8 UNIT 2 COMPULSION

Oxford University Press

Introduction
2Possible answers
a People may do something once thinking that
it will give them enjoyment, and they may
continue doing it until it becomes a dominant
part of their lives. Even though they may not
continue to enjoy doing it, they are unable to
stop.
b In order to overcome addiction, people need
to recognise that they have a problem. They
then need to change their habits in order to
stop. If they are unable to do this alone, they
can get professional help or join a group
where they can meet people with similar
problems.
Listening p24
Lead in
1Possible answers
They are addictive. They are heavily marketed
by companies. They are fun to play.
2Key
a whether computer games are mentally and
physically harmful to children
b achild psychologist, a former secondary
school head teacher, and a university student
Tapescript
Presenter Thisweek on Call the Expertswere
dealing with a question more and more of
you seem to be asking: are games
consoles harmful to our childrens
mental or physical health?Here in the
studio weve got Helena Brook, achild
psychologist, Jim Edwards, aformer
secondary school head teacher, and
Oliver Newton, auniversity student
currently doing research into the effects
of the latest generation of computer and
video games. Theyll be answering your
questionson thissubject. Our first caller
thismorning isMarion Jeffriesfrom
London.
Sentence completion
3Key
a Psychologist: ignore his behaviour. School
teacher: point out that extended playing could
do permanent damage to his eyes and brain;
try to persuade him to cut down on time spent
playing the games, encourage him to keep up
his other hobbies, show that theres more to
life than his games console.
Student: try to get him to play less (but dont
take the games console away from him) and
encourage him to develop other, related
interests.
Tapescript
Presenter Our first caller thismorning isMarion
Jeffriesfrom London. Hello, Marion.
Whatsyour question to the experts?
Marion Thank you. Good morning.
Presenter Hello, Marion. Good morning.
Marion Hello, um Itsmy son Adam hesjust
eleven and we bought him a new games
console for his birthdaylast month, and
he hasnt stopped playing since he got it.
He alwaysgetsso involved in the games
that, when I ask him to stop, he doesnt
even hear me. Hesalwayslosing his
temper and behaving in an aggressive
way. The, when hesfinished playing, hes
exhausted and completely
uncommunicative. He tendsto be very
rude, even abusive, especially when hes
been playing a difficult game. I shouldnt
have bought it for him. I realise that now.
Presenter Thatsvery worrying, Marion. I can
understand your concern. What exactly
would you like to ask the panel?
Marion I need advice really Id like to know what
your panel thinksI should do about
Adams obsession.
Presenter Helena Brook, youre a child psychologist
Compulsion 2
U N I T
2
what would you advise Marion Jeffriesto
do?
Helena Marion, whey you say your son hashardly
stopped playing since hisbirthday, what
exactly do you mean? How many hoursa
day doeshe play for, on average?
Marion Id say about five or six more at
weekends.
Helena And you say he getsaggressive if you try
to stop him. What doeshe do exactly?
Marion He screamsand shoutsat me, you know,
like a two-year-old having a temper
tantrum. Last week, he got so annoyed
that he actually threw the controller at
me. Oh, and yesterday he kickedhislittle
sister whod gone to tell him it waslunch
time. Sometimeshe just refusesto stop
playing. It seemsto be changing hiswhole
personality. He used to get on so well with
the rest of the family.
Helena Well, Marion, you really ought to stop
worrying. Theresno evidence that these
gamesare harmful in any way. Dont
forget that most eleven-year-old boysare
naturally aggressive. Obsessionslike this
are a passing phase itspretty certain
that, in a month or two, your son will get
bored and move on to something else.
One last thought, Marion. Have you
thought about just ignoring Adams
behaviour? It might just do the trick.
Presenter Jim Edwardswould you agree with that?
Jim No, Im afraid I wouldnt. When I wasa
head teacher, I wasall too familiar with
the effectsof these gameson kidsin the
classroom: theyd become overtired,
unable to concentrate, and theyd get into
argumentsor fightswith other children
or even teachers. If I were you, Marion, Id
point out to Adam that he could do
permanent damage to his eyesor his
brain if he continuesto play for hourson
end.
Marion What about taking the gamesaway from
him, or limiting the number of hoursa day
he can play?
Jim I wouldnt take it away I think thatd be
asking for trouble. But you could try
persuading Adam to cut hisplaying time
down. And above all, encourage him to
keep up hisother hobbies, otherwise hell
lose all hisfriends. Just try and show him
that theresmore to life than hisgames
console.
Presenter Oliver Newton, youve taken a scientific
look at some of these games. Have you
been able to reach any firm conclusions?
Oliver Not yet. My research isstill in the early
stages. At the moment the evidence is
conflicting, but what I can say isthat
these gamesaffect different people in
different ways. Certainly, they make some
people behave more aggressively, but it is
likely that if they didnt play games, they
would have to find another outlet for
their aggression.
Presenter So, the gamesbring out hisbehaviour
rather than cause it?
Oliver Thatsright. And another unexpected
finding from my research isthat, although
the children who play these gamesbehave
more aggressively, they usually develop
improved powersof observation and
reaction. There are significant
improvementsfor example in their normal
readingspeed.
Presenter Thatsvery interesting, Oliver. So in the
light of your research, how would you
respond to Marion Jeffries question?
Oliver Well, Marion, dont stop your son from
playing altogether or you might make the
situation worse. It could make him
resentful and depressed. No, I think I agree
with Jim try and get him to play less
and encourage him to develop other,
related interests. Why dont you tell him
hesgot a flair for computersand suggest
helearnsbasic computer programming?
After all, computersare our future, one
way or another.
4Key
a his birthday e naturally aggressive
b finished playing f his eyes
c six g read
d kicked
5Key
abusive, impolite, rude
assertive, determined, stubborn
depressed, fed up, unhappy
exhausted, overtired, sleepy
Grammar and practice p25
Habits
1Key
b, c, d, g
Verb forms in the present simple and the verb
tend to are used to indicate the present, plus use
of frequency adverbs (always, sometimes,
usually).

Oxford University Press COMPULSION UNIT2 9

2Key
e, f
Verb forms such as would and used to and past
simple are used to indicate the past, plus use of
time references like before.
Note that sentence a refers to a single completed
action in the past, not a habit.
3Possible answers
never normally
rarely frequently
hardly ever often
occasionally
4Possible answers
a When people are fed up, they tend to be
miserable, unsociable and unwilling to go out
and do things.
b When people are nervous or embarrassed, they
tend to blush and be unable to speak clearly.
Sometimes they become clumsy.
c When people are excited, they tend to talk and
laugh a lot. They tend to rush about and do a
lot of things.
5Key
The present continuous with always is used to
refer to very frequent actions, especially ones
which the speaker finds annoying.
Used to
7Key
a 3 b 1 c 2
8Key
a ll never get used to d arent used to
b arent used to e m used to
c get used to
Cloze
10 Key
1 used 6 on 11 is
2 taking 7 or 12 the
3 down 8 for 13 of
4 It 9 not 14 by
5 which 10 in 15 anything
Vocabulary p27
1Key
The writer feels a bit defensive that the reader
might laugh at him/her, proud that he/she has
got the addiction under control at the moment,
and also a bit smug that he/she doesnt put on
any weight even when he/she eats a lot of
chocolate.
3Key
cut down reduced
get by survive
light up shine
turns off disgusts
putting on gaining
give up stop
4Key
a 4, 6 c 1, 7 e 3
b 5 d 2
5Key
a give (it) back d give in
b giving it up e giving out
c giving away
Exam techniques p28
Dos and Donts
1Key
1, 2 D/E 7 H
3 A 8, 9, 10 A/F/H
4 G 11, 12 B/G
5 C 13, 14 F/H
6 F 15 A
Vocabulary p30
Comparison
3Key
worse, the least superstitious, as superstitious as,
most natural, more mystical
4Key
a longer, longest; shorter, shortest
b larger, largest; later, latest
c flatter, flattest; thinner, thinnest
10 UNIT 2 COMPULSION

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d heavier, heaviest; funnier, funniest
e more important, most important; more
independent, most independent
f cleverer / more clever, cleverest / most clever;
narrower / more narrow, narrowest / most
narrow
g better, best; worse, worst
h more easily, most easily; more carefully, most
carefully
5Key
very different: far, a lot, much
almost the same: a bit, a little, slightly
6Key
a the unluckiest
b more dangerous
c hotter
d the worst, more neatly
e younger / youngest, cleverer / more clever
f the shortest, the most intelligent
Speaking p31
Long turn
3Possible answer
Photos 1 and 2 show groups of fans shouting and
waving. However, in photo 1 they are all football
supporters, whereas in photo 2 they are cheering
at a singer who appears in the foreground. Fans
like these often behave and dress the same way
so that they can feel part of the same group and
easily identify each other.
4Possible answer
Photos 3 and 4 show people doing activities on
their own. Photo 3 shows a young man playing
pinball, which is a fast and exciting game which
tests reactions, whilst photo 4 shows a young
woman looking after a horse, which is a calmer
and more careful activity. People who like to
concentrate on an activity without needing to
cooperate with others will prefer doing activities
on their own.
Writing p32
Article
1Possible answers
1 on the train / bus, in the bath, when they are
relaxing, in doctors or dentists waiting rooms.
2 It may depend on whether they are interested
in the subject, whether the writing style is
accessible, or how well the article is presented
on the page.
3 Informal the article is intended for young
people, it is about a light-hearted subject and
the title Im just crazy about is an informal
expression.
2Key
a by talking about it from a personal viewpoint
c informal, personal, serious
d paragraph 3
e extreme adjectives, e.g. fantastic, terrifying
Creating interest
3Key
It should attract your attention.
It should make you want to read the article.
It should give you an idea of what the text is
about.
4Possible answers
The title No, Im not completely mad is the most
likely to make somebody want to read on
because it creates an element of mystery. It gives
no idea what the article is going to be about but
suggests that it is something unusual. Readers
may be curious to find out what that is.
Sky-diving for beginners This title is fairly
bland, although it might attract somebody who
wants to learn about sky-diving.
So youd like to try sky-diving This is also fairly
bland, although it is intended as a question
directed at the reader, which might attract
attention.
A complete history of sky-diving This title
suggests something that is serious, dense and
possibly dull.
5Possible answers
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to
fall out of an aeroplane? This sentence
immediately engages the reader by asking a
dramatic question.
The other sentences in comparison are not so
interesting.

Oxford University Press COMPULSION UNIT2 11

Overview p34
1Key
1 the 9 say / claim
2 from 10 after
3 of 11 with
4 in 12 out
5 as 13 to
6 they 14 when / if / whenever
7 Does 15 let
8 Not
2Key
a 2 c 4 e 3
b 5 d 1
3Key
a determined d stubborn
b sleepy e rude
c fed up f assertive
12 UNIT 2 COMPULSION

Oxford University Press