Trabajos prácticos 3 y 4 para comisiones Prof. Heras

A pedido de algunos alumnos envío TP 3 y 4 para trabajar sobre el texto.
Saludos
Prof. C. Heras


Trabajo Práctico Nº 3


Addiction to Internet ‘is an illness’

New evidence shows that excessive use of the Internet causes people to suffer from isolation, tiredness and withdrawal symptoms

David Smith, technology correspondent
March 23, 2008

1. Tense? Angry? Can’t get online? Internet addiction is now a serious health problem that should be officially recognized as a clinical disorder, says a leading psychiatrist.

2. In the respected American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr Jerald Block writes that the disorder is caused by excessive gaming, viewing online pornography, emailing and text messaging. He says that the disorder is now so common that it should be included in medical text books. According to Block, Internet addiction has four main components:

• Excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time;
• Withdrawal symptoms, including feelings of anger, tension and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible;
• The need for better computers, more software, or more hours of use;
• Negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation and tiredness.

3. Block says that in South Korea 10 people died from blood clots because they stayed seated for long periods in Internet cafes and another was murdered because of an online game. South Korea now considers Internet addiction one of its most serious public health issues. The government estimates that around 210,000 South Korean children need treatment. 80 per cent of them might need drugs that target the brain and nearly a quarter could need to go to hospital. Since the average high school pupil there spends about 23 hours per week gaming, another 1.2 million are at risk of addiction and require basic counselling. Many people are also worried about the number of addicts who stop going to school or leave their jobs to spend more time on computers. In China it has been reported that about 10 million adolescent Internet users could be considered addicts.

4. Dr Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, writes that it is more difficult to estimate how bad the problem is in America because people surf at home instead of in Internet cafes. But he believes there are similar cases, and says: “Unfortunately it is not easy to treat Internet addiction.” He told The Observer that he did not believe specific websites were responsible. “The relationship is with the computer,” he said. “First, it becomes a “significant other” to them. Second, they use up emotions that they could experience in the real world on the computer, through any number of mechanisms: emailing, gaming, porn. Third, computer use takes up a huge amount of time in their life. Then if you simply try to remove the computer, they feel they’ve lost their best friend. That can take the form of depression or rage.”

5. Harry Husted, a single 51-year-old from New York, spends 16 hours a day on the Internet. He insists that he is not addicted, but admits that he used to be. “I used to work with computers for eight hours, then get home and go online for another seven hours. I stayed up until two or three in the morning, or until I got so sleepy I had to go to bed. I didn’t care about friends, TV, or anything. After a while I realized what was happening and did something about it. Now if I use MySpace it’s only to advertise my business.”

6. Internet addiction clinics are opening all around the world, and many people are attending, apparently without irony, web discussion boards with names such as Internet Addicts Anonymous. The Centre for Internet Addiction Recovery in Bradford, Pennsylvania, says Internet addiction has become a growing legal issue in criminal, divorce and employment cases.

7. Robert Freedman, editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry, said Internet addiction can be diverse. “In Korea, it seems to be mostly gaming sites. In America, it is Facebook. Additionally, it’s porn, it’s games, it’s gambling, it’s chatting with friends. All these things existed before, but now they’re a lot easier.”

8. To beat the addiction, he advised: “A self-help group might be a good place to start, but maybe a real group is better than an online one.”

© Guardian News & Media 2008
First published in The Observer, 23/03/08
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A: According to the article, are these sentences True (T) or False (F)?

1. The four basic components of Internet addiction are excessive use, withdrawal symptoms when the computer is not accessible, the constant need for better computers and software and negative repercussions on the user’s social life.
2. In South Korea, the main cause of Internet addiction is spending time on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace.
3. The average South Korean high school student spends 16 hours a day playing online games.
4. People have died as a consequence of their Internet addiction.
5. South Koreans go online at Internet cafes more often than Americans.
6. Internet addiction is easy to treat.
7. Online self-help groups are better than real ones to beat addiction.

B: Contextual reference: What do the underlined words in the text refer to?
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Trabajo Práctico Nº 4

Obama inauguration: Let the remaking of America begin today
Alan Rusbridger in Washington
January 20, 2009


1. Barack Hussein Obama today became 44th president of the United States of America in front of quite possibly the largest crowd of people ever to have
gathered in one place for a single political moment.

2. As many as two million people in Washington’s National Mall heard their new president deliver a somber 20-minute speech in which he acknowledged that the country was in the midst of crisis – caught up in wars, its economy struggling and its national confidence weakened.

3. He promised the mostly silent crowd that the challenges would be met, but warned it would take time, some sacrifice, a new form of politics and a re-engagement with the world, in which America would recognise that “power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please”.

4. President Obama took the oath just after midday under a blue sky in front of the imposing dome of the Capitol, which was partly built by slaves.

5. This cold day was to be the end of the last eight years of Republican rule and of the obstructions which, at any previous time in history, would have made the election of an African-American president unthinkable.
The people had come to celebrate – and for days they had been doing just that in parties all over town. The cheer as Obama swore his oath on Lincoln’s Bible roared all the way from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol, nearly two miles away.

6. But when Obama spoke it was immediately clear that the tone of this inauguration was grave, addressed as much to the hundreds of millions tuned in around the world as to the two million citizens in front of him.

7. “That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood,” he said. “Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.”

8. “Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses closed. Our healthcare is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.”

9. In one of the few lines to be greeted by enthusiastic applause, he turned to defence, proclaiming “we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals”. In a subtle reference to Guantánamo and torture he promised not to abandon the rule of law and human rights “for expedience’s sake”.

10. There was criticism of his predecessor’s policies in his comments on science and the environment. He vowed to “restore science to its rightful place” and made several references to climate change, acknowledging the threat to our planet and saying America would in future use “the sun and the winds and the soil” for energy.

11. On international affairs, he singled out the Muslim world, offering “a new way forward based on mutual interest and mutual respect. America would leave Iraq “to its people” and make “hard-earned peace” in Afghanistan.

12. Obama’s serious tone and his acknowledgement of the economic hurricane blowing through America echoed Roosevelt’s speech at the time of the last serious global depression, in which an incoming president vowed “to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly”.

13. The endless crowd listened to the same sentiments today. They might have wanted to hear something more uplifting, but, for many, the day was a moment of genuine transformation after which nothing could be the same again.

14. As Obama headed back into the Capitol building at the end of the ceremony, clouds began rolling over a pure blue sky. But there was one final, rousing cheer as the helicopter carrying George W Bush rose over the gleaming dome of government and took the former president off to Texas – and out of public life forever.

© Guardian News & Media 2009
First published in The Guardian, 20/01/09


A: Skim-read the article and decide whether the sentences are true (T) or false (F).
1. There have been 44 previous presidents in the United States.
2. Obama expects the American people to change their behaviour.
3. The weather in Washington on 20 January 2009 was cold and sunny.
4. Slaves helped to build the US Capitol building in Washington.
5. The central topics of the speech were war, torture, jobs, housing and teenage pregnancies.
6. Obama denied that global warming is a problem.
7. The main tone of the speech was positive and uplifting.
8. After the speech, former President George W. Bush left Washington for his home in Texas.

B: Contextual reference: What do the underlined words in the text refer to?