Writer's Attitude
Advanced態度 = 正/負/中立。
- A writer's attitude is positive, negative or neutral, shown through word choice.
- Adverbs like 'clearly', 'unfortunately' and 'surprisingly' signal the stance.
- The more absolute the claim (all, nothing, every), the more likely it is irony.
文體小知識：Tone and opinion.
§Text Passage
1Yes, by all means, let the children spend all their free time on video games. Nothing else could possibly teach them anything useful. Who needs homework when there are levels to complete, and who needs sleep when there are online friends waiting at midnight? Every sensible parent should, without a doubt, rush out and buy the latest console.
2That will certainly help their schoolwork — those low marks are surely just a coincidence. It will do wonders for their eyesight too, since hours in front of a glowing screen are clearly the best exercise for tired eyes. And their social skills will improve, of course, as long as the only words they ever say aloud are 'one more game'.
3Consider the family dinner, now wonderfully quiet: no one speaks, because everyone is busy tapping their phones. Consider the park downstairs, now wonderfully empty: the fresh air clearly belongs to nobody. Nothing could be more perfect. Parents should definitely buy the latest console and simply hope for the best.
4Of course, this is not really the writer's opinion. The tone here is humorous and critical at the same time: the writer pretends to agree while actually pointing out the danger. A careful reader can tell the attitude from the exaggerated words — 'wonderful', 'perfect', 'certainly'. The real message is not that games are evil, but that too much of anything will quietly steal time from what matters more.
§Sentence-by-sentence translation Sentence-by-sentence translation
Yes, by all means, let the children spend all their free time on video games.
是呀，當然，就讓孩子們把所有空閒時間都放在打電動上。
Nothing else could possibly teach them anything useful.
其他東西都不可能教會他們任何有用的東西。
Who needs homework when there are levels to complete, and who needs sleep when there are online friends waiting at midnight?
有遊戲機打，還要功課做什麼？有網上朋友等到半夜，還要睡覺做什麼？
Every sensible parent should, without a doubt, rush out and buy the latest console.
每個明智的家長都應該毫不猶豫地衝出去買最新的遊戲機。
That will certainly help their schoolwork — those low marks are surely just a coincidence.
這樣「肯定」會幫到他們的學業——成績差肯定純屬巧合。
It will do wonders for their eyesight too, since hours in front of a glowing screen are clearly the best exercise for tired eyes.
對他們的視力也一定「有益」，因為對着發光螢幕幾個小時，明顯是疲倦眼睛的最佳運動。
And their social skills will improve, of course, as long as the only words they ever say aloud are 'one more game'.
他們的社交能力也會進步，當然，只要他們說出口的唯一一句話是「再打多一局」。
Consider the family dinner, now wonderfully quiet: no one speaks, because everyone is busy tapping their phones.
看看家庭晚餐，現在「寧靜」得很：沒有人出聲，因為人人只顧滑手機。
Consider the park downstairs, now wonderfully empty: the fresh air clearly belongs to nobody.
看看樓下的公園，現在「空曠」得很：新鮮空氣明顯不屬於任何人。
Nothing could be more perfect.
世上沒有東西比這更完美。
Parents should definitely buy the latest console and simply hope for the best.
家長們絕對應該買最新的遊戲機，然後但願一切順利。
Of course, this is not really the writer's opinion.
當然，以上這些根本不是作者的真正立場。
The tone here is humorous and critical at the same time: the writer pretends to agree while actually pointing out the danger.
這裡的語氣是幽默與批判兼備：作者假裝同意，其實是在指出危險。
A careful reader can tell the attitude from the exaggerated words — 'wonderful', 'perfect', 'certainly'.
細心的讀者可以從這些誇張字眼——「wonderful」、「perfect」、「certainly」——看出作者的態度。
The real message is not that games are evil, but that too much of anything will quietly steal time from what matters more.
真正的訊息不是說遊戲是魔鬼，而是說任何東西過量，都會悄悄偷走對你更重要的時間。
1Summary 重點摘要
態度 = 正/負/中立。
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Viewpoint.
Tone.
Good.
Bad.
Objective.
Fault-finding.
Funny.
正式。
3Step by step Steps
- PositivePositive words signal support. Example: good, excellent, wonderful — but when positive words describe bad things (a family dinner wonderfully quiet because nobody speaks), suspect irony.
- NegativeNegative words signal criticism. Example: bad, terrible, poor — and adverbs such as clearly, obviously and sadly show how strong the stance is.
- NeutralNeutral writing is objective fact with no emotion words. Example: a pure data sentence (one in four students checks social media more than thirty times a day) usually stays neutral — though sarcasm can borrow data, so read the whole paragraph.
- TipCircle the emotion words, then judge the stance. Example: circle by all means, Nothing could be more perfect and certainly — the more absolute the words, the more likely they are irony.
- Absolute signalsAbsolute words such as all, nothing and every flag sarcasm. Example: Nothing else could possibly teach them anything useful — far too absolute to be sincere; the writer is really criticising too much gaming.
- The revealWatch for the writer giving himself away. Example: the last paragraph admits Of course, this is not really the writer's opinion… the writer pretends to agree while actually pointing out the danger.
- Answer formatSupport attitude answers with quotations: The writer's tone is humorous and critical — for example, he calls silent dinners "wonderfully quiet" and ends "Nothing could be more perfect." Judge, then quote.
5Worked example Example
The passage seems to support children gaming all day. What is the writer's real attitude, and which words prove it?
- Step 1: Spot the exaggeration — 'by all means', 'Nothing else could possibly teach them anything useful', 'Every sensible parent should rush out'; the more absolute the claim, the more suspicious.
- Step 2: Notice the 'benefits' are all harms — low marks are 'surely just a coincidence', screens are 'the best exercise' for eyes, and silent dinners mean nobody talks.
- Step 3: Circle the ironic adjectives — 'wonderfully quiet', 'wonderfully empty', 'Nothing could be more perfect'.
- Step 4: Use the fourth paragraph's own hint — 'not really the writer's opinion... pretends to agree while actually pointing out the danger'.
- Step 5: Conclude: the tone is humorous and critical, warning that too much gaming steals time from what matters.
- Answer: The writer's real attitude is critical, delivered through humour and irony. The advice is deliberately absurd: 'Nothing else could possibly teach them anything useful' and 'Every sensible parent should rush out' are far too absolute to be sincere. Each so-called benefit is actually a harm — poor marks are 'surely just a coincidence', screens are 'the best exercise' for tired eyes, and the 'wonderfully quiet' family dinner is quiet because nobody speaks. The final paragraph confirms it: the writer 'pretends to agree while actually pointing out the danger'. The exaggerated words 'wonderful', 'perfect' and 'certainly' are the tell-tale signs of sarcasm.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1How to tell?
Q2Positive words?
Q3Negative words?
Q4Neutral?
Q5Tone?
Q6Formal vs informal?
Q7What is the writer's attitude?
Q8Does he agree?
Q9Why?
8Recap Recap
- A writer's attitude is positive, negative or neutral, shown through word choice.
- Adverbs like 'clearly', 'unfortunately' and 'surprisingly' signal the stance.
- The more absolute the claim (all, nothing, every), the more likely it is irony.
- Positive words describing bad things mean sarcasm — always read in context.
- In attitude questions, quote the text as evidence instead of just naming a tone.