Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks from 26 to 35. COULD COMPUTER GAMES BE GOOD FOR YOU AFTER ALLIn Britain, the average young person now spends more money on games each year than on going to the cinema or renting videos. But is this……..26……a bad thing? For years, newspaper reports have been ………27…..that children who spend too much time playing computer games become unsociable, bad- tempered, even ...

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks from 26 to 35.

COULD COMPUTER GAMES BE GOOD FOR YOU AFTER ALL

In Britain, the average young person now spends more money on games each year than on going to the cinema or renting videos. But is this……..26……a bad thing? For years, newspaper reports have been ………27…..that children who spend too much time playing computer games become unsociable, bad- tempered, even violent as a……..28…… But new research,………29……out in both Europe and the USA, suggests that the opposite may be true.

Indeed, playing some of the more complicated games may help people of all ages to improve certain skills. Researchers claim that this is because the games………30……the brain work harder in certain ways, like……..31……sounds and movements quickly and identifying what they are. The fact that people play the games repeatedly……..32……..that they get a lot of practice in these skills which are therefore likely to become highly developed.

Social skills may benefit, too. Researchers in Chicago think that fans of first- person shooter games……33…… “Counterstrike” are better than non-players when it comes to building trust and co-operation, and that this……..34……them to make good friendships and become strong members of their communities. So rather than……..35…….up computer games, perhaps young people need to spend more time on them?Question 29