Video games can spend hours intensely focused on leveling up — progressing to the next level of skill and challenge- in a virtual world, while their everyday troubles fade into the background. Called “flow”, this profoundly immersive state is familiar to artists, musicians and athletes, and has become a popular topic in the media. But video game scholar Braxton Soderman urges caution.
In his new book, Against Flow: Video Games and the Flowing Subject, Soderman aims to “create a little turbulence (湍流) in the smooth flow.” Among his criticisms of flow in relation to video gaming is that it can be used to manipulate (操纵) players for profit and socially isolate them.
“Developers of video games and apps design their technologies specifically in order to produce these intense states of concentration, to addict people to these kinds of experiences,” says Soderman. Money, of course, is the driving force behind most game design, not happiness.
Soderman has played video games almost his entire life, but as the father of two young children, he’s careful to limit the types of games and amount of time his kids spend on video games.
As with flow, Soderman worries that the concepts of play are already being manipulated by capitalism. Business owners, he says, arc being encouraged to use play and creativity to establish “playgrounds of profit” instead of creating more open, inclusive environments that actually make people happier.
“Play is an activity that is really about creativity, exploring possibilities, and freedom,” he says. “But it can be hijacked (操纵) and used in a wrong way”.
The concept of play, like flow, is one that Soderman will challenge us all to step back and think about critically. Because, as he shows in Against Flow, getting lost in a video game for a while can be fun, as long as you don’t end up swept away in a lonely current of someone else’ s profit.
1. What’s a key sign of video games being in a “flow” state?| A．Profound interest in arts and music. |
| B．Increased focus on everyday troubles. |
| C．Persistent engagement in online chatting. |
| D．Intense concentration on game progression. |
| A．To foster genuine happiness. | B．To enhance social interactions. |
| C．To build up concentration skills. | D．To profit from player involvement. |
| A．It’s subject to capitalist influence. |
| B．It blocks creativity and possibilities. |
| C．It’s unfavorable for game development. |
| D．It promotes addiction to virtual socializing. |
| A．A review of recent video game research. |
| B．A report about game development practices. |
| C．An introduction to a newly published book. |
| D．An essay on the concepts of “flow” and “play”. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Children like playing make-believe and enjoy inventing a variety of characters while immersed (沉浸) in imaginative play. Cooking games are a fantastic way to stimulate imaginative play. Children can act out real-life situations and behaviors through pretend play. There are various online cooking games for children as well. For children, they are more than just a fun pastime activity. They also provide a number of developmental and educational benefits.
Free online cooking games encourage kids to try new things and think outside the box by letting them experiment with ingredients, recipes, and preparation methods. Such games can help kids develop a growth mindset, creativity, and the freedom to make their own choices.
The act of cooking, whether virtual or in the real world, requires a lot of counting and measuring, which promotes the development of fundamental mathematical abilities such as counting and adding. Additionally, many free cooking games online require kids to perform various kitchen tasks or read the recipes or lists of ingredients and then follow the directions, teaching them to read, improving their vocabulary, and boosting their confidence.
Most cooking games offer an in-built social space. For example, playing multiplayer or two-player games allows children to interact with others, help each other, laugh together, solve problems in cooperation, and so on. This is especially convenient for timid or introverted kids who have difficulty reaching out to others in the real world. Online games can help these kids develop self-esteem and practice their communication skills, so they eventually feel more confident making friends in real life.
However, young children can have difficulty finding age-appropriate games, using trustworthy and safe platforms, or setting limits on their screen time. Therefore, as adults, we must prioritize the kids’ online safety and well-being by helping them select the appropriate games and get the most out of the free cooking games online.
1. What is the benefit of playing multiplayer or two-player cooking games?| A．Children can communicate with others and learn to be cooperative. |
| B．Children can learn how to cook together. |
| C．Children can compete against each other and improve their skills. |
| D．Children can learn how to use different kitchen tools. |
| A．Adults should not let children play online games. |
| B．Adults should help their children select the suitable games. |
| C．Adults should help their children play online cooking games. |
| D．Adults should not allow children to play creative games. |
| A．Negative. | B．Neutral. | C．Favorable. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Virtual Cooking: A New Way to Avoid the Kitchen? |
| B．The Benefits of Online Cooking Games for Children |
| C．Cooking Games: A Waste of Time or a Tool for Building Life Skills? |
| D．Online cooking: A Way to Improves Children’s Social Skills |
【推荐2】Why a toy store isn't just fun and games
Steven Aarons is the owner of Barstons Child's Play, an independent toy store in the Washington area. This is a journalist's interview with him.
Interviewer: Did you have a lot of toys as a kid?
Steven Aarons: No. My parents were not in any sort of financial position to buy toys as gifts. If I had any toys, they were from my uncle.
Interviewer: Why did you want to have a toy store?
Steven Aarons: When I was thinking about starting a toy store, I had friends who were artists. I was discussing with them the idea that kids are a blank page. And I think the materials you give to a child are really important to fill it.
Interviewer: What makes for a great toy store?
Steven Aarons: A toy store should consider the development of a child and can mix in the fact that some things are only for play. We'll have a small shelf of Barbie dolls, but we're not going to put it out there predominately (占绝大多数地). I try to think of play time as being the same as nutrition (营养). When you work on a diet for your children you're trying to make sure they're eating healthy things. There's a little bit of dessert (甜品) mixed in, but you're not going to give them just dessert.
Interviewer: Are there any problems of owning a toy store?
Steven Aarons: The hardest moment for me is when I'm helping someone who I sense doesn't really enjoy having children. I think having children is one of the greatest things in life. I have a really good relationship with my kids.
1. Why didn't Steven Aaron's parents buy him toys when he was a kid?| A．They couldn't afford them. | B．They were too busy to do that. |
| C．They didn't toys were necessary. | D．Steven Aarons wasn't interested in them |
| A．To thank his uncle. | B．To meet his friends' needs. |
| C．To provide good toys for kids. | D．To achieve his childhood dream. |
| A．A toy store. | B．A blank page. | C．A toy. | D．An idea. |
| A．It should offer kids dessert. | B．It should sell the most popular toys. |
| C．It should provide drawing materials. | D．It should mix play with education through toys. |
| A．He has few customers. | B．He lacks financial support. |
| C．He fails to balance his job and his family. | D．He finds it hard to help those who dislike children. |
【推荐3】Toys and Games for Kids
Ms. Monopoly
Hasbro launched a new version of this game in an attempt to solve the gender pay gap. Female players start the game with $1,900 in Monopoly Money and males with $1,500. The gap continues every time a player passes with women collecting $240 and men $200. It remains possible that a boy wins the game.
On sale for $ 19.99 and available at major retailers (零售商).
Barbie dolls that use a wheelchair
This summer, Barbie expanded is fashion line to showcase dolls in a wheelchair with a removable prosthetic leg (假肢), “We can start the conversation around physical disabilities by including them into our fashion doll line.” the creator Mattel said.
On sale for only $ 19.99 and available on Amazon.
The dolls inspired by children with disabilities
Lottie Doll, an Irish company, offers a host of dolls that highlight diversity, including the Mia doll, a wildlife photographer that wears a hearing aid, and the Sinead doll, the world’s first doll with dwarfism (侏儒症).
The Mia doll is $ 25. The Sinead doll is $20. All can be found on Amazon.
Plastic Army Women
A 6-year-old girl wanted to play with female plastic soldiers. She got her wish, when a Pennsylvanian company BMC Toys promised to make Plastic Amy Women. When completed, a pack of 24 figurines (小塑像) will include six different poses and should be available on the company’ website and on Amazon. The price of this set of dolls is preset at $12.29.
1. What did Hasbro update the game Ms. Monopoly for?| A．To attract more female players. |
| B．To raise the game’s difficult level. |
| C．To solve the gender pay gap. |
| D．To make women win the game more. |
| A．They were both inspired by a special kid. |
| B．They both include a special group of people in the design. |
| C．They were both made by the same company. |
| D．They both enjoyed popularity on the market. |
| A．They have an exact price. | B．They are fit for elder children. |
| C．They were made by a young girl. | D．They haven’t come into the market. |
【推荐1】If you make a list of the world’s top ten most challenging job, chances are that being a teacher will not make the cut. But think about the daunting task millions of educators face each day as they try to mold a group of often surly, unruly kids into intelligent, well-rounded individuals. That surely has to be the toughest job in the world, especially given that there is no promotion or bonus awaiting them even if they are wildly successful!
What if these all-important individuals that we often take for granted disappear from our lives? That was what Project Ed and Participant Media's Teach campaign asked filmmakers of all ages to envision for their recently held contest. Entitled, "A World Without Teachers," its intent was to inspire more young people to become teachers. However, the 62 amazing video submissions also serve as a reminder of how grim things would be if we didn't have these selfless individuals guiding us through life. What was interesting is that even the youngest contestants did not appear to rejoice at the idea of not having anybody telling them what to do.
High-school student Savannah Wakefield pondered if art as we know it today would have been different without teachers. Would Monet have discovered his talent for impressionism? Los Angeles-based Miles Horst, who won the 1,000 USD prize for the best adult submission imagines a world where teachers are replaced by a 'brain box' in his fun animated entry.
Youth category winner Marina Barham's video depicts a fact we all know but often forget. Teachers don't just teach, they inspire - something that no electronic device, no matter how smart, can do! So the next time you think your teacher is being "mean" for trying to channel you in the right direction, imagine a life without him/her. We have a feeling it will not appear as rosy!
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．The campaign to promote teachers' status. |
| B．The significance cf teachers. |
| C．A survey of people's views about teachers. |
| D．The possibility of a world where teachers are replaced. |
| A．teaching naughty kids is a very discouraging task |
| B．being a teacher is one of the most challenging jobs in the world |
| C．a successful teacher has the greatest chance to be promoted |
| D．teachers have little influence on kids' individual development |
| A．To attract kids to submit more videos of their teachers. |
| B．To expect teachers to devote themselves to their jobs. |
| C．To remind students to appreciate teachers' hard work. |
| D．To encourage more people to go into teaching career. |
| A．Teaching is quite different from other jobs. |
| B．The future of teachers' work appears inspiring. |
| C．A world without teachers will be unimaginable. |
| D．Many people attach more importance to teaching. |
【推荐2】Tech is awesome, but let’s be honest: Sometimes it gets a bit boring. Computers and smartphones change from year to year, software switches to subscriptions, and innovation, in general, isn’t so common. Every once in a while, though, a new tech development is actually surprising and exciting. That’s how I feel about this new AI, which will draw almost anything you throw at it.
The software is called DALL•E 2, developed by OpenAI, which uses machine learning to create new images based on a text description provider by the user. You can see examples of how this works on the website: The developers let you mix and match different subjects, actions, and settings to see how DALL•E 2 produces different images from those descriptions.
For example, “an astronaut riding a horse in a photorealistic style” produces images of exactly that, resulting in different “photos” of an astronaut on a horse in what look like MTV promote pictures. Switch “photorealistic style” for “pencil drawing,” and suddenly you’re looking at what appear to be multiple sketches (草图) of that spaceman on their horse, only nobody actually drew anything — it’s entirely produced by AI.
It goes way beyond these impressive tech demos (演示), though. From tests I’ve seen, the AI can accept the most detailed of requests, and produce images you might see hanging in a modern art museum. Director Karen X Chang showed this off, first asking DALL•E 2 to draw a girl walking up an infinity staircase, which it did with ease, then asking DALL•E 2 to draw a girl walking up a staircase without end in the clouds made of cookies, which it also did, with ease.
The project really started in January 2021 with DALL•E. The goal was the same as DALL•E 2, to create a program that could create new images from text. Since then, OpenAI has figured out how to greatly improve the image quality, reintroducing the software as DALL•E 2.
1. Which is the base of DALL•E 2 creating new images?| A．The user’s order. | B．A text description. |
| C．A design software. | D．The developer’s idea. |
| A．By listing examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By providing data. | D．By asking questions. |
| A．Novel. | B．Smooth. | C．Rough. | D．Endless. |
| A．AI Will Take the Artists’ Place |
| B．AI Will Make Lifestyle More Colorful |
| C．DALL•E 2 Will Improve Image Quality |
| D．DALL•E 2 Will Draw Whatever Is Requested |
【推荐3】When Kristin Peck became CEO of Zoetis in January, the animal health company was growing rapidly, thanks in part to steady growth in spending on pets. Just a few weeks later, coronavirus lockdowns turned the global economy upside down. But they also got Americans to adopt pets in record numbers, enabling Zoetis and Peck to face their first big crisis with what you might call a tailwind.
Zoetis, which makes medicines and other products, was removed from Pfizer in 2013 and joined the Fortune 500 in 2019. (It' s now. No. 472.) It's the market-share leader in “companion” animal health, with 22% of the market, and in several livestock (家畜) categories too. With the coronavirus doing only minor damage so far to commercial livestock or pet spending, Zoetis's business has held up relatively well. The company' s stock is down roughly 5% this year, while the S&P 500 has fallen more than 9%.
The drug-maker has an “incredibly diversified business,” says James Tierney, chief investment officer of concentrated U.S. growth at AllianceBernstein. Its portfolio (产品组合） is split roughly 50/50 between companion and livestock, with about the same split between U.S. and international sales. And unlike many human drug companies, notes Tierney, it isn't dependent on blockbuster drugs (畅销药）. Zoetis' s best-selling product, dog itch medication Apoquel, generated less than 10% of its total sales of ＄6.3 billion in 2019. Another promising product is a new combination of flea, tick, and heartworm medicine for dogs, Simparica Trio - currently the only such combo (组合套餐) product available in the U.S.
Peck, who grew up around animals (“We had horses, four dogs, two cats, birds,” she recalls), was an executive at Pfizer before joining Zoetis. She's adjusting to the new reality in part by putting more effort into advertising for pet products and building veterinary telemedicine partnerships. Peck says the new pet owners of the coronavirus period “engage differently”： They're largely digital-first people, she says, and are more likely to heavily research products before buying.
Like pet spending itself, Zoetis isn't entirely recession-proof, and the company recently lowered its growth forecasts for the year. Its livestock business faċes short-term challenges, especially in beef and dairy, where supply-chain problems have caused hardships. But Peck says she doubts the coronavirus will affect the long-term trend toward eating more protein. And if difficult times lead consumers to focus on cheaper meats, Zoetis could benefit from products like Zoamix, an additive that takes the place of antibiotics (抗生素）in chicken feed - one more example of diversification feathering the company' s nest.
1. How was Zoetis' s business going this January?| A．It was disappointing. |
| B．It was developing very fast. |
| C．It turned Zoetis upside down. |
| D．It enabled Zoetis to join the Fortune 500. |
| A．To stress it is a blockbuster. |
| B．To explain its contribution to Zoetis. |
| C．To uncover the reason for its unsatisfactory sales. |
| D．To reveal Zoetis' s profits are from various sources. |
| A．They enjoy shopping for best-selling products. |
| B．They prefer to raise horses rather than keep birds. |
| C．They usually choose digital pets instead of real ones. |
| D．They do a lot of research online before buying something. |
| A．To reduce the cost of meat. | B．To make chicken feed tasty. |
| C．To serve as better antibiotics. | D．To increase protein in meat. |
