英国禁止16岁以下人群使用部分社交媒体平台

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. The phrase "Right diagnosis, wrong cure" in the final paragraph is used to suggest that:

A. The UK government correctly identified the problem but chose an ineffective solution.

B. The ban is a medical remedy for a technological illness.

C. Experts agree with the ban but disagree on its implementation.

D. The email writer believes the ban will cure all online harms.

无注释原文：

Social media ban - bold and blunt, but no silver bullet

From: BBC

When I arrived at 10 Downing Street this morning to hear the prime minister announce the UK's social media ban for under-16s, I had to hand in my phone for security reasons.

The temporary anxiety it gave me was perhaps a small insight into how many of the nation's 13 to 15-year-olds were feeling, as they too waited to hear the outcome of months of discussion and speculation about their online lives.

Sir Keir Starmer's news was bold and blunt: yes there will be a ban, yes it will follow Australia's model and yes, there will be additional curbs which will impact older children, aged 16 and 17, as well.

A night-time curfew is expected to be part of this. The UK's plan had been dubbed "Australia Plus" and now we know why.

But Australia's ban has faced well-documented problems, not least because the majority of children who had social media accounts before the ban was enforced in December, still have them.

The response from the UK government is the same answer I hear every time there's an online safety intervention.

There is talk that the ban will not be a "silver bullet" but will still make some difference.

Sir Keir made several comparisons to laws about drinking alcohol: we know some teens under the age of 18 still drink, but we also know there are plenty of times when the law prevents it.

But we also know that 16-year-olds can still legally have sex, join the armed forces, and in some parts of the UK get married and vote in some elections.

Can they not also be trusted on Instagram at night?

Given how many horror stories I have heard during the course of my career about children coming to harm on gaming platforms and forums, it was surprising to learn that they will be exempt.

However they will have to disable livestreaming, as that is included in the ban.

The big question of course is how this is actually going to work.

I did ask the PM but he didn't directly tell me. Australia's failing is believed to be in weak age verification methods adopted by the tech companies.

I've heard from a couple of fuming industry contacts today that they were under the impression that it would be up to Apple and Google to gatekeep devices (as most people own either an Apple or Android phone).

This would mean when someone aged under 16 sets up a device in the UK, they can't download banned apps from the app stores.

The people I spoke to are blindsided that this no longer appears to be the case and it will be down to the individual platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and the rest.

And the deadline for them to figure out a better alternative is short: less than a year to meet the proposed implementation next spring.

Other experts argue that toxic online behaviour is a societal rather than a technology problem, and the blunt instrument of blocking the tech altogether on its own is not the solution.

"Right diagnosis, wrong cure" was the headline of one email in my inbox earlier today.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为BBC官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Social media ban - bold and blunt, but no silver bullet

From: BBC

When I arrived at 10 Downing Street this morning to hear the prime minister announce the UK's social media ban for under-16s, I had to hand in my phone for security reasons.

今天早上我抵达唐宁街10号（10 Downing Street），准备聆听首相宣布英国针对16岁以下青少年的社群媒体禁令时，基于安全理由，我必须交出手机。

The temporary anxiety it gave me was perhaps a small insight into how many of the nation's 13 to 15-year-olds were feeling, as they too waited to hear the outcome of months of discussion and speculation about their online lives.

这种短暂的不安，或许让我稍微体会到，当全国13至15岁的青少年等待听到关于他们线上生活、经过数月讨论和揣测后的结果时，他们有什么感受。

speculation /ˌspek.jəˈleɪ.ʃən/ 1）表示“推测；猜测；推断”，英文解释为“the act of forming opinions about what has happened or what might happen without knowing all the facts”举个🌰：There was widespread speculation that she was going to resign. 人们纷纷推测她将辞职。

2）表示“投机，投机买卖”，英文解释为“the act of speculating in order to make a profit”

Sir Keir Starmer's news was bold and blunt: yes there will be a ban, yes it will follow Australia's model and yes, there will be additional curbs which will impact older children, aged 16 and 17, as well.

基尔·斯塔默爵士（Sir Keir Starmer）带来的消息既大胆又直接：是的，将实施禁令；是的，将仿效澳洲模式；而且，是的，还会有额外限制，也将影响到较年长的青少年——16和17岁族群。

blunt /blʌnt/  作动词，表示“使变钝”，英文解释为“to make something less sharp” 也可以表示“使（情感）减弱”，英文解释为“to make a feeling less strong”举个🌰：My recent bad experience has blunted my enthusiasm for travel. 最近的倒霉经历已经使我对旅游的热情减弱了不少。

作形容词，1）表示“（铅笔、刀等）钝的，不锋利的”，英文解释为“A blunt pencil, knife, etc. is not sharp and therefore not able to write, cut, etc. well.”

2）表示“直率的；生硬的；直截了当的”，英文解释为“saying what you think without trying to be polite or considering other people's feelings”举个🌰：I'll be blunt - that last piece of work you did was terrible. 我就直说了——你创作的最后一件作品糟糕透了。

可以作动词，也可以作名词，表示“控制，抑制，限定，约束（不好的事物）”，英文解释为“to control or limit sth, especially sth bad”举个🌰：A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。（名词）He called for much stricter curbs on immigration. 他呼吁对移民实行更为严格的限制。

A night-time curfew is expected to be part of this. The UK's plan had been dubbed "Australia Plus" and now we know why.

预计夜间宵禁将是其中一部分。英国的方案被称为“澳洲加强版（Australia Plus）”，现在我们明白原因了。

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。

dub /dʌb/ 1）表示“把…称为”，英文解释为“If someone or something is dubbed a particular thing, they are given that description or name.”举个🌰：Today's session has been widely dubbed as a "LearnAndRecord" meeting. 今天的会议被大众称为LearnAndRecord的会议。

2）表示“为（影片或声道等）配音”，英文解释为“If a film or soundtrack in a foreign language is dubbed, a new soundtrack is added with actors giving a translation.”举个🌰：It was dubbed into Spanish for Mexican audiences. 它已为墨西哥观众配成西班牙语了。

But Australia's ban has faced well-documented problems, not least because the majority of children who had social media accounts before the ban was enforced in December, still have them.

但是，澳洲的禁令已面临众所周知的问题，其中最重要的是，在去年12月禁令生效前已拥有社交媒体帐号的大多数儿童，仍然保留这些帐号。

well-documented 表示“有大量文件记载的；书面证据充分的；显而易见的”，英文解释为“having been often recorded”举个🌰：The medicinal value of garlic is well documented. 有大量文献记载了大蒜的药用价值。

enforce /ɪnˈfɔːs/ 表示“使服从（法律）；（强制）实行，执行，把…强加于”，英文解释为“to make people obey a law, or to make a particular situation happen or be accepted”举个🌰：The new teacher had failed to enforce any sort of discipline. 这位新教师一点都管不住学生，搞得纪律涣散。

The response from the UK government is the same answer I hear every time there's an online safety intervention.

英国政府的回应，与每当推出网络安全措施时我所听到的说法如出一辙。

intervention /ˌɪn.təˈven.ʃən/ 表示“干涉，介入；（由家庭成员、朋友或医护人员共同开会劝导有酗酒或毒瘾问题者接受现实并开始治疗的）干预活动”，英文解释为“Intervention is the act of intervening in a situation. A meeting at which someone with a drug or alcohol problem is asked by family members, friends, or health workers to accept the fact that they have a problem and is encouraged to get treatment”

There is talk that the ban will not be a "silver bullet" but will still make some difference.

有人指出，这项禁令不会是“万灵丹”，但仍会带来一些改变。

silver bullet /ˌsɪl.və ˈbʊl.ɪt/ 表示“银弹（指针对复杂问题的简单解决办法），良方，高招”，英文解释为“a simple solution to a complicated problem”

Sir Keir made several comparisons to laws about drinking alcohol: we know some teens under the age of 18 still drink, but we also know there are plenty of times when the law prevents it.

基尔·斯塔默爵士多次将其和饮酒法律作比较：我们知道一些未满18岁的青少年仍会饮酒，但我们也知道法律在许多情况下确实能够阻止这种行为。

But we also know that 16-year-olds can still legally have sex, join the armed forces, and in some parts of the UK get married and vote in some elections.

但我们也知道，16岁的人仍然可以合法发生性关系、加入军队，并在英国部分地区结婚及在某些选举中投票。

Can they not also be trusted on Instagram at night?

难道他们在夜间使用Instagram就不能被信任吗？

Given how many horror stories I have heard during the course of my career about children coming to harm on gaming platforms and forums, it was surprising to learn that they will be exempt.

考虑到我在职业生涯中听过许多关于儿童在游戏平台和论坛上受到伤害的骇人故事，得知这些平台将被豁免，让人感到意外。

exempt /ɪɡˈzempt/ 表示“免除，豁免（责任、付款等）”，英文解释为“to excuse someone or something from a duty, payment, etc.”举个🌰：Small businesses have been exempted from the tax increase. 小公司可免于增税。

📍exempt也可以作形容词，表示“被免除（义务）的，获豁免的”，英文解释为“not affected by something, or not having to do it or pay it”举个🌰：Men in college were exempt from military service. 在校男大学生免服兵役。

However they will have to disable livestreaming, as that is included in the ban.

然而，它们仍必须关闭直播功能，因为这被纳入了禁令之中。

stream /striːm/ 作动词，1）表示“流，流动；流出，涌出”，英文解释为“to flow somewhere or produce liquid, quickly and in large amounts without stopping”举个🌰：There were tears streaming down his face. 泪水顺着他的脸滑落。

2）表示“用流式传输，流播（无须待整个文件下载到计算机便可播放互联网上的视频或音频文件）；在线收听（或收看）”，英文解释为“to play video or sound on a computer by receiving it as a continuous stream, from the Internet for example, rather than needing to wait until the whole of the material has been downloaded”

📍streaming 名词，表示“（音频或视频的）流动式接收，在线收听（或收看）”，英文解释为“the activity of listening to or watching sound or video directly from the internet”举个🌰：LR Sports now comes with free live streaming for mobile devices. LR体育台现在向用户提供免费的手机直播服务。

📍streaming service表示“流媒体服务，串流服务”，英文解释为“a service that sends video, music, etc., over the internet so that people can watch or listen to it immediately rather than having to download it, or rather than having to watch or listen at a particular time when something is broadcast”举个🌰：A streaming service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime provides unlimited streaming of TV shows, movies, comedy specials and original programming. 网飞或亚马逊Prime等流媒体服务可提供电视节目、电影、喜剧特辑和原创节目的无限流媒体节目。

📍livestream/live-stream 表示“互联网直播，线上直播，流直播”，英文解释为“to broadcast video and sound of an event over the internet as it happens, or to be broadcast in this way”

📍此处 live 读作/laɪv/，可以作形容词，也可以作副词，表示“直播的；现场播出的”，英文解释为“broadcast as it happens; performing or being performed in front of an audience”举个🌰：I've got two tickets to see them (perform) live. 我有两张看他们现场演出的门票。

The big question of course is how this is actually going to work.

当然，最大的问题是这项措施实际上将如何执行。

I did ask the PM but he didn't directly tell me. Australia's failing is believed to be in weak age verification methods adopted by the tech companies.

我确实向首相询问了这一点，但他并未直接回答我。外界认为，澳洲政策失败的原因在于科技公司采用的年龄验证方法过于薄弱。

verification /ˌver.ɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ 表示“证实，证明；验证”，英文解释为“the act of verifying something (= proving or checking that it exists, or is true or correct)”举个🌰：I've never asked for verification of his CV. 我从来没有要求核实他的简历。

I've heard from a couple of fuming industry contacts today that they were under the impression that it would be up to Apple and Google to gatekeep devices (as most people own either an Apple or Android phone).

今天我和几位愤怒的业界人士交谈，他们原本以为，这项责任会落在苹果（Apple）和谷歌（Google）身上，负责对设备进行把关（因为大多数人使用的都是苹果或安卓手机）。

fume /fjuːm/ 表示“发怒；生闷气”，英文解释为“to be very angry, sometimes without expressing it”举个🌰：I saw her a week after they'd had the argument and she was still fuming. 他们吵架一周后我见到了她，她还在生气。The whole episode left me fuming at the injustice of it all. 整个事件毫无正义可言，我感到非常愤怒。

替表示“觉得，有…的想法”，英文解释为“to think that something is true, especially when it is not”举个🌰：I was under the impression (that) you didn't get on too well. 我感觉你们相处得不太好。

This would mean when someone aged under 16 sets up a device in the UK, they can't download banned apps from the app stores.

这意味着，当英国未满16岁的人设定装置时，他们将无法从应用程式商店下载被禁止的应用程式。

The people I spoke to are blindsided that this no longer appears to be the case and it will be down to the individual platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and the rest.

我接触到的人对于现在似乎不再采取这种做法感到措手不及，因为相关责任将转由TikTok、Snapchat等个别平台自行负责。

blindside /ˈblaɪnd.saɪd/ 表示“偷袭；出其不意地打击”，英文解释为“to surprise someone, usually with harmful results”举个🌰：Just when it seemed life was going well, she was blindsided by a devastating illness. 正当生活似乎一帆风顺的时候，她出人意料地得了一场重病。

And the deadline for them to figure out a better alternative is short: less than a year to meet the proposed implementation next spring.

而留给他们找出更好替代方案的时间非常短——现在距离预计的明年春季实施期限不到一年。

Other experts argue that toxic online behaviour is a societal rather than a technology problem, and the blunt instrument of blocking the tech altogether on its own is not the solution.

其他专家则认为，有害的线上行为属于社会问题，而不是科技问题，单靠封锁科技这种“粗放手段”并不能解决根本问题。

toxic /ˈtɒksɪk/ 1）表示“有毒的；引起中毒的”，相当于poisonous，如：toxic waste/chemicals/effluent 有毒的废料/化学品/废水，牛津词典2018年度词汇就是：Toxic.

2）表示“令人极不愉快的；不可接受的”，英文解释为“very unpleasant or unacceptable”

3）表示“恶毒的；造成阴影的”，英文解释为“causing you a lot of harm and unhappiness over a long period of time”如：a toxic relationship 不良的关系。

📍词根“tox-”来自希腊语“toxon”，意味着“毒”。近义词：poisonous（有毒的），同根词：toxin（毒素），常用短语：toxic environment（有害环境）

"Right diagnosis, wrong cure" was the headline of one email in my inbox earlier today.

今天早些时候，我收到一封邮件，标题是“诊断正确，治疗错误”。

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