【内容概述】

網絡成瘾是一種相對具有争議性的病症。雖然沉迷網絡沒有被所有醫生認定為是一種疾病，但是很多人都發現自己在生活中有過度使用網絡的情況。通過本文的學習，你可以發現自己是否已經是網絡沉迷者，或者說患有“網絡成瘾症”。畢竟，再有用的東西都可能是很危險的。

【美文賞讀】

Internet addiction^[1] is a relatively new and controversial disorder(有争議的病症). Though it is still not recognized as a specific disorder by all doctors, many people see the signs of Internet overuse in their lives and trying to fight it.

Most compulsive（強迫性的、成性的） computer users are hooked^[2] on a few specific activities: online buying or gambling, online relationships (including social networking社交網站), computer games, and compulsive data searching. These are activities that many of us often perform. Some people, however, find them hard to stop. Their online activities may become more important than their "real-life" activities. They may allow relationships to die^[3]because they only spend time with Internet friends. They may be unable to stop playing video games and ignore chores^[4] or family time. People often turn to the Internet for stress relief^[5], or to get away from their problems for a few minutes. However, they may become too dependent on escaping into the Internet. The Internet becomes a destructive force in their lives.

To check for possible Internet addition or compulsion(強迫), doctors ask a few key questions. They ask about whether spending time online is affecting your school or work performance. They ask if family or friends complain about your Internet use and if you form more new relationships online than offline. They ask if you worry that life without the Internet would be useless and boring, if you often stay online longer than you intended^[6], or if you lie about how long you've been in front of the computer.

We use the Internet so much that an unhealthy addiction can be hard to spot^[7]. Think carefully about how you use the Internet. Even useful tools can be dangerous.

【精品注釋】

[1] addiction是名詞，詞義是“沉溺，瘾”，既可以做可數名詞，也可以做不可數名詞使用。另外addiction的同根詞還有“addict”，詞義為“有瘾的人、沉迷于某事物的人”，如：She is a TV addict(她是個電視迷)；另外形容詞addicted也是非常常用的一個詞，有短語“become/be/get addicted to”表示“沉迷于某事物”。

[2] hook本身的意思是“鈎住”，“be hooked on sb./sth.”是一個常見的俚語，意思是“愛上、迷戀上某人（某事物）”。

[3] die應該是學習者非常熟悉的一個簡單詞彙，這裡不是表示“死”，而是做比喻的含義“消失、消亡”。這句話的意思是：他們可能因為隻花時間跟網友相處而斷了原本的人際關系。

[4] chore的意思是“日常雜活”，是很實用的一個名詞，也可以指令人讨厭的人或事物。如：I find teaching a chore. 我發現教書很煩人。

[5] stress relief的意思是緩解壓力，relief的基本詞義是“減輕、解除”，後面常接介詞from，如：Your words bring me relief from anxiety. 你的話讓我不那麼焦慮了。relief 的動詞形式是relieve，如：These pills will relieve your discomfort. 這些藥物會讓你解除不适感。

[6] intend是高中英語中非常重要的一個詞彙，基本詞義是“打算，計劃”。這句話是一個比較狀語從句，意思是“你上網時間是不是經常比你原先估計的要長？”要詳細學習intend這個詞彙，請參見intend的用法。

[7] spot的意思是“發現、找到、認出”，一般指從許多的人和事物中找到。例如：I am afraid I can't spot you in the crowd. 我恐怕無法從人群中找到你。