發表評論-兒歌薈萃-萬維博客-萬維讀者網（電腦版）

Electronics are the modern world's poison to kids. It makes us cranky and less interactive. Worst of all, we always are addicted to whatever type of technology around us. So when Mom took me to a holiday party at her friend’s house the Saturday before Christmas, I brought my trusty iPad with me.

I guess everyone else had the same idea because all the kids at the party held some sort of electronics. Since nobody really knew anyone quite well, we just played on our gadgets the entire time. Mom either didn’t care or didn’t notice because she let me do what I wanted to do freely. I played all through the party. It sounded pretty interesting too. Since my friend Ethan introduced a fun trivia game, I found a new awesome free game on the App Store. It was called Sim City, and basically, you ran the city by building resident areas and providing supplies. I also had to purchase recreational stuff to keep my city “happy” and “occupied”. I was pretty sure this game was going to get boring soon. But for now, I liked it.

At that exact moment, the Philadelphia Eagles were playing a crucial football game to get into the playoffs. They were pitted against the Washington Redskins, and things weren’t going too smoothly. As soon as I flipped a TV channel to CBS, I knew this was not going to turn out well. It was 24-24, with four minutes left in the game, and the Eagles’ ball at their own twenty. They ran for a few yards, and then Mark Sanchez, a QB, threw a nice pass to the forty. That’s when everything fell apart. Mark threw a pick or an interception. Robert Griffin III or RG III, a QB, got the Redskins in the red zone. The kicker drilled a field goal. The Eagles lost and were kicked out of the 2014-15 playoffs. After the feebly attempted Hail Mary passes from Mark, I shut down the TV. It was not worth watching now.

After the NFL game, the kids were all hanging out in the basement where there were sofas, TV, and best of all, music. A few adults were singing karaoke. As long as my epic gaming experience wasn’t disturbed, I was fine.

Although the video games were amazing, the food became even better. There was a buffet of homemade Chinese potlucks that all guests prepared, but someone brought some hot and spicy chicken wings which tasted delicious to me. They were really palatable, spicing up my mouth. I feasted on them. Nevertheless, there’s nothing like hot chicken wings on a chilly night.

I bolted right back downstairs after eating, where I stayed for the rest of the party. Videogames sounded just too irresistible, especially when all the parents were talking, singing, playing Ping-pong, poke cards, or drinking. I think parties should be fun events like everyone playing a sport or something interactive next time.

【紅霞譯文】

電子產品是當今世界青少年的一劑毒藥，它讓我們變得孤僻不愛社交。最糟糕的還有，年輕一代總是沉湎於五花八門的玩藝上而不能自拔，因此，當今天即聖誕節前一個星期六媽媽帶我去朋友家的節日聚會時，我隨身攜帶貼身寶貝“蘋果”牌平板電腦。

我覺得大家都有同感，因為所有與會的孩兒們人手一件。既然彼此之前並非熟悉，幾乎形同陌人，我們只好自始自終各玩各的。媽媽要麼不在乎，要麼沒留心，總而言之，她撇下我愛幹什麼就幹什麼，而我偏偏當仁不讓，誓要打不盡豺狼決不下戰場，聽起來多來勁呀。小夥伴昊宇應時介紹一種有趣的問答遊戲，我趕緊上網免費下載 “模擬城市”軟件，這個遊戲確實挺好玩的，我既要管理城市，建設居民區，提供相應的物資，同時還得負責購買娛樂器材，讓人們“安居”“樂業”。相信過不了一會兒，這個遊戲就被玩膩，但初來乍到，我覺得新鮮蠻有意思。

與此同時，費城老鷹隊正與華盛頓紅皮隊進行美式橄欖球激烈交鋒，這場比賽關繫到老鷹隊能否贏得進入季後賽的資格，費城老鷹隊拼命爭搶，打得並不順利。等打開電視並調到“哥倫比亞廣播公司網”頻道，我一眼就看得出費城老鷹隊境況不妙，場上比分24比24，還有四分鐘整個比賽就要結束，而球正落在老鷹隊20嗎線上。這時，老鷹隊球員首先跑動了幾碼，然後四分衛馬克·桑切斯傳球漂亮，將球扔到40碼線，但自此以後形勢急轉直下，馬克投球慘遭攔截，紅皮隊四分衛羅伯特·格里芬三世在禁區內得球，踢球手射門得分，老鷹隊終於輸掉這場球，同時還失去了進軍2014─2015年季後賽資格。看完馬克有氣無力地扔了一個萬福瑪利亞妙傳球之後，我乾脆關上電視，再繼續看下去已沒多大意義。

全美橄欖球聯盟比賽告一段落，年輕朋友們全部集結地下室圍坐在沙發上電視旁享受悅耳的音樂。一些叔叔阿姨正唱卡拉OK，只要咱手上富有史詩般魅力的遊戲尚在，周圍其它事情都與我無關。

儘管電子遊戲樂趣無窮，但美味佳餚更令人垂涎。今晚的自助餐都是來客親手燒制的中式便飯，但也有人買來味道噴香的現成品麻辣雞翅，家常餚饌葷素兼備，我百吃不厭。不管說什麼，寒冷的夜晚來口火燒火燎的雞翅，敢情過上回神仙般的日子。

填飽了肚子之後，我轉身又跑回地下室直到臨行前。視頻遊戲說來實在可惡，叫人在上癮與收手之間來回糾結，尤其當父母大人忙於聊天、唱歌、打乒乓、甩牌、品酒的時候。但願下次聚會時能安排一些俊男靚女共同感興趣的活動，比如體育之類的運動。孩子們可以像父母長輩一樣，藉此機會保持互動並增進了解。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2013: Chaaya Island, Maldives(馬爾代夫夢幻島)

2012: Santiago—City of the Island, Chile(智利聖地亞哥—島山之城)

2010: 節日期待(Holiday Anxiety)

2009: 新西蘭陶波湖區(Lake Taupo, NZ)