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 Reading Paper 1 InsertRead Text A, and then answer Questions 1(a)–1(e) on the question paper. Text A: The Real Problem With Video GamesThis text is an opinionated article about an often overlooked problem with video games.Donald Trump has long claimed that exposure to simulated violence in video games begets violent tendencies in real life. “Video game violence and glorification must be stopped — it is creating monsters!” he tweeted in 2012. President Trump recently summoned video game executives to the White House to castigate them for the violence and sex depicted in their products. The White House meeting did not, however, include any social scientists who have studied the effects of video games. That would have been too problematic since decades of research have failed to find any relationship between playing violent video games and behaving violently in real life.Video games do not create murderers. With his Thursday meeting, the president was merely engaging in political distraction. And yet Mr. Trump was absolutely right when he said that “bad things” are happening on the internet. Video games do have a big problem, but it is not stylized virtual violence. Rather, it is the bigotry, social abuse, sexism and other toxic behavior to which players too often subject one another when gaming together online. In other words: It’s not the content; it’s the culture.Listen to the voice communications of almost any popular online first-person shooter game and you will hear players constantly using racial and homophobic slurs. Make a mistake in just about any team-based combat game and it won’t be long before one of your teammates chastises you with some vile epithet. There is more than one game community where “Jew” is used as a verb, meaning to make money. In many games, women who speak up on voice communications are routinely mocked and harassed.While researchers have devoted ample time to studying the emotional and psychological effects of virtual video game violence, the actual social behavior of players has largely escaped academic attention. That should change. The racism, homophobia and misogyny prevalent in many online game precincts can amount to emotional abuse. This is a phenomenon that needs to be better understood and more widely known.The real responsibility lies with the players themselves — and for younger players, to their parents as well — to confront the real problem with video games.Read Text B, and then answer Question 1(f) on the question paper. Text B: Want to Be Smarter? Play Computer Games This text is an informative article about the possible benefits of gaming.Recent research suggests we may have to put aside our stereotyped image of computer gamers as jobless, sleep-deprived and obsessive nerds who live in their bedrooms, playing computer games like World of Warcraft until three in the morning, surrounded by their beloved Star Wars action figures collection. It now looks as though playing some computer games can help you develop or improve key skills and, in fact, improve your brain. Many researchers argue that playing computer games can provide real benefits. Teaching you how to solve problems: Alan Weiss, a health care expert, says, “A computer game can encourage gamers to develop creative solutions to problems which can then be applied to real life situations. The results can be surprisingly positive and imaginative. Even kids’ games involve working out how to come up with a solution to a problem that will help them complete a game or win a competition.”Teaching you how to work with others: Continuous developments in technology, such as headsets that allow you to talk to fellow gamers across the world, mean that gamers can play in multiplayer games. In order to be successful in multiplayer games, players need to work together and this is a vital skill you need to learn in real life in order to succeed with others.Teaching you how to fail: In a world where every kid who runs in a race gets a medal, and children are told they’ve done a good job even when they haven’t, computer games have clear winners and losers. Winning teaches you how to win well – with pride and modesty. Losing teaches you how to lose well – without whining or blaming. These are important lessons, especially for young people..And they make you happy: Critics of computer games suggest they cause epilepsy or repetitive strain injuries but there is a strong argument that they make you happy too. McGonigal says, “Games make us happy because they are hard work that we choose for ourselves.” They stretch us – we go past our limitations, learn how to do new things. We get smarter. Even when we are not using our computers we can discuss games with friends, giving us enjoyment, and providing a social benefit.So, next time you spend some time in Gnome Town or Star Wars: The Old Republic, don’t think of it as a waste of time, consider it brain food.Read Text C, and then answer Questions 2(a)–(d) and Question 3 on the question paper. Text C: At war with ‘World of Warcraft’: an addict tells his story.This text is an article about the effects of gaming on the life of one 'addict'. Former video game addict, Ryan Van Cleave, almost lost everything as his life became consumed by gaming. At the height of his addiction Ryan Van Cleave had little time for his real life. ‘World of Warcraft’, a fantasy role-play computer game, dominated everything: his wife and children, his job as an English teacher. Before classes or late at night while his family slept, he would squeeze in time on his computer. He would often eat alone at the computer. Meals often consisted of microwave packets, energy drinks, foods that needed only one hand, leaving the other free to work the keyboard and mouse.To Ryan Van Cleave, ‘World of Warcraft’ seemed better than everyday life, especially when that life involved persistently arguing with his wife about how much time he spent on the computer. “Playing ‘World of Warcraft’ made me feel like a god,” Van Cleave wrote. “I had total authority and could do what I wanted with few real consequences. The real world, in comparison, made me feel useless.”‘World of Warcraft’ had entered Van Cleave’s life seven years before. Life for the Van Cleaves should have been perfect. He had landed his dream job and his wife, Victoria, was pregnant. But already gaming was taking its toll: he and his wife were late for her first scan because Van Cleave was playing a football game.Soon, Van Cleave played ‘World of Warcraft’ for entire weekends, stealing away to the computer while his family were sleeping or while his parents played with his daughter. Victoria was disgusted that her husband could abandon her and their new baby for a computer game. Eventually, Van Cleave’s life began to fall apart. He began to feel that people at work disliked him and wanted him gone. But he didn’t try to make things better, he buried himself in ‘World of Warcraft’, the only place he felt he could control. For millions who play, games like ‘World of Warcraft’ are hard to resist. Playing makes the gamer feel like a star in a science fiction movie. But ‘World of Warcraft’ doesn’t end. It goes on and on, with characters roaming through different worlds and meeting new characters along the way. To Van Cleave, the game became an obsession. “When I reached the top of one exciting world, the game makers offered new characters and more items to collect. You can never get enough.” Van Cleave insists that video game addiction is similar to gambling addiction. By the time his second baby was born in 2007, Van Cleave was playing for 60 hours a week. A few months later, his employers did not renew his contract and he found himself out of work.It was New Year’s Eve 2007 when Van Cleave finally acknowledged something was wrong. He had been gaming for 18 hours straight and was not feeling well. That night he decided to take control of his life. He immediately deleted the game from his computer. For the next week his stomach and head hurt and he was drenched in sweat – like an addict withdrawing from drugs. Staying away from ‘World of Warcraft’ was difficult, but he did not reinstall the game. Once the withdrawal symptoms and headaches stopped, he started rebuilding his life. His wife said, “At first I didn’t believe him. I had heard it all before and had no confidence that he would stop.”Van Cleave started to focus on his professional life. He wrote poems and books for young adults. He wrote the story of his addiction, ‘Unplugged’, which was published last year. Now he works at a top university for video game designers. Van Cleave now says: “I don’t think video games are evil. That’s not what I’m saying at all. I think games are fine but only if they are part of a balanced life.”0500 Reading Paper 1 Mock UpQuestion 1 Read Text A 'The Real Problem With Video Games' and then answer questions 1 (a) - (e) (a) Give two examples ways Donald Trump has criticised games. [1](b) Using your own words, explain what the text means by: (i) ‘violence in video games begets violent tendencies' (line 1) [2](ii) ‘merely engaging in political distraction’ (line 9) [2] (c) Re-read paragraph 1, (‘Donald Trump has long claimed'). Give two reasons why Trump dislikes video games. [2] (d) Re-read paragraph 3, ('Listen to the voice communications'). (i) Identify two problems the writer does see with video game culture. [2] (ii) Explain how this culture is spread by games. [3] (e) Re-read paragraphs 4 and 5 , (‘While researchers have’). Using your own words, explain what the writer thinks needs to happen now. [3]Question 1(f) Read Text B, 'Want to Be Smarter? Play Computer Games' in the insert and then answer Question 1(f) on this question paper. Question 1 (f) According to Text B, what are the benefits of playing computer games? You must use continuous writing (not note form) and use your own words as far as possible. Your summary should be no more than 120 words. Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer and up to 5 marks for the quality of your writing.Question 2Read Text C, 'At war with ‘World of Warcraft’: an addict tells his story', in the insert and then answer Questions 2(a) – (d) on this question paper. (a) Identify a word or phrase from the text which suggests the same idea as the words underlined.(i) He was a videogame obsessive. [1] (ii) His life was completely taken over. [1] (iii) At the peak of his obsession. [1] (iv) Games had power over everything in his life. [1] (b) Using your own words, explain what the writer means by each of the words underlined: To Ryan Van Cleave, ‘World of Warcraft’ seemed better than everyday life, especially when that life involved persistently arguing with his wife about how much time he spent on the computer. “Playing ‘World of Warcraft’ made me feel like a god,” Van Cleave wrote. “I had total authority and could do what I wanted with few real consequences. The real world, in comparison, made me feel useless.”(i) persistently [1] (ii) authority [1] (iii)consequences [1] (c) Use one example from the text below to explain how the writer suggests the negative impacts of gaming on Ryan's family life. Use your own words in your explanation. [3]Life for the Van Cleaves should have been perfect. He had landed his dream job and his wife, Victoria, was pregnant. But already gaming was taking its toll: he and his wife were late for her first scan because Van Cleave was playing a football game.Question 2 (d) Re-read paragraphs 5 and 7. ? Paragraph 5 begins ‘Soon, Van Cleave’ and is about how Ryan behaved during his addiction.? Paragraph 7 begins 'It was New Year’s Eve 2007' and shows what it was like for Ryan to give up gaming. Explain how the writer uses language to convey meaning and to create effect in these paragraphs. Choose three examples of words and phrases from each paragraph to support your answer. Your choices should include the use of imagery. Write about 200 to 300 words. Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer.Question 3 Re-read Text C, 'At war with ‘World of Warcraft’: an addict tells his story', in the insert and then answer Question 3 on this question paper. Imagine you are Ryan on New Year's Eve 2007, the night you decide to stop gaming. Write a journal entry capturing your thoughts and feelings. You should cover the following three points: ? What the negative effects of gaming have been on you personally. ? What the negative effects have been for your family. ? What you now hope to be able to achieve without gaming in your life. Write your journal entry. Base it on what you have read in Text C, but be careful to use your own words. Address each of the three bullet points. Begin your journal with the first line: It is the start of a New Year and I have decided it's time for a new me too. Write about 250 to 350 words. Up to 15 marks are available for the content and 10 marks for the quality of your writing. ................
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