Learning English - Words in the News - South Korea's internet addicts

Last updated at 10:00 BST, Friday, 19 August 2011

South Korea's internet addicts

Video

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Report and vocabulary

Transcript: Internet addiction in South Korea's got so bad the government's banned teens from going online after midnight.

Web junkies have been going without food, drink and sleep for days because they're hooked on computer games.

The authorities have been hedging their bets by putting money into a variety of solutions.

One scheme monitors people's brainwaves, while another tries to get youngsters involved in more traditional forms of entertainment.
addiction: the medical and or psychological condition of being unable to stop doing something harmful.

Generally we talk about addictions to substances like alcohol and drugs but in this story it's used to describe being obsessed with the internet and online gaming.

The related verb is: to be addicted (to something)
junkies: 'a junkie' is an informal word for someone who is addicted to drugs. In this story it's also used to refer to people who are addicted to playing computer games.
hooked on: an informal way of saying 'addicted to'
hedging their bets: 'to hedge your bets' is an expression which means to reduce your chances of making a mistake by investing in more than one possible option
brainwaves: electrical signals produced in the brain

Exercise

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from a 大象传媒 news report.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

addiction / junkies / to be hooked on (something) /

to hedge your bets / brainwaves

1
On my last visit to the city, Kandaharis spoke of their constant fear of attack, by either Taliban or US led forces. They ____________________, backing both sides until it was clear who would prevail.

2
Scientists believe they are a step closer to being able to read people's minds after decoding human _________________ .

3
The death of Amy Winehouse has once again highlighted the danger of drink and drug _______________ .

4
There were claims that the damage had been caused by a hard-core of violent protest ________________ who had deliberately come for trouble.

5
He became _________________ the tournament after watching Bjorn Borg play in 1977, and has returned every year since, seeing all the greats of the game.