燕山大学 刘立军 编写
u TRANSCRIPT
In South Korea smartphone cases come with rings mounted on the back, to prevent clumsy owners from dropping them. This makes people look like they are literally married to their phones. In many of Seoul’s most Instagrammable coffee shops, couples on dates spend vastly more time looking at their screens than at each other. The ramifications go beyond the potentially dire consequences for romance.
Walk around the streets of Seoul or any other South Korean city, and there is a real risk of bumping into people whose eyes are glued to their smartphone screens. Insurers estimate that around 370 traffic accidents annually are caused by pedestrians using smartphones. That figure does not include those who bump into lamp posts and the like while perusing the latest cat videos.
The government initially tried to fight the “smombie” (a portmanteau of “smartphone” and “zombie”) epidemic by distributing hundreds of stickers around cities imploring people to “be safe” and look up. This seems to have had little effect even though, in Seoul at least, it recently replaced the stickers with sturdier plastic boards.
Instead of appealing to people’s good sense, the authorities have therefore resorted to trying to save them from being run over. Early last year, they began to trial floor-level traffic lights in smombie hotspots in central Seoul. Since then, the experiment has been extended around and beyond the capital. For the moment, the government is retaining old-fashioned eye-level pedestrian lights as well. But in future, the way to look at a South Korean crossroads may be down.
Adapted from http://www.hxen.com/englishlistening/other/jingji/2019-07-12/521078_2.html
u VOCABULARY
1. mount v. mount sth. (on/onto/in sth.) to fix sth. into position on sth., so that you can use it, look at it or study it 镶嵌；安置。例如：
l The specimens were mounted on slides. 标本安放在载片上。
l The diamond is mounted in gold. 这颗钻石镶在金饰物上。
2. clumsy adj. (of people and animals 人和动物) moving or doing things in a very awkward way 笨拙的；不灵巧的。例如：
l I spilt your coffee. Sorry - that was clumsy of me. 我弄洒了你的咖啡。对不起，我真是笨手笨脚的。
l His clumsy fingers couldn't untie the knot. 他的手很笨拙，无法解开这个结。
3. ramification n. one of the large number of complicated and unexpected results that follow an action or a decision （众多复杂而又难以预料的）结果，后果。 complication 例如：These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
4. dire adj. (formal) very serious 极其严重的；危急的。例如：
l living in dire poverty生活赤贫
l dire warnings/threats严重的警告 / 威胁
l Such action may have dire consequences. 这种行为可能产生严重后果。
l We're in dire need of your help. 我们急需你的帮助。
l The firm is in dire straits (= in a very difficult situation) and may go bankrupt. 这家公司已陷入极度困境之中，可能会破产。
5. bump into: (informal) to meet sb. by chance 碰见；偶然遇见
6. zombie n. (informal) a person who seems only partly alive, without any feeling or interest in what is happening 无生气的人；麻木迟钝的人
7. epidemic n. a large number of cases of a particular disease happening at the same time in a particular community 流行病。例如：
l the outbreak of a flu epidemic流感的爆发
l an epidemic of measles麻疹的流行
8. sturdy adj. (of an object 物品) strong and not easily damaged 结实的；坚固的。 robust 例如：
l a sturdy pair of boots一双结实的靴子
l a sturdy table结实的桌子
9. run over 撞倒；轧过
10. resort to sth.: to make use of sth., especially sth. bad, as a means of achieving sth., often because there is no other possible solution 诉诸；求助于；依靠。例如：
l They felt obliged to resort to violence. 他们觉得有必要诉诸暴力。
l We may have to resort to using untrained staff. 我们也许只能使用未受过训练的员工了。
u QUESTIONS
Read the statements. Then listen to the news and check the true (ü) or false (û) statements.
q 1. In South Korea smartphone cases come with rings mounted on the back, to prevent thief from stealing them.
q 2. Walk around the streets of Seoul, and there is a real risk of bumping into people whose eyes are glued to their smartphone screens.
q 3. The government initially tried to fight the “smombie” epidemic by distributing hundreds of stickers around cities imploring people to “be safe”.
q 4. Instead of appealing to people’s good sense, the authorities have therefore resorted to trying to save them from being run over.
q 5. Next year, they will begin to trial floor-level traffic lights in smombie hotspots in central Seoul.
u KEY
Read the statements. Then listen to the news and check the true (ü) or false (û) statements.
ý 1. In South Korea smartphone cases come with rings mounted on the back, to prevent thief from stealing them. In South Korea smartphone cases come with rings mounted on the back, to prevent clumsy owners from dropping them.
þ 2. Walk around the streets of Seoul, and there is a real risk of bumping into people whose eyes are glued to their smartphone screens.
þ 3. The government initially tried to fight the “smombie” epidemic by distributing hundreds of stickers around cities imploring people to “be safe”.
þ 4. Instead of appealing to people’s good sense, the authorities have therefore resorted to trying to save them from being run over.
ý 5. Next year, they will begin to trial floor-level traffic lights in smombie hotspots in central Seoul. Early last year, they began to trial floor-level traffic lights in smombie hotspots in central Seoul.