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China cuts amount of time minors can spend on online games

Part 1. Vocabulary

regulator

/ ˈReɡyəˌlādər/ n.

- an official who works for the part of the government that controls a public activity (such as banking or insurance) by making and enforcing rules.

State regulators monitor, review, and oversee how the insurance industry conducts business in their states.

 

slash    

/ slaSH/ v.

- a fast, long movement to hit something:

Ben took a wild slash at the ball and luckily managed to hit it. 

 

crackdown

/ ˈKrakˌdoun/ n.

- severe measures to restrict or discourage undesirable or illegal people or behavior:

 "A crackdown on crime and corruption"

 

unnerved

/ ˌƏnˈnərv/ v.

- make (someone) lose courage or confidence:

"… The journey over the bridge had unnerved me"

 

intensity

/ inˈtensədē/ n.

- the quality of being intense: (great strength/concentration)

"… The pain grew in intensity"

 

Part 2. Article Reading

Chinese regulators on Monday slashed the number of time players under the age of 18 can spend on online games to an hour of gameplay on Fridays, weekends, and holidays, in response to growing concern over gaming addiction, state media reported.

The rules, published by the National Press and Publication Administration, said users under the age of 18 will only be able to play games from 8 pm to 9 pm local time on those days, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Online gaming companies will be barred from providing gaming services to them in any form outside those hours and need to ensure they have put real name verification systems in place, said the regulator, which oversees the country's video games market.

Previously, China limited the total length of time minors could access online games to three hours on a holiday or 1.5 hours on other days.

The new rules come amid a broad crackdown by Beijing on China's tech giants, such as Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings, which has unnerved investors, hammering Chinese shares traded at home and abroad.

The National Press and Publication Administration also told Xinhua it would increase the frequency and intensity of inspections for online gaming companies to ensure they were putting in place time limits and anti-addiction systems. (Reuters)

Read full article https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/world/2021/09/683_314751.html