Question
Video Games—Play On
Zachary Felton
1Video games pull players into worlds they could never imagine. In these worlds, players become top athletes, animated characters, alien commanders, and so on. So, if video games use so much imagination, why do people look down on them? News reports today often talk about the bad effects of video games. For example, some blame video games for making children more violent. Others blame them for causing children to sit in front of the television, instead of getting exercise. While such claims may hold some truth, not all video games are bad. In fact, some actually have great benefits.
2Playing video games on every platform, from large computer displays to handheld devices or even cell phones, improves thinking skills, reaction time, and hand-eye coordination.
3Research has shown that playing video games is good for players' minds. Video games improve players' thinking skills. A researcher from one study said, "It's difficult to find kids who earn poor grades but who do well in video games." Video games challenge players to recognize patterns and think to survive in the game. Players must use their brains to plan their next move to avoid losing the game.
4Even simple games seem to boost brainpower. For example, the goal of one popular game is to arrange falling blocks into a solid wall. When the game begins, the blocks drop at a slow pace, giving the player plenty of time to put them in the correct place. As the player gets better at arranging the blocks, the game starts dropping them at a faster rate. The player must speed up his or her thinking to reach the next level of the game.
5Video games help to improve players' reaction time. Reaction time is the time it takes for a person's body to respond to something. It is important in many sports and day-to-day activities. For example, suppose your mom makes you a cup of hot chocolate. You touch the hot cup and pull your hand away quickly. That is reaction time—the time it takes your mind to tell your hand to pull away from the hot cup. Because video games move at such a fast pace, people who play them improve their reaction times. In video games involving car races, for example, players face obstacles as they speed toward the finish line. Players must rely on reaction time to avoid hitting anything so they can make it to the end.
6Video games also help hand-eye coordination. This coordination involves turning what our eyes see into physical responses, such as guessing where a ball will fall so we can catch it. People with unusually high hand-eye coordination can go into professions where using their hands is important. A recent study of surgeons found that doctors who played video games were a lot faster at performing difficult operations. In addition, surgeons who played video games made fewer mistakes in operations than those surgeons who did not play video games.
7Many people are starting to take notice of the benefits of video games. For example, educational computer games are becoming more common in schools as teaching tools. Teachers have found that students enjoy learning through video games. They find the games both fun and educational. This has led to the rise in "edu-tainment," or using educational video games in the classroom to make learning fun. In addition, the U.S. military is now using video games to prepare soldiers for the decision-making skills they will need during combat.
8On average, children spend one hour per day playing in video game worlds. It is good to know that this time will help them in the future.
Question
Problems with Video Game Playing
Drew Christopher
Preoccupation
A video game addiction can be harmful if your child is unable or unwilling to participate in any interests or extracurricular activities other than gaming. The On-Line Gamers Anonymous website notes that it may be a sign of an addiction if your child is constantly thinking about his next video game session, devising ways to get back to the game, abandoning former hobbies that don’t relate to video games or declining social events with personal interaction because he's spending time discussing video games on the Internet.
Health Problems
If your child spends all of his free time playing video games and skips meals or loses sleep because of excessive game play, a video game addiction can negatively impact his health. Children who spend more than two hours a day in front of a television or video games in lieu of participating in physical activity may suffer from childhood obesity. In addition, the University of Texas at Dallas notes that the addiction can lead to such medical issues as backaches, headaches, eyestrain and carpal tunnel syndrome--pain and numbness that your child may feel in his wrists, hands, shoulders and elbows.
Suffering Relationships
Relationships with friends and family members may suffer if your child is spending more time gaming than he is talking to or going out with loved ones. The On-Line Gamers Anonymous website notes that gaming may be negatively affecting your child's life if he only wants to talk about video games, lies to cover up the amount of time he spends playing, and argues with you over his excessive gaming.
Increased Aggression
Video games that feature violent actions and scenarios may lead addicted players to be desensitized to the violence. Richard Gallagher, director of the NYU Child Study Center’s Parenting Institute, states that players who become engrossed in first-person shooter-style video games, for example, may adopt a detached view of society or develop aggressive thoughts and tendencies.
Poor Performance
Long hours playing video games can negatively affect your child's performance in school if he's preoccupied with video games. He can fail to work at his optimum level because he's exhausted from a late night of video game playing. If your child devotes more than one or two hours a day to television or video games, he may have trouble falling asleep, have problems paying attention and have lower test scores than other children who don’t spend as much time in front of a television or video game console.
Which best describes the difference in these two passages?
Responses
A Both of these passages expound upon the positive benefits of video-game playing.Both of these passages expound upon the positive benefits of video-game playing.
B Both of these passages condemn video game playing for all the detrimental effects it has on video-game players.Both of these passages condemn video game playing for all the detrimental effects it has on video-game players.
C The first passage is very much opposed to video game playing, while the second passage is pro-video game playing.The first passage is very much opposed to video game playing, while the second passage is pro-video game playing.
D The second passage is very much opposed to video game playing, while the first passage is pro-video game playing.
Zachary Felton
1Video games pull players into worlds they could never imagine. In these worlds, players become top athletes, animated characters, alien commanders, and so on. So, if video games use so much imagination, why do people look down on them? News reports today often talk about the bad effects of video games. For example, some blame video games for making children more violent. Others blame them for causing children to sit in front of the television, instead of getting exercise. While such claims may hold some truth, not all video games are bad. In fact, some actually have great benefits.
2Playing video games on every platform, from large computer displays to handheld devices or even cell phones, improves thinking skills, reaction time, and hand-eye coordination.
3Research has shown that playing video games is good for players' minds. Video games improve players' thinking skills. A researcher from one study said, "It's difficult to find kids who earn poor grades but who do well in video games." Video games challenge players to recognize patterns and think to survive in the game. Players must use their brains to plan their next move to avoid losing the game.
4Even simple games seem to boost brainpower. For example, the goal of one popular game is to arrange falling blocks into a solid wall. When the game begins, the blocks drop at a slow pace, giving the player plenty of time to put them in the correct place. As the player gets better at arranging the blocks, the game starts dropping them at a faster rate. The player must speed up his or her thinking to reach the next level of the game.
5Video games help to improve players' reaction time. Reaction time is the time it takes for a person's body to respond to something. It is important in many sports and day-to-day activities. For example, suppose your mom makes you a cup of hot chocolate. You touch the hot cup and pull your hand away quickly. That is reaction time—the time it takes your mind to tell your hand to pull away from the hot cup. Because video games move at such a fast pace, people who play them improve their reaction times. In video games involving car races, for example, players face obstacles as they speed toward the finish line. Players must rely on reaction time to avoid hitting anything so they can make it to the end.
6Video games also help hand-eye coordination. This coordination involves turning what our eyes see into physical responses, such as guessing where a ball will fall so we can catch it. People with unusually high hand-eye coordination can go into professions where using their hands is important. A recent study of surgeons found that doctors who played video games were a lot faster at performing difficult operations. In addition, surgeons who played video games made fewer mistakes in operations than those surgeons who did not play video games.
7Many people are starting to take notice of the benefits of video games. For example, educational computer games are becoming more common in schools as teaching tools. Teachers have found that students enjoy learning through video games. They find the games both fun and educational. This has led to the rise in "edu-tainment," or using educational video games in the classroom to make learning fun. In addition, the U.S. military is now using video games to prepare soldiers for the decision-making skills they will need during combat.
8On average, children spend one hour per day playing in video game worlds. It is good to know that this time will help them in the future.
Question
Problems with Video Game Playing
Drew Christopher
Preoccupation
A video game addiction can be harmful if your child is unable or unwilling to participate in any interests or extracurricular activities other than gaming. The On-Line Gamers Anonymous website notes that it may be a sign of an addiction if your child is constantly thinking about his next video game session, devising ways to get back to the game, abandoning former hobbies that don’t relate to video games or declining social events with personal interaction because he's spending time discussing video games on the Internet.
Health Problems
If your child spends all of his free time playing video games and skips meals or loses sleep because of excessive game play, a video game addiction can negatively impact his health. Children who spend more than two hours a day in front of a television or video games in lieu of participating in physical activity may suffer from childhood obesity. In addition, the University of Texas at Dallas notes that the addiction can lead to such medical issues as backaches, headaches, eyestrain and carpal tunnel syndrome--pain and numbness that your child may feel in his wrists, hands, shoulders and elbows.
Suffering Relationships
Relationships with friends and family members may suffer if your child is spending more time gaming than he is talking to or going out with loved ones. The On-Line Gamers Anonymous website notes that gaming may be negatively affecting your child's life if he only wants to talk about video games, lies to cover up the amount of time he spends playing, and argues with you over his excessive gaming.
Increased Aggression
Video games that feature violent actions and scenarios may lead addicted players to be desensitized to the violence. Richard Gallagher, director of the NYU Child Study Center’s Parenting Institute, states that players who become engrossed in first-person shooter-style video games, for example, may adopt a detached view of society or develop aggressive thoughts and tendencies.
Poor Performance
Long hours playing video games can negatively affect your child's performance in school if he's preoccupied with video games. He can fail to work at his optimum level because he's exhausted from a late night of video game playing. If your child devotes more than one or two hours a day to television or video games, he may have trouble falling asleep, have problems paying attention and have lower test scores than other children who don’t spend as much time in front of a television or video game console.
Which best describes the difference in these two passages?
Responses
A Both of these passages expound upon the positive benefits of video-game playing.Both of these passages expound upon the positive benefits of video-game playing.
B Both of these passages condemn video game playing for all the detrimental effects it has on video-game players.Both of these passages condemn video game playing for all the detrimental effects it has on video-game players.
C The first passage is very much opposed to video game playing, while the second passage is pro-video game playing.The first passage is very much opposed to video game playing, while the second passage is pro-video game playing.
D The second passage is very much opposed to video game playing, while the first passage is pro-video game playing.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The best response that describes the difference in these two passages is:
**D** The second passage is very much opposed to video game playing, while the first passage is pro-video game playing.
The first passage emphasizes the positive benefits of video games, such as improved cognitive skills, reaction time, and educational applications. In contrast, the second passage highlights the negative effects and potential harms of video game addiction, including health issues, relationship problems, and poor academic performance.
**D** The second passage is very much opposed to video game playing, while the first passage is pro-video game playing.
The first passage emphasizes the positive benefits of video games, such as improved cognitive skills, reaction time, and educational applications. In contrast, the second passage highlights the negative effects and potential harms of video game addiction, including health issues, relationship problems, and poor academic performance.