Question

    Addiction is a term that we hear all the time but it’s a surprisingly tricky concept to pin down. Orally, we might say things like: “Oh, I downloaded this new game on my phone and I’m totally addicted to it.” But from a clinical perspective, we think of addiction as occurring when someone has found that their life whether it’s’ their relationships with friends or family, their ability to perform their jobs, or something else has been knocked off-kilter (冲昏头脑) by desire to perform behavior.

Prof Robert West, editor-in-chief of the journal Addiction, defines addiction “a psychological condition that involves repeated powerful motivation to engage in a behavior that’s learnt through experience, and that has either actual or potential harmful consequences”. Under this definition, it is possible to be addicted to anything—not just substances—if it turns from a want for it to a need for it, and it puts a person at risk of harm.

In 2008, Bowden-Jones set up the National Problem Gambling Clinic. To date, this is the only NHS-funded treatment center for people with problem gambling (赌博). Despite seeing some of the most severe cases of gambling addiction in the country in her clinic, she is keen to point out that the scale of the problem might not be as extreme as some would think. Despite lots of people gambling and the pervasive (遍布的) nature of gambling advertising, problem gamblers make up less than one per cent of the population.

Yet she wonders whether there is something about how modern technology has become increasingly risky. “The more you have availability, the more you uncover vulnerability,” she says. And there’s concern among researchers from several different countries that online games and apps are taking inspiration from gambling to keep people playing, and paying. These include what are known as “loot boxes”. These are prizes, paid for with real money, where the contents are not known until they’re purchased. Recent research has suggested purchase of these prizes is linked to higher levels of problematic gambling behavior.

However, Bowden-Jones points out that technological advances have also improved support for some people with problematic gambling. Software now exists to block gambling-related websites across people’s devices. Banking apps can allow a person to disable any ability to spend money on gambling, cautiously, by just toggling (切换) a switch. She believes that this is a big step forward -historically people were encouraged to hand their finances to their partners. This can put pressure on relationships and there is strong evidence to show it can increase domestic violence.

It’s hard to tell addiction is on the increase, partly because as yet there aren’t standardized measures by which to assess things like problematic gaming, and large-scale surveys have not been done. But just because we might see people glued to their phones while they’re on buses or trains or while walking down the street, it doesn’t mean we’ve become nation who are addicted to the Internet.

Nonetheless, in 2018 the World Health Organization announced that it was classifying gaming disorder as a mental health condition, decision they based on a review of the evidence and after discussion with experts. However, some researchers worry that this classification will lead to overdiagnosis of gaming The NHS does not offer treatment for gaming disorder, and a pilot treatment clinic has been delayed. It’s clear that we know very little about how many people have gaming disorder, and it’s likely that the vast majority of people who play games do so with no harm to their health whatsoever. Having said that, for those who are worried, it is possible to spot the warning signs of pleasurable activity becoming compulsion (强迫力), either in yourself or in those around you.

Robert West has some final words of advice for those individuals who are trying to reduce their need for a behavior. “Self-control is much easier when you set fixed boundaries than when you leave the rules more flexible,” he explains. Be strict with yourself and don’t allow your boundaries to slide, then even if you do slip up, you can get back on track.

1.What is addiction according to the first two paragraphs?

A.It is a repeated desire to perform a behavior.

B.It is a physical and mental condition.

C.It is a habit of downloading new games.

D.It is the direct result of carelessness.

2.What does Bowden-Jones think of gambling addiction?

A.It is affected by gambling advertising.

B.Its scale is small and fewer people develop it.

C.It can be treated in a NHS-funded center.

D.Its severity is beyond imagination of some people.

3.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean?

A.Online apps take inspiration from gambling.

B.More prizes lead to more gambling behavior.

C.More money brings more prizes in loot boxes.

D.Too much use of technology brings more risk.

4.What do technological advances in Paragraph 5 indicate?

A.Banking apps are popular among banks.

B.They can increase domestic violence.

C.They can bring about positive results.

D.Software can block gambling-related websites.

5.Why do researchers worry about the classification of gaming disorder?

A.Playing games do no harm to lot of people.

B.We’ve become a nation addicted to the internet.

C.It isn’t scientific and may lead to wrong diagnosis.

D.A pleasant activity may become a strong force.

6.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A.Is addiction on the rise? B.How addiction is defined?

C.Is Robert West’s advice reasonable? D.What is Bowden Jones’s research?

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.C

5.C

6.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文，围绕上瘾（addiction）这一术语展开，介绍了赌博及电子游戏的成瘾，并探讨了电子科技的发展对这两种成瘾人群的影响，以及这一心理学领域目前存在的诸多热点问题。文中各路学者专家观点激烈交锋，具有较强的学术性。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一、二段的内容，并结合第二段开头Prof Robert West, editor-in-chief of the journal Addiction, defines addiction “a psychological condition that involves repeated powerful motivation to engage in a behavior that’s learnt through experience, and that has either actual or potential harmful consequences”.可知，根据权威教授的定义，上瘾是一种心理上的状态，它涉及的是一种反复多次的强大驱动力，想要去做某件事，实施某种行为，因而A“是一种反复多次想要实施某种行为的欲望”符合原文内容，对于干扰项B，让人上瘾的可以是某种物质，也可以是某个行为，某种欲望，但上瘾本身是一种心理上（精神层面）的状态，应排除B，综上本题选A。

2.

细节理解题。根据原文第三段“She is keen to point out that the scale of the problem might not be as extreme as some would think. Despite lots of people gambling and the pervasive (遍布的) nature of gambling advertising, problem gamblers make up less than one per cent of the population.”并结合该段内容可知，虽然她见过许多赌博上瘾的极端案例，但她敏锐地指出，实际上问题并没有有些人想象的那么严重，尽管很多人赌博，广告也满天飞，但实际上真出问题，成瘾的占百分之一还不到，B选项“范围小，进一步发展成瘾的就更少了”符合原文，干扰项D实际为“严重性超乎了有些人的想象”，刚好与原文内容相反，综上应选B。

3.

句意猜测题。对于划线句子（一位学者的话），直译结果为“你享受了越多的便利（实用性），就会揭露你越多的弱点。”结合上一句“Yet she wonders whether there is something about how modern technology has become increasingly risky.”可知说这句话（划线句子）的学者在担心的是现代电子科技给人带来的风险逐渐变高了，同时结合该段剩下内容，指出许多在线游戏和APP正从赌博中汲取灵感，研究利用人们的心理，让人们欲罢不能、沉迷其中，这是另一种形式的“上瘾”，故划线句的真正意思是：电子技术的过度使用，带来了更多风险。故选D。

4.

细节理解题。根据原文第五段第一句“Bowden-Jones points out that technological advances have also improved support for some people with problematic gambling.”可知，这位学者指出技术的进步可以为有赌博上瘾问题的一些人提供更多的支持和帮助，之后该段内容列举了一些APP在这方面的具体功能。因此，技术进步体现的是它们能带来一些积极的结果，C符合原文，故选C。

5.

细节理解题。根据原文第七段“However, some researchers worry that this classification will lead to overdiagnosis of gaming.”可知有些科研人员担心的是这一分类法会带来过度诊断的问题，C选项中提到的这一分类法不够科学，可能导致错误诊断符合原文，故选C。

6.

主旨大意题。纵观全文内容，其围绕addition（上瘾，成瘾）这一术语展开，文中各路学者、各种观点激烈交锋，研究进展或成果来源丰富，因而这篇文章不是围绕某位学者的具体观点或研究展开探讨的，C、D可直接排除。分析文章结构，第一、二段直接以探讨addiction的定义开篇，其后各段分别探讨了传统上的赌博上瘾，其中提到严格按标准定义来说的话，上瘾的人并不多，随后过渡迁移到现代电子信息科技上的上瘾，并详细探讨了上瘾与否的分类法（界限、边界）问题，其可能导致的过度诊断；等等。同时结合文章开篇两段的点题句或关键句“Addiction is a term that we hear all the time but it’s a surprisingly tricky concept to pin down…Prof Robert West defines addiction…Under this definition, it is possible to be addicted to anything.”可知文章的主要内容是探讨“上瘾”如何被定义，故选B。