its years of experience in dealing¹¹ with these social problems, can serve as a model for other nations. 

"And we can share our knowledge, share our experience, we can help them out as well, because it's coming. We are living in this mobile society, this Internet society. So it is our role to bring our efforts together so that we could prevent people from killing¹² themselves from this cyber-bullying," added Min.

Back at the Hogook Middle School, teacher Kim Eun-young says she has seen a difference in her students since the school began the Sunfull program.

She says Koreans do not really say thank you or I love you to friends or parents. But this lets them be anonymous and not face-to-face, so they feel more comfortable saying those kinds of things.

Kim says bullying at the school, both online and offline, has decreased and students and teachers get along much better now.
 

1 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

2 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

3 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bullies   

n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负

参考例句：

• Standing up to bullies takes plenty of backbone. 勇敢地对付暴徒需有大无畏精神。
• Bullies can make your life hell. 恃强欺弱者能让你的日子像活地狱。

5 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

6 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

7 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

10 anonymously   

ad.用匿名的方式

参考例句：

• The manuscripts were submitted anonymously. 原稿是匿名送交的。
• Methods A self-administered questionnaire was used to survey 536 teachers anonymously. 方法采用自编“中小学教师职业压力问卷”对536名中小学教师进行无记名调查。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。