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74 Consolidation Test 3

Trapped in fantasy land

1. You wouldn’t know just by looking at me that I had ever been a video game addict.
Straight A student, writer for the school newspaper, captain of the hockey team… nah. It’s
not possible. Well, I have a surprise for you. For a long time my life was kept on hold
while I pretended to be a hero finding treasures and rescuing young girls from the clutches
of evil villains. It became my reality. Run for your life! In this case, lives, because like the
proverbial cat, I had at least nine lives, all of them fake (or as they call it, virtual).
2. It all started when I became 13. My Mum finally yielded to my insistent begging and
gave me a console. I was pretty innocent back then and started playing it just for kicks. I
didn’t even figure out that there were other players and that I could exchange opinions
and compare scores – and this was my doom. I started staying up late to play the game
and chat to other players, once I had realised their existence. Soon I began neglecting my
homework and not bothering about hockey practice. I was hooked. What pains me the
most though is that my girlfriend, after putting up with my addiction for a long time, gave
up and broke up with me. My heart was broken and yet I couldn’t quit.
3. It’s not like I didn’t try. Once I nearly went berserk and smashed the console to
pieces. But the thrill of being someone else, the pressure to play the game – I had
friends at school who were just as crazy as me – and the illusion that I could quit any
time (I couldn’t – not with the console always there in front of me) kept me going until
my parents figured out that something was very wrong and came knocking at my
bedroom door.
4. They took away my console. I was furious. I kicked and screamed, but it was
useless. My Mum blamed herself for giving me the console in the first place. I nearly
cried. At the same time I felt a sort of relief. It was like being sick and being given
medicine. It took some time till I was ready to claim back my life. First thing I did was
call my girlfriend. She wouldn’t give me the time of day. But I think she just needs time.
As I need time. It was one hell of a trip. I’m glad I survived.
Freddie Jansen (15)

A. Refer to paragraphs 1-2.

Decide whether the statements below are TRUE or FALSE. Correct the false ones.
1. When people look at Freddie they immediately recognise a game addict.
2. Freddie begged his parents to buy him a console.
3. The games Freddie used to play were repetitive and didn’t offer any excitement.
4. Gradually Freddie lost his interest in all other activities except for video games.
5. Fortunately his girlfriend never gave up on him.

B. Match the titles with the paragraphs above.

a. Losing control c. The charms of the game world.
b. Fighting for survival. d. Living a virtual life
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Consolidation Test 3 75

C. Find in the text words or expressions that mean the same as the ones below.
1. frozen in time 4. realise, imagine
2. saving 5. fate
3. request 6. caring about

D. Answer the following questions.

1. Why did Freddy feel so attracted to console games?
2. What consequences did this hobby have?

II

Fill in the gaps with words from the box.

Studies show that parents 1. play video games with their kids and have little
2. of the themes, characters or ratings of the games their children play. Children
are much more likely to follow their parents’ 3. if they show them they are
genuinely 4. in their video game playing. So parents should get involved in
5. the video games and look for games that don’t contain 6. or
stereotyping. Parents should also control the 7. of time their children spend
playing video games and 8. rules for how much time per day the kids can play
games.

interested establish rarely advice knowledge choosing amount violence

III

A. Rephrase the following sentences beginning with the words given.

1. “Don’t play video games too long,” my father told me.
My father told me
2. “For a long time my life was kept on hold while I pretended to be a hero finding treasures,”
Freddie said.
Freddie said
3. Some teenagers become addicted to video games and spend hours playing them.
Teenagers who
4. Freddy was furious and screamed at his mother, but she didn’t give him the console back.
Although
5. Parents should control the time their children spend on the computer.
The time children

IV

Choose one of the following topics and write a composition in no more than 100 words.
1. How dangerous can video games be?
2. Teenage life without addictions