With the three buttons below the screen, you can feed the pet, care for it and clean up its mess. And just like a real pet, it gets sick and dies if neglected .
When it was first released by Japanese company Bandai in 1997, this virtual ―pocket pet‖ was so popular with schoolchildren that it was frequently sold out at stores all over the world. For many people, the Tamagotchi was their first ever experience of raising and caring for a ―pet‖.
A lot has certainly changed in the last 20 years – especially when it comes to technology – so would it be a good idea to reintroduce the Tamagotchi to today‘s world?
Bandai obviously thinks so since it‘s going to re-release it next month, marking the device‘s 20th anniversary. ―We‘re going after that nostalgia,‖ said Tara Badie, director of Tamagotchi‘s brand management, according to The Verge.
Nostalgia is all the rage these days. Just look at Nintendo‘s Pokemon Go – the 2016 smartphone game originated from its 1996 version – and Nokia‘s 2017 version of the 3310 – the mobile phone released in 2000 that it seems nearly everyone in the world owned. But these companies didn‘t just simply copy from the past – they managed to update the old version and adapt it for the modern world. With Pokemon Go, Nintendo successfully combined cutting-edge (前沿的) augmented reality (增强现实) technology with the game‘s original storyline.
―Pokemon Go tells us about the future of software and the nature of reality – and how they integrate (整合) into what we think of as entertainment,‖ technology writer Om Malik wrote on The New Yorker. And although Nokia‘s new 3310 stayed faithful to the original phone‘s design, it added a few modern features like a color screen, camera and internet access. It even kept the iconic (标志性的) game Snake, which many of today‘s adults would have spent hours playing as teenagers. But while nostalgia is certainly a selling point to many people, not everyone is a fan.
―I‘m so sick of nostalgia as a ploy (噱头) for profit. From the ?Make America Great Again‘ slogan, to the endless Star Wars and X-Men movies, we‘ve become a world obsessed with looking backward for lazy sources of joy,‖ wrote tech reporter Thomas Ricker on The Verge.
But will the magic of nostalgia work with the Tamagotchi? According to Julia Alexander, an editor for video game website Polygon, it seems pretty unlikely.
After trying the new product, Alexander soon found out that little has been changed since the original.
―I grew up and, unfortunately, the Tamagotchi didn‘t,‖ she wrote.
So when it comes to nostalgia, maybe the fond memories of our favorite childhood products are best left as that – fond memories.
61. What is the author‘s main purpose in writing this article? A. To promote the new Tamagotchi. B. To compare some hit video games.
C. To explore why ―nostalgia‖ is valued these days.
D. To analyse whether it was wise to bring the Tamagotchi back. 62. The underlined word ―nostalgia‖ in Paragraph 4 probably means ______. A. regret one has for the past B. the wish to take a risk
C. the desire for something exciting D. a longing for past happy memories
63. According to the text, the success of Pokemon Go and Nokia‘s new 3310 lies in the fact that they both ______.
A. use augmented reality technology
B. look exactly the same as the original version C. made creative adaptations from the old version D. changed what we think about entertainment
64. It can be inferred from the article that the author ______. A. isn‘t completely supportive of re-releasing old products B. believes that nostalgia is a great selling point C. believes the new Tamagotchi will appeal to the public D. loves products that can help revive her good memories
D
Dear Michelle,
I cannot find how my grandfather Anthony Peter Hellmann came to the US. or where he lived before 1900. I have his enlistment in the Spanish-American War and a 1900 census that lists his birthday as 1878 in Germany. I know that he immigrated in 1881 and died in 1918 but I have zero knowledge of his parents or siblings. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you!
Sandi Dear Sandi,
The two questions you are attempting to answer ─ how your grandfather migrated from Germany and where he lived before the Spanish-American War of 1898 ─ provide us with an opportunity to discuss what genealogists refer to as ― the wall ‖. As anybody searching for their ancestors discovers sooner or later, every search for our ancestors hits a wall ─ a place where the trail goes cold. And you seem to have hit two of these walls! Let‘s see if we can help you.
Our first rule is a simple one, but one that can be surprisingly useful: Start all over, and carefully review what you have already uncovered. Searching the records thoroughly you have already found can help you see if you missed something, or if more information can be obtained from them than you first realized.
Because you had mentioned his Spanish-American War Military Service Record, we decided to look more deeply into Anthony Hellmann‘s military service to see what we might find. Using Ancestry.com , we searched in a collection called U.S. Civil War Pension (抚恤金) Index and located an Anthony P. Hellmann and his widow (遗孀), Mary E. Hellmann. This might seem an unlikely place because of its Civil War title; however, its subtitle General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934. The index covers pension applications filed for conflicts that occurred before WWI, which includes the Spanish-American War.
Anthony‘s pension file was a treasure of information, filled with 28 pages of affidavits (书面证词) from friends and relatives, as well as several original family documents. Who would have guessed that the only surviving copies of valuable family documents would be preserved in a pension application file? But here they were. To prove that she was in fact his widow, Mary Ellen included a transcript (文字记录) of Anthony. But it provided another bit of information that turned out to be essential link to Anthony‘s early life: the names of his parents, Simon Hellmann and Mary Mueller.
What‘s more, it stated that Anthony was born in landau, a city in the Bavarian province of Germany, an area known for its wine making. We now have learned the names of his parents and where he was born!
While most of the file focused on why the pension was valid and why the family needed help, the inclusion of Anthony and Mary‘s marriage and the baptismal records of their children made this invaluable information about the family. Their marriage and the baptism of their daughter, Mary Agnes Hellmann, were performed at the Roman Catholic Church in New York, by Reverend John P. McClancey, with the witness being relatives of Mary Ellen, but not Anthony‘s. It seems the community where the Hellmanns
lived included members of Mary Ellen‘s family but not necessarily Anthony‘s, which might suggest his family lived far away or had passed away. Page-by-page searches in city directories for Brooklyn and New York City between 1880 and 1898 for an Anthony, Anton, or Simon Hellmann were fruitless, though not surprisingly so. Immigrants were often very mobile, so Anthony‘s time in New York could have been very short.
Sometimes in family history the scenic route is the only way to reach your destination. Whilst specifics about Anthony‘s arrival and early years in America are still a mystery, ultimately, knowing the identity of his parents and where he was born in Europe will prove valuable in the long run as your search continues . We hope his information helps you in your search for your grandfather!
Michelle 65. What does the underlined part ―the wall‖ mean? A .The structure made of stone or brick.
B. Something that stops you from making progress. C. The state of defeat, failure, or ruin or the extreme position.
D. The thing preventing two groups of people from understanding each other. 66. What can we know about the first rule? A. It is useful but unnecessary B. It is much easy but practical
C. It needs a fresh start from the bottom
D. It requires hard work of organizing information
67. Why were Anthony‘s family documents included in his pension application file? A. To show the importance of the pension
B. To attach importance to the achievements of the family C. To offer the information of Anthony‘s parents D. To prove that the file was officially acceptable
68. After looking into Anthony Hellmann‘s military service, Michelle finds _________. A. just why Hellmanns needed help B. when Mary Hellmann was born and died C. the important connection to Anthony‘s early life D. the personal information of Anthony‘s relatives