近半年轻人希望互联网永不存在

近日，英国标准协会2025年发布的调查显示，46%的16至21岁英国年轻人更愿意在没有互联网的环境中成长，50%认为禁用互联网能提升幸福感。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. Based on the statistics in the article, which of the following statements is accurate?

A. More than half of the respondents reported any form of deception online.

B. More respondents lied about their age than had burner accounts.

C. Over 70% of respondents felt positively about their time online.

D. The number of respondents who shared their location with strangers was higher than those who pretended to be someone else.

无注释原文：

Almost half of young people would prefer a world without internet, UK study finds

From: The Guardian

Almost half of young people would rather live in a world where the internet does not exist, according to a new survey.

The research reveals that nearly 70% of 16- to 21-year-olds feel worse about themselves after spending time on social media. Half (50%) would support a “digital curfew” that would restrict their access to certain apps and sites past 10pm, while 46% said they would rather be young in a world without the internet altogether.

A quarter of respondents spent four or more hours a day on social media, while 42% of those surveyed admitted to lying to their parents and guardians about what they do online.

While online, 42% said they had lied about their age, 40% admitted to having a decoy or “burner” account, and 27% said they pretended to be a different person completely.

The results came after the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, hinted that the government was weighing up the possibility of making cut-off times mandatory for certain apps such as TikTok and Instagram.

Rani Govender, the policy manager for child safety online at the NSPCC, said that digital curfews, while helpful, could not stop children being exposed to harmful materials online without other measures being put in place.

“We need to make clear that a digital curfew alone is not going to protect children from the risks they face online. They will be able to see all these risks at other points of the day and they will still have the same impact,” she said.

Govender added that the primary focus for companies and the government was to ensure kids are using “much safer and less addictive sites”.

The study, conducted by the British Standards Institution, surveyed 1,293 young people and found that 27% of respondents have shared their location online with strangers.

In the same survey, three-quarters said they had spent more time online as a result of the pandemic, while 68% said they felt the time they spent online was detrimental to their mental health.

Andy Burrows, the chief executive of the suicide prevention charity the Molly Rose Foundation, said it was “clear that young people are aware of the risks online and, what’s more, they want action from tech companies to protect them”.

He added that algorithms can provide content that “can quickly spiral and take young people down rabbit holes of harmful and distressing material through no fault of their own”. New laws were “urgently required to finally embed a safe by design approach to regulation that puts the needs of children and society ahead of those of big tech”, he said.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Almost half of young people would prefer a world without internet, UK study finds

From: The Guardian

Almost half of young people would rather live in a world where the internet does not exist, according to a new survey.

最新调查发现，近一半年轻人宁愿生活在一个没有互联网的世界。

The research reveals that nearly 70% of 16- to 21-year-olds feel worse about themselves after spending time on social media. Half (50%) would support a “digital curfew” that would restrict their access to certain apps and sites past 10pm, while 46% said they would rather be young in a world without the internet altogether.

该研究发现，近七成的16至21岁年轻人在使用社交媒体后感觉自己变得更糟。一半受访者支持设置“数字宵禁”，即限制晚上10点之后使用某些应用和网站，而46%的人表示宁愿在没有互联网的世界中成长。

reveal /rɪˈviːl/ 表示“揭露；泄露；透露”，英文解释为“to make known or show something that is surprising or that was previously secret”举个🌰：He was jailed for revealing secrets to the Russians. 他因为向俄国人泄密而被监禁。

curfew /ˈkɜː.fjuː/ 1）表示“宵禁；宵禁时间”，英文解释为“a law that forces people to stay indoors after a particular time at night, or the time people must be indoors ”举个🌰：They imposed a night-time curfew throughout the country. 他们在全国实施宵禁。

2）也可以表示“（儿童）夜晚一定时间以后不准外出的规定”，英文解释为“a time by which a child must be home in the evening”举个🌰：You'll be in trouble if you get home after curfew. 如果你超过规定时间回家会遇到麻烦的。

A quarter of respondents spent four or more hours a day on social media, while 42% of those surveyed admitted to lying to their parents and guardians about what they do online.

四分之一的年轻人每天花四小时以上刷社交媒体，另有42%的受访者坦言曾向父母或监护人隐瞒自己在网上的行为。

respondent /rɪˈspɒn.dənt/ 表示“回答者；答复者；应答者”，英文解释为“a person who answers a request for information”举个🌰：In a recent opinion poll, a majority of respondents were against nuclear weapons. 在最近的一次民意调查中，大多数调查对象表示反对发展核武器。

guardian /ˈɡɑː.di.ən/ 表示“监护人”，英文解释为“a person who has the legal right and responsibility of taking care of someone who cannot take care of himself or herself, such as a child whose parents have died”举个🌰：The child's parents or guardians must give their consent before she has the operation. 在给这个孩子动手术前，一定要得到她父母或其监护人的同意。

While online, 42% said they had lied about their age, 40% admitted to having a decoy or “burner” account, and 27% said they pretended to be a different person completely.

调查还发现，42%的年轻人在上网时谎报年龄，40%使用虚假或“马甲”账号，27%甚至曾伪装成另一个身份。

decoy /ˈdiː.kɔɪ/ 表示“诱饵，圈套；用作诱饵的人”，英文解释为“something or someone used to trick or confuse people, especially something or someone that is not what they appear to be”

burner /ˈbɜː.nər/ = burner phone 表示“一次性手机”，英文解释为“a mobile phone without a contract, that is typically only used for a short time and then thrown away, for example when you do not want people to have information about you”举个🌰：Prepaid phones known colloquially as "burners" can provide you with partial privacy. 通称为“一次性手机”的预付费电话可以保护部分个人隐私。

这里的burner是指“一次性账号”或“小号”，完整说法是burner account。

The results came after the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, hinted that the government was weighing up the possibility of making cut-off times mandatory for certain apps such as TikTok and Instagram.

这些调查结果发布前，英国科技大臣彼得·凯尔（Peter Kyle）曾透露，英国政府正在考虑是否强制对TikTok和Instagram等应用设定使用时间限制。

hint /hɪnt/ 作名词，1）表示“暗示，提示，示意”，英文解释为“something that you say or do that shows what you think or want, usually in a way that is not direct”举个🌰：He's dropped (= given) several hints to the boss that he'll quit if he doesn't get a promotion. 他已经向老板暗示了好几次，如果不获得升职他就会辞职。

2）表示“建议”，英文解释为“a piece of advice that helps you to do something”举个🌰：Could you give us a hint about how to do this exercise, please? 你能不能给我们一些关于如何做这个练习的建议？

3）表示“很少量”，英文解释为“a very small amount of something”举个🌰：There's just a hint of brandy in the sauce. 调味汁中只有很少的白兰地。

作动词，表示“暗示，示意”，英文解释为“to suggest something in an indirect way, but so that someone can guess your meaning”举个🌰：What are you hinting at? 你在暗示什么？

weigh sth up表示“就…仔细考虑（利弊）；就…权衡”，英文解释为“to think carefully about the advantages or disadvantages of a situation before making a decision”举个🌰：I'm weighing up my options before I decide to apply for the job. 我在权衡自己的选择，然后再决定是否要申请那份工作。

weigh sb/sth up 表示“估计（形势）；评估（某人的能力、品质）”，英文解释为“to form an opinion about someone's abilities and character or a situation by thinking about him, her, or it carefully”举个🌰：I weighed up my chances of escape, and decided to wait for a better moment. 估量了一下逃跑的胜算有多大后，我决定等待一个更好的时机。

mandatory /ˈmæn.də.tər.i/ 表示“强制的；必须履行的；法定的”，英文解释为“Something that is mandatory must be done, or is demanded by law.”举个🌰：Athletes must undergo a mandatory drugs test before competing in the championship. 运动员在锦标赛前必须进行强制性药检。

Rani Govender, the policy manager for child safety online at the NSPCC, said that digital curfews, while helpful, could not stop children being exposed to harmful materials online without other measures being put in place.

英国防止虐待儿童协会（NSPCC）网络儿童安全政策主任拉妮·戈文德（Rani Govender）表示，数字宵禁虽能发挥一定作用，但若无配套措施，仍难阻止儿童接触网络上的有害信息。

“We need to make clear that a digital curfew alone is not going to protect children from the risks they face online. They will be able to see all these risks at other points of the day and they will still have the same impact,” she said.

她指出：“必须清楚一点，数字宵禁并非万能。孩子们仍可能在一天中的其他时间接触那些风险，其造成的负面影响也不会减少。”

Govender added that the primary focus for companies and the government was to ensure kids are using “much safer and less addictive sites”.

戈文德补充说，企业与政府的首要任务应是确保儿童接触的是“更加安全且不易上瘾的网站”。

The study, conducted by the British Standards Institution, surveyed 1,293 young people and found that 27% of respondents have shared their location online with strangers.

由英国标准协会（British Standards Institution）进行的这项研究调查了1,293名年轻人，发现其中27%曾在网上与陌生人分享自己的位置信息。

In the same survey, three-quarters said they had spent more time online as a result of the pandemic, while 68% said they felt the time they spent online was detrimental to their mental health.

这项调查还显示，有四分之三的年轻人因疫情增加了上网时间，68%的人认为这对他们的心理健康产生了负面影响。

1）作名词，表示“（全国或全球性）流行病；大流行病”，英文解释为“a disease that spreads over a whole country or the whole world”

2）作形容词，表示“（疾病）大规模流行的，广泛蔓延的”，英文解释为“(of a disease) existing in almost all of an area or in almost all of a group of people, animals, or plants”举个🌰：In some parts of the world malaria is still pandemic. 在世界上一些地区疟疾仍在大规模流行。

对比：

📍epidemic表示“流行病”，英文解释为“a large number of cases of a particular disease happening at the same time in a particular community”，如：the outbreak of a flu epidemic 流感的爆发。

detrimental /ˌdet.rɪˈmen.təl/ 表示“有危害的，有损害的”，英文解释为“causing harm or damage”举个🌰：These chemicals have a detrimental effect/impact on the environment. 这些化学品对环境有危害。

Andy Burrows, the chief executive of the suicide prevention charity the Molly Rose Foundation, said it was “clear that young people are aware of the risks online and, what's more, they want action from tech companies to protect them”.

自杀预防慈善机构莫莉·罗斯基金会（Molly Rose Foundation）首席执行官安迪·伯罗斯（Andy Burrows）表示，“很明显，年轻人意识到了网络风险，并且迫切希望科技公司能采取措施保护他们。”

He added that algorithms can provide content that “can quickly spiral and take young people down rabbit holes of harmful and distressing material through no fault of their own”. New laws were “urgently required to finally embed a safe by design approach to regulation that puts the needs of children and society ahead of those of big tech”, he said.

他进一步指出，推荐算法“会在不知不觉中把年轻人引入一个又一个充满痛苦与有害信息的深渊”，而这一切并非他们自己的过错。他表示，亟需制定新法律，把“安全即设计”的原则真正纳入监管体系，将儿童与社会的福祉置于科技巨头的利益之上。

algorithm /ˈælɡəˌrɪðəm/ 表示“算法；计算程序”，英文解释为“a set of rules that must be followed when solving a particular problem”

spiral /ˈspaɪr.əl/ 作动词，1）表示“呈螺旋式上升（或下降）；盘旋上升（或下降）”，英文解释为“to move in a spiral”举个🌰：With one wing damaged, the model airplane spiralled downwards. 模型飞机的一个机翼坏了，盘旋着下坠。

2）表示“（费用、价格等）急剧增长，急速上升”，英文解释为“If costs, prices, etc. spiral, they increase faster and faster.”举个🌰：Spiralling costs have squeezed profits. 急剧上升的成本压缩了利润空间。

3）表示“（形势）急剧恶化”，英文解释为“If a situation spirals, it quickly gets worse in a way that becomes more and more difficult to control.”

作名词，表示“逐渐加速上升（或下降）”，英文解释为“a continuous harmful increase or decrease in sth, that gradually gets faster and faster”如：measures to control the inflationary spiral 控制日益恶化的通货膨胀的措施。

spiral也可以指的是人情绪或思维“螺旋式下滑”、失控发展的过程。spiral通常用来描述：情绪从轻微的焦虑迅速演变成严重的恐慌；思维在消极方向越陷越深（如过度担忧、自我否定）；情绪波动时“越想越糟”，不断循环。

rabbit hole /ˈræb.ɪt ˌhəʊl/ 字面意思“兔子洞”，比喻的是，进入未知世界，未知领域的入口；陷入一个愈发奇怪、令人摸不着头脑或出人意料的状况，无法脱身，深陷…...之中无法自拔，英文解释为“a complexly bizarre or difficult state or situation conceived of as a hole into which one falls or descends；one in which the pursuit of something (such as an answer or solution) leads to other questions, problems, or pursuits”

embed /ɪmˈbed/ 表示“把…牢牢嵌入（或插入、埋入）”，英文解释为“to fix something firmly into a substance”

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