B
Every afternoon in South Korea, when school and work finish, over 100,000 people meet on the Internet to play a game called Lineage. They meet in a virtual(虚拟的) world 500 years in the past. They form teams and fight for justice and money. They are part of one of the Internet's many online gaming communities. The people who play these games are called gamers. Often they meet in 24-hour cafés to play Lineage, as well as other games such as Diablo, StarCraft and Counter Strike. Most gamers just play for fun, but for some people, it can become an obsession (着迷). |
When gaming becomes an obsession it can become dangerous. In Hong Kong, a seventeen-year-old boy died as a result of playing his favourite game in the café where he worked. After working for eight hours, he often stayed at the café and played Diablo II. On some nights he slept for only two hours. In May 2002, he was found unconscious at a computer after playing all night. When he died later in hospital, doctors said it was because he was exhausted.
In Korea, the dangers can come from other gamers. In the virtual world of Lineage, gamers can create new characters for themselves. High school students can become very powerful fighters and leaders. They play against doctors, businessmen and even members of dangerous gangs. But sometimes things that happen in the game affect real life. Gamers have been beaten up in real life by people they have killed online!
56. How many people play Lineage when school and work are over every day in South Korea?
57. What do people do in the virtual world of Lineage?
58. The online games mentioned in the passage are ________.
59. What does the underlined word “exhausted” mean?
60. What does the passage mainly talk about?