本文选自吴应时主编的《大学英语六级阅读真题精读——晨读伴侣》。本书对历年国家大学英语六级考试（CET-6）的仔细阅读部分进行了详尽而精准的分析、翻译和注释，对四六级考生有着事半功倍的效果，对提升整体英语能力也很有帮助。

学习导读：

还记得小时候看过的香港电影《古惑仔》吗？我想，男生应该不会陌生，当年那种崇尚兄弟义气、暴力美学的电影是否真的对我们的成长带来了负面的影响呢？这个问题正好是本文所关心的。如果有学者告诉你，其实这些影片跟犯罪率没有相关性，你会不会觉得奇怪呢，然而事实又是怎样的呢？看看这篇文章吧。

There are good reasons 1   to be troubled [by the violence] (that spreads [throughout] the media.) Movies, television and video games are full of gunplay 2 and bloodshed 3, and one might [reasonably] ask what’s wrong [with a society] (that presents videos of domestic violence ent>.)

我们有充分的理由担忧通过媒体所传播的暴力。电影，电视和电游都充斥着枪战和流血。人们很可能会问，这样一个以放映家庭暴力影片为乐的社会怎么了？

注：1. good reasons有理由，常用在表达肯定的句式中。例：

Even so, there are good reasons to think that public disappointment will not boil over.

即便如此，有理由相信公众的失望不会太汹涌。

[boil over沸腾溢出，发怒。选自：ECONOMIST: War in Libya]

2. gunplay n.（美）枪战；射击技巧。一个普通名词，给大家准备几个常用的词组。

a gunplay花园抢战

gunplay and bloodshed枪战和血腥

fisticuffs and gunplay打斗和枪战

3. bloodshed n. 流血；杀戮。例：

The government must increase the pace of reforms to avoid further bloodshed.

政府必须加快改革的步伐以避免更多的流血事件。

So these people are quite used to a lot of fighting and a lot of bloodshed.

于是，阿富汗人民对于流血冲突早就习以为常了。

[选自：CNN: A rare view from inside Afghanistan]

Most researchers agree that the causes (of real-world violence) are complex. A 1993 study [by the U.S. National Academy] (of Sciences) listed “biological 1, individual, family, peer 2  , school, and community factors” .

大多数研究者都认为，现实世界中引起暴力的原因很复杂。1993年一项美国国家科学院的研究列明，“生理，个人，家庭，同伴，学校，社会因素”都是其因。

注：1. biological adj. 生物的；生物学的

The living organisms somehow concentrated the minerals by biological processes.

活的有机物以某种方式随其生命过程聚集了矿物质。

Biological agents are not volatile, that is they do not evaporate into the air.

生物制剂比较稳定，即它们不会挥发到空气中。

[选自：CNN: David Siegrist: The threat from biological terrorism]

2. peer vi. 凝视，盯着看；窥视  

vt. 封为贵族；与…同等

n. 贵族；同等的人，同辈。例：

I had been peering at a computer print-out that made no sense at all.

我一直在费力地看一份不知所云的电脑打印稿。

His engaging personality made him popular with his peers.

他迷人的个性使他很受同龄人欢迎。

海外留学生很喜欢说同学、朋友很优秀，给自己带来了压力，这种就是peer pressure。例：

The phrase "peer pressure" is used to describe the influence a peer group can exert on a teen's decisions.

“同辈压力”这个词用来描述一个少年的决定会受同龄人影响。

[选自：CNN: 'Glee' sends wrong message on teen sex]

Viewing abnormally large amounts of violent television and video games may [well] contribute to violent behavior [in certain individuals]. The trouble comes [when researchers downplay 1 uncertainties [in their studies] or overstate 2 the case [for causality].] Skeptics 3   were dismayed 4 [several years ago] [when a group of societies [including the American Medical Association] tried to end the debate [by issuing a joint 5 statement: “[At this time], well over 1,000 studies… point [overwhelmingly] to a causal connection (between media violence and aggressive behavior) [in some children]].”]

观看充斥着暴力的电视节目和视频游戏可能会促使某类人产生暴力行为。当研究人员淡化他们研究上的不确定性或夸大因果关系的时候，问题接踵而至。数年前，一些社会团体，其中包括美国医学会发表联合声明以试图结束争论，声明写道：“这一次，超过1000个研究压倒性地揭示了一些孩子的暴力行为与充斥暴力的媒体之间的因果关系。”这让对因果关系感到怀疑的人们颇为沮丧。

注：1. downplay vt. 不予重视；将...轻描淡写。例：

Police sources yesterday downplayed the significance of the security breach.

警方昨天的消息对这次安全缺口的重要性轻描淡写。

But he appeared to downplay the seriousness of the attack, describing it as a minor incident.

但他试图将这次严重的袭击轻描淡写为一次微不足道的意外。

[选自：BBC: Skirmish on Thai-Cambodia border]

2. overstate vt. 夸张；夸大的叙述。例：

The authors no doubt overstated their case with a view to catching the public's attention.

作者们毫无疑问地夸大了他们的情形以吸引公众的注意力。

Because it's hard to overstate the impact that he had on all of our lives.

因为很难夸大乔布斯对我们所有人生活的影响。

[选自：MSN: 'End of an era': Apple co-founder Steve Jobs remembered]

3. skeptic n. 怀疑论者；怀疑者；无神论者

Thomas, the skeptic, was a believer.

托马斯，这个怀疑论者，之前是信徒。

[was代表了过去时，说明之前是，现在不是了。]

But now let me explain why you should not be a skeptic, at least not any longer.

不过现在，让我来向你解释为什么你不应该是怀疑论者，至少之后不是了。

[选自：WSJ: Richard A. Muller: The Case Against Global-Warming Skepticism]

4. dismay n. 沮丧，灰心；惊慌  vt. 使沮丧；使惊慌。例：

Local politicians have reacted with dismay and indignation.

当地政客们作出了恐慌和愤慨的反应。

The committee was dismayed by what it had been told.

该委员会被所告知的情况搞得焦虑不安。

Not all state officials were dismayed by the possibility of broad-based cuts in federal aid.

不是所有的政府官员对于可能的大范围削减财政资助感到沮丧。

[选自：NPR: Debt Ceiling Fix Could Mean Problems For States]

5. joint n. 关节；接缝；接合处，接合点；（牛，羊等的腿）大块肉

adj. 共同的；连接的；联合的，合办的

vt. 连接，贴合；接合；使有接头

vi. 贴合；生节。Joint在原文中指联合，发表了联合声明，而经济方面则惯用合资企业。例：

Her joints ache if she exercises.

她的关节一运动就疼。

She and Frank had never got around to opening a joint account.

她和弗兰克还没能抽出时间开个联名账户。

[联名账户在夫妻间很常用。]

It's unclear when the plant, a joint venture of Toyota and Panasonic, will start running again.

还不知道这个由丰田和松下合资的企业何时会重新营运。

[选自：MSN: Quake shows weak link in global supply chains]

(Freedom-of-speech) advocates accused the societies (of catering to 1 politicians), and [even] disputed 2 the number of studies [most] were review articles and essays, they said. [When Jonathan Freedman, {a social psychologist at the University of Toronto}, reviewed the literature,] he found [only] 200 or so studies (of television-watching and aggression 3  ). And [when he weeded out 4 “the most doubtful measures of aggression”,] only 28% supported a connection.

维护言论自由的人士批评这些社团迎合政客，甚至反驳说大部分的所谓研究都是评论文章和随笔。多伦多大学的社会心理学家乔纳森·弗里德曼回顾了这些文献，他发现只有大约200个研究是关于看电视和暴力关系的。而当他排除了“最值得怀疑的暴力方式”之后，只有28%的文献支持了相关关系。

注：1. cater to 迎合；为…服务；设法适应(…的需要)；迎合(…的爱好)。例：

TV programmes should cater to all tastes.

电视节目应当迎合各种人的不同口味。

The Aakash would cater to many more people, but it is not for sale yet.

Aakash平板电脑会迎合更多的用户，但目前尚未开售。

[选自：CNN: Announcing the $49 computer tablet][tablet平板电脑，一般苹果的平板电脑倾向用pad。]

2. dispute vt. 辩论；怀疑；阻止；抗拒

vi. 争论

n.辩论；争吵。该词的名词形式其实更为常用。

in dispute在争议中；处于争议中；争议中；在争论中

dispute about争论；辩论

labour dispute劳资争议；劳资纠纷；劳动争议。例：

He disputed the allegations.

他驳斥了这些无根据的指控。

They have won previous pay disputes with the government.

他们曾赢过前几起与政府的工资纠纷。

Now, that's just the fact, Mike, and I don't think anybody would dispute that.

迈克，现在这就是事实，而且我并不觉得有人会反对这个。

[选自：WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Takes Questions at GOP House Issues Conference]

3. aggression n. 侵略；进攻；侵犯；侵害。在文中，该词偏向于中文语境下的暴力之意。例：

The imperialists use this ideology and culture as a lever for easily realizing their domination and subjugation, aggression and plunder of other countries.

帝国主义者使用这种思想和文化作为一种杠杆，轻易地实现其统治、征服、侵略以及掠夺他国的目的。

Almost all correctly answered that running from a bear can trigger aggression in the animal.

几乎所有人都答对了遇到狗熊就逃跑会激发这种动物的侵略性。

[选自：NPR: After Attacks, A Renewed Focus On Bear Safety][句子中answer作动词，不要想当然觉得是正确的回答而把answer理解为名词了。]

4. weed out 清除；淘汰；除去。例：

He is eager to weed out the many applicants he believes may be frauds.

他急于剔除那些他认为可能是行骗的申请人。

But they could not weed out what those factors might be.

但他们无法排除这些因素的可能情况。

[选自：MSN: Risk factors for autism remain elusive: study]

The critical point here is causality. The alarmists 1   say they have proved that violent media cause aggression. But the assumptions (behind their observations) need to be examined. [When labeling 2 games as violent or non-violent], should a hero eating a ghost [really] be counted  3   a violent event>? And [when experimenters record the time (it takes game players [to read “aggressive” or “non-aggressive” words] [from a list],)] can we be sure what they are [actually] measuring? The intent 4   (of the new Harvard Center) [on Media and Child Health] [to collect and standardize studies (of media violence)] [in order to compare their methodologies 5], assumptions and conclusions is an important step [in the right direction].

而关键点是因果关系。忧虑人士说他们已经证明了充斥暴力的媒体会导致暴力。但他们观察背后的假设需要进一步检验。当以暴力或非暴力来给一个游戏贴上标签时，那么英雄吃鬼难道真的要被定义为暴力事件吗？而实验人员记录玩家从列表上读到“暴力”或“非暴力”的词语所花费的时间，我们又是否能够确切地知道他们这是在测什么呢？新哈佛媒体和儿童健康中心的目标是收集和规范传媒暴力方面的研究，以比较它们的研究方法，假设和结论是正确方向上的重要一步。

注：1. alarmist n. 杞人忧天者；大惊小怪者

adj. 危言耸听的；忧虑的。例：

Contrary to the more alarmist reports, he is not going to die.

与那些危言耸听的报道相反，他不会有事的。

[中文忌讳说“死”字，所以翻译时酌情处理。]

According to alarmist groups, this proves global warming is much worse than previously feared.

忧虑团体指，这证实全球变暖比以往所担心的还要严重得多。

[选自：FORBES: Ten Years And Counting: Where's The Global Warming?]

2. labeling n. 标签；标记；[计] 标号

v. 贴标签；分类（label的现在分词）。例：

Their biggest advantage for agencies is that they offer private labeling of their technology, so you can offer your own testing solution to your clients.

他们最大的优势是他们的代理中介可以提供私人标签，因此你可以为客户提供你自己的测试解决方案。

But inevitability is merely an illusory label we impose on that which has already happened.

但“必然性”不过是我们为那些已经发生的事情所贴上的虚假标签。

[选自：CNN: Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945)]

3. be counted as 被看作。例：

Singapore can nonetheless be counted as another Asian neighbour increasingly in China’s economic sphere of influence.

新加坡仍然被当作在中国经济的影响范围下方才日益增长的另一个亚洲邻国。

Of course, it's not counted as capital expenditure, so Mr Brown has fiddled the figures.

显而易见，这笔款项不能当做经费开销处理，所以布朗先生把数据做错了。

[选自：BBC: NEWS | Programmes | Panorama | Your Comments]

4. intent n. 意图；目的；含义

adj. 专心的；急切的；坚决的。例：

The timing of this strong statement of intent on arms control is crucial.

目的在实施军备控制的强硬声明，其发表时机至关重要。

The rebels are obviously intent on keeping up the pressure.

反叛分子显然决心继续施加压力。

As a result, Robert is intent on perfecting a method for healing burn victims.

于是，罗伯特想让治疗烫伤患者的方法更加完美。

[选自：CNN: Review: 'The Skin I Live In' is skillful and intriguing]

5. methodology n. 方法学，方法论。

survey methodology社会统计调查；测量方法学；调查方法；进行调研方法

sociological Methodology社会学方法论；社会学方法

research Methodology研究方法；研究方法论；研究方法学；查找资料方法。例：

Teaching methodologies vary according to the topic.

教学方法因题目而不同。

We have to change the methodology by which we try to understand the universe.

我们不得不调整我们试图用来探索宇宙的研究方法。

[选自：MSN: Is there anything to the 'Theory of Everything'?]

Another appropriate step would be to tone down the criticism [until we know [more].] Several researchers write, speak and testify 1   [quite a lot] [on the threat] (posed by violence in the media). That is, ^of course^, their privilege 2. But [when doing so,] they [often] come out [with statements] {that the matter has [now] been settled,} [drawing criticism from colleagues].) ^In response 3^, the alarmists accuse critics and news reporters (of being deceived by the entertainment industry). Such clashes 4   help neither science nor society.

正确的第二步是在我们更了解之前，要少做批评。一些研究人员频繁写文章、做讲演并且证实由媒体所传播的暴力的危害。当然，这是他们的特权。但这样做的时候，他们经常站出来声明，因果关系已经坐实，而这往往招来同行的批评。作为回应，忧虑人士指责评论家和新闻记者都被娱乐行业骗了。这样的冲突对科学、对社会而言，都无益处。

注：1. testify vt. 证明，证实；作证

vi. 作证；证明。

testify falsely作伪证

to testify作证；证明

criminal Testify刑事见证。例：

Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face.

几个目击者证明他们看到那些警察们打了米勒的脸。

In the end Clinton chose to stick with his plan to testify next Monday.

最终，克林顿决定坚持他的计划，以在下周二证明。

[选自：CNN: Over To You, Bill]

2. privilege n. 特权；优待；基本权利

vt. 给与…特权；特免。例：

The Russian Federation has issued a decree abolishing special privileges for government officials.

俄罗斯联邦已颁布了一条取消政府官员特权的法令。

I've had the privilege and honor to work for him, spend time with him.

和他共事、和他共度时光，是我无上的荣幸和荣誉。

[选自：NPR: Bradley Replaces Paterno As Penn State Coach]

3. in response 作为回答。其后往往接介词to。例：

But with coevolution-change changing in response to itself-you can win without beating others.

但是在共同进化中——变化是响应自身而变化——不用打击他人就能赢。

Where we may actually feel their pain and sing words of encouragement in response.

在那些我们可能切身感受到他们的痛楚之地，我们报之以歌，给予鼓励。

[选自：FORBES: My Body Sings The Social Electric: Health In The Age of Trillions]

4. clash n. 冲突，不协调；碰撞声，铿锵声

vi. 冲突，抵触；砰地相碰撞，发出铿锵声

vt. 使碰撞作声。例：

There have been a number of clashes between police in riot gear and demonstrators.

穿防暴服的警察和示威者之间发生过多次冲突。

Don't make any policy decisions which clash with official company thinking.

不要做与公司官方理念有分歧的任何政策性决定。

Today sees the big clash of ideas that this election has been waiting for.

这次选举所期待的观念冲突将在今天得以呈现。

[选自：BBC: The Campaign Today with Nick Robinson]