早稲田国際教養AO 補助教材 the Internet and reality

Read the following article and answer the questions.

My life became immeasurably better when I stopped keeping my phone by my bed

Jack Sommers  Sun 25 Aug 2019 Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/aug/25/my-life-better-stopped-keeping-phone-by-bed

Questions

1       Circle the correct expression in the brackets to make the flowing sentence make sense.

After the writer’s sister left for the bathroom, she must have (used the bathroom, ordered an alarm clock for her brother) because the next part of the sentence goes “and two days later I unwrapped a retro alarm clock from the gallery shop”.

2       The writer says, “The alarm clock helped me learn to accept that the world continues to turn without me. It is not a portal to another world, it is a reminder to wake up and live in this one.” Is your phone a portal to another world? What kind of a world is it?

                                                                                                     

                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    

                                                                                                     

                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    

Answer Keys

1       Circle “ordered an alarm clock for her brother”. The writer’s sister’s bathroom business has nothing to do with the theme of this article while the alarm clock is the key to it. She disappears right after she hears about her brother’s dilemma of wanting to stop using his phone in bed while needing its alarm function, and then her brother gets an antique alarm clock from a gallery shop. Apparently, she ordered the analog clock for her brother from an online gift shop.

2       My phone is partly the extension of this real world, and partly a portal to what the writer calls another world. I usually use my phone to contact people I personally know in the real world, to search for information, and read books and articles on the train and in my bed. However, I also use social media to read or watch postings. Some postings give me a feeling of solidarity with the people who are sharing the posting. There was a time when I was dependent on the feeling, feeling that I am not alone, until I realized that I did not actually know any of the people there and that they did not care about me at all. To me, social media is a huge event hall. People with the same interest gather in the same site and enjoy talking, joking, laughing, and showing off what they have. Many say what comes up to their mind irresponsibly. Some go beyond the mark. Depending on the nature of the participants and the situation, a mob could occur. It is a place that you visit once in a while just for fun or inspiration, but not constantly. A large part of it is not the extension of this everyday world. I will not let it occupy my mind for a long time no matter how tough the reality may be.