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随身英语Is VR the new reality? 虚拟现实会成为现实吗？ Play audio file“虚拟现实”到底是什么？它只能被用于玩电子游戏，对吧？回答错了。这个新兴的技术可能即将彻底地改变我们生活的方方面面。从我们如何学习新知识，如何经商，到如何社交，虚拟现实为我们呈现了改变的方向与可能。虚拟现实可以模拟真实的情景，而且已被作为一个极其直接有效的培训工具用于各行各业中。它还能帮助有焦虑的人克服心中的恐惧。本期《随身英语》介绍虚拟现实的其他重要用途。 课文内容 Most people associate virtual reality with the world of gaming or entertainment. What is all the fuss, you may wonder, about a futuristic contraption you wear on your head that makes you look like a creature from Star Wars? But this emerging technology has been spreading rapidly into many other areas and could fundamentally change your life in the future. Virtual reality, or VR, is a computer-generated technology that creates a three-dimensional digital world that you can not only see and observe, but explore and interact with it as if you are there. Once you put on the special equipment – a helmet or goggles with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors – you become immersed in the virtual world. VR now has serious applications in fields as wide-ranging as business and medicine. VR has already proved effective as a training tool as it simulates real experiences. One simulation programme educates young drivers about the dangers of bad driving. Participants experience a dangerous car journey and a virtual accident. It is now being used to train surgeons. Connor Pierce of Samsung's IT for UK and Ireland thinks it will impinge on all walks of life: "We'll socialise via VR, we will do business via VR, we'll have VR team-meetings, we'll have VR education, museums will have virtual reality experiences…". Its benefits have been felt in the field of psychology and the treatment of mental health patients. Professor Daniel Freeman at the Warnford Hospital in Oxford uses it to treat vertigo and other anxiety disorders. He explains that by exposing patients to what they fear most in a virtual environment and showing them that nothing bad happens, they can eventually overcome their panic. | 
