近期，关于名为 momo 的自杀游戏的报道和故事在世界各地传播开来——据说，在人们使用通讯工具 WhatsApp 时，它会突然从屏幕里跳出来，挑衅你参加一项死亡挑战。但是目前我们找不到任何所谓的 momo 有教唆杀人的组织活动。事实证明，这只是一场谣言，但由此引发的各种新闻报道和警示的确给人们带来了不必要的恐慌和伤害。
本篇课程首发于2019年3月4日，选自 BBC
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47393510
文本难度：★★★☆☆
话题难度：★★☆☆☆
Urban Myth: the Momo Challenge
① Following a flurry of newspaper scare stories, some schools have warned parents about the "momo challenge" - but fact-checkers say it is a hoax. The character, shown with bulging eyes, supposedly appears on WhatsApp and sets children dangerous "challenges" such as harming themselves.
② But authorities say there have been no reports of anybody actually receiving these messages or harming themselves as a result. They warn that media coverage has amplified a false scare story.
③ Fact-checkers warned that although the momo challenge was a hoax, the resulting news reports and warnings could still cause distress to children.
④ Earlier this week, versions of the momo story went viral on social media. They attracted hundreds of thousands of shares and resulted in newspaper articles reporting the tale.
⑤ The image of momo is actually a photo of a sculpture by the Japanese special-effects company Link Factory.
⑥ The blogger Andy Robertson, aka Geek Dad, said in a podcast that parents should not "share warnings that perpetuate and mythologise the story". To avoid causing unnecessary alarm, parents should also be careful about sharing news articles that perpetuate the myth."
▍生词好句
a flurry of /ˈflʌri, ˈflɜːri/: 一阵（一般是指突发的事情）
hoax /həʊks/: n. 骗局；恶作剧
character /ˈkærəktə(r)/: n. 主角；人物
bulging /ˈbʌldʒɪŋ/: adj. 凸出来的；鼓鼓的
media coverage: 媒体报道
amplify /ˈæmplɪfaɪ/: vt. 增强；扩大
distress /dɪˈstres/: n. 忧虑；悲伤
go viral on social media: 在社交媒体上疯狂传播
report the tale: 报道这则故事
sculpture /ˈskʌlptʃə(r)/: n. 雕像；雕塑
blogger /ˈblɒɡə, blɑːɡər/: n. 博主
aka /ˌeɪkeɪˈeɪ/: 又名；亦称（also known as的缩写）
geek /ɡiːk/: n. 不擅社交的人；（知识丰富的）痴迷者
podcast /ˈpɒdkɑːst, ˈpɑːdkæst/: n. 播客（以数字格式储存的电台节目）
perpetuate /pə(r)ˈpetʃueɪt/: vt. 使持续；使长存
mythologise /mɪˈθɒlədʒaɪz, mɪˈθɑːlədʒaɪz/: vt. 对……故弄玄虚；使神话化
alarm /əˈlɑː(r)m/: n. 惊恐；警报
▍词汇拓展
1. hoax: n. a hoax is a plan to deceive or cheat a large group of people, a trick, a planned lie
2. urban myth/legend: an urban myth is a story or a statement that is not true, but it's often repeated and believed by many people to be true
3. the difference between a hoax and an urban myth/legend
A hoax is planned; it's a deliberate, intentional trick, something that someone has created and designed with the aim or goal to cheat or deceive people.
An urban myth or urban legend is something quite different. It is just a story spread by many people. Maybe they believe it's true. The people who spread an urban myth or urban legend are not intentionally lying.
4. a flurry of sth.: a lot of sudden activity
His arrival caused a flurry of excitement.
他的到来引起了一阵激动。
5. scare story: a news story which causes people to be afraid or worried, something that is said or written to make people feel frightened, afraid and think that a situation is much more terrible or dangerous than it really is. (We usually use 'scare story' in its plural form - scare stories.)
The news about the coming stock market crash is just scare stories.
关于股市即将崩盘的消息只是耸人听闻的谣传。
6. fact-checker: n. a fact-checker is someone who looks at new stories and does some investigation, some detective work, checks the facts, and tries to discover if the new story is true or not
7. amplify: vt. to increase the size or effect of something
We need to amplify our message in this presentation.
我们要在这次演讲中进一步阐述我们的观点。
The manager amplified his concerns in the meeting.
经理在会上强调了他的担忧。
8. distress: n. if you have a feeling of distress, you feel worried, you feel that you are in danger.
The boy's behaviour caused his parents great distress.
那男孩的行为让他的父母极为忧虑。
The fake newspaper article caused the actor considerable distress.
报纸上的那篇假文章给那位演员带来了很大的困扰。
9. go viral: if something goes viral, it quickly becomes very popular or well-known by being published on the internet or sent from person to person by email or mobile phone.
The story about the actor went viral on Weibo.
关于那个演员的故事在微博上疯传。
You can search the top ten viral videos each week.
每周你都可以搜索十大热门视频。
10. perpetuate: vt. if you perpetuate something, you cause it to continue
urban myth/legend
an urban myth is a story or a statement that is not true, but it's often repeated and believed by many people to be true
a flurry of /ˈflʌri, ˈflɜːri/
一阵（一般是指突发的事情）
a flurry of sth.: a lot of sudden activity
His arrival caused a flurry of excitement.
他的到来引起了一阵激动。
hoax /həʊks/
n. 骗局；恶作剧
a hoax is a plan to deceive or cheat a large group of people, a trick, a planned lie
the difference between a hoax and an urban myth/legend:
A hoax is planned, a deliberate, intentional trick, something that someone has created and designed with the aim or goal to cheat or deceive people.
An urban myth or urban legend is something quite different. It is just a story spread by many people. Maybe they believe it's true. The people who spread an urban myth or urban legend are not intentionally lying.
character /ˈkærəktə(r)/
n. 主角；人物
bulging /ˈbʌldʒɪŋ/
adj. 凸出来的；鼓鼓的
fact-checker
n. a fact-checker is someone who looks at new stories and does some investigation, some detective work, checks the facts, and tries to discover if the new story is true or not
scare story
a news story which causes people to be afraid or worried, something that is said or written to make people feel frightened, afraid and think that a situation is much more terrible or dangerous than it really is. (We usually use 'scare story' in its plural form - scare stories.)
The news about the coming stock market crash is just scare stories.
关于股市即将崩盘的消息只是耸人听闻的谣传。
media coverage
媒体报道
amplify /ˈæmplɪfaɪ/
vt. 增强；扩大
to increase the size or effect of something
We need to amplify our message in this presentation.
我们要在这次演讲中进一步阐述我们的观点。
The manager amplified his concerns in the meeting.
经理在会上强调了他的担忧。
distress /dɪˈstres/
n. 忧虑；悲伤
if you have a feeling of distress, you feel worried, you feel that you are in danger.
The boy's behaviour caused his parents great distress.
那男孩的行为让他的父母极为忧虑。
The fake newspaper article caused the actor considerable distress.
报纸上的那篇假文章给那位演员带来了很大的困扰。
go viral on social media
在社交媒体上疯狂传播
report the tale
报道这则故事
aka /ˌeɪkeɪˈeɪ/
又名；亦称（also known as的缩写）
podcast /ˈpɒdkɑːst, ˈpɑːdkæst/
n. 播客（以数字格式储存的电台节目）
mythologise /mɪˈθɒlədʒaɪz, mɪˈθɑːlədʒaɪz/
vt. 对……故弄玄虚；使神话化
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