单选题 Imagine, if you will, the average games player. What do you see? A guy who never grew up? Or a nervous 18-year-old pushing buttons on his controller, lost and alone in a violent onscreen world? Sorry, you lose. The average gamer is starting to look pretty much like the average person. For the first time, according to a US poll commissioned by AOL Games, roughly half of those surveyed, ages 12 to 55, are tapping away at some kind of electronic game — whether on a PC, a cell phone or another handheld device — for an average of three hours every week.
The games people play say a lot about who they are. Machines like the Xbox and PlayStation 2 are largely the territory of twenty-something men, who prefer to picture themselves as sports stars and racing drivers. Men of 50 and older prefer military games. Teenage girls are much more likely than boys to play games on their phone, while older women make up the majority of people playing card games such as Hearts on line.
Is it a good thing, all this time spent on games, or is it as harmful as television, pulling people ever further from reality? The AOL survey suggests some players are in denial about the extent of their habit. One in ten gamers find it impossible to resist games; one in four admits to losing a night's sleep to play games; and another quarter has been too absorbed to have meals.
But don't think we're all heading into a world with everyone plugged into, if not totally controlled by, his own game. Quite the contrary: garners appear to be more engaged with reality than other kinds of couch potatoes. According to a comprehensive survey by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA — whose members, of course, want you to think video games are healthy), garners spend an average of 23 hours a week volunteering and going to church, concerts, museums and other cultural events. More enthusiastic garners who play 11 hours a week or more spend ever more time out in the cultural world (34 hours).

单选题 The AOL survey finds that electronic games ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】分析推理题。短文一开篇即提出问题，让读者想像普通的游戏玩家是个什么样子，接着列举了读者可能想到的两种人：a guy who never grew up(永远也长不大的家伙)和a nervous 18-year-old(神经兮兮的18岁小伙子)，然后对此予以了否定；因为这两种人都是年轻人，因此作者的意思显然是说不止是年轻人在玩游戏。在第六句，作者指出：The average gamer is...the average person(普通游戏玩家开始看起来与常人无异)；然后介绍了AOL Games所做的调查，指出调查对象ages 12 to 55(年龄从12岁到55岁)，这些人都在玩游戏。结合这些可推知，作者认为已经不再是只有年轻人玩游戏了，故本题答案为[C]。

单选题 Who does the author say tend to identify themselves with the characters in the game?

单选题 When asked about the extent of their habit, some players ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】细节题。由题干中的the extent of their habit可迅速将研读重点定位到第三段第二句: ... some players are in denial about the extent of their habit(一些玩家否认其上瘾程度)，其意并不是他们否认自己受到电子游戏影响([B]项)，而是否认自己已经玩电子游戏成瘾，也就是他们不认为自己玩电子游戏已经到了成瘾的严重程度，因此本题答案是[A]。其余两项都明显不合原文。

单选题 It can he inferred from the text that ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】推理判断题。由于选项内容都是在电视(观众)和游戏(玩家)之间进行比较，故可据此迅速将研读重心定位到短文第三、四两段。在第三段第一句中，作者提问: ...or is it as harmful as television...? 而在第四段第二句，作者指出: ...gamers appear to be more engaged with reality than other kinds of couch potatoes(游戏玩家似乎比其他各类电视迷更多地融于现实)，由此不难看出，作者认为电子游戏没有电视对人的危害大。许多考生误选，是没有理解这一句中couch potato这个习语的意思，它指“终日懒散在家的人，总是坐着或躺着的人”，尤指“电视迷”。