A whole new world: virtual reality
① Steven Spielberg's first sci-fi film in a decade opens next week.
② "Ready Player One" is set in a dystopian near-future so grim that its inhabitants spend their lives in a VR recreation of the 1980s called OASIS.
③ As well as being a shameless nostalgia-fest for that decade and a glorification of fanboy culture, it can be read either as a cautionary tale about falling out of life and into video games, or a celebration of VR's endless possibilities.
④ In the real world, meanwhile, VR is maturing.
⑤ Expectations were overcooked a couple of years ago, but more sustainable and innovative uses are now emerging.
⑥ The big problem during the first wave of VR hype, in the 1990s, was that actual VR could not measure up to what was shown on film at the time, notably in "The Lawnmower Man".
⑦ There is still a gap between real VR and what Hollywood depicts, but it's narrowing.
▍生詞好句
sci-fi /?s??f??/: n. science fiction（科幻小說）
be set in:（背景）設(shè)置在
dystopian /d?s?t??p??n/: adj. 反烏托邦的
near-future: 不久的將來
grim /ɡr?m/: adj. 糟糕的籍嘹；殘忍的
inhabitant /?n?hab?t(?)nt/: n. 居民
recreation /?ri:kr??e??(?)n/: n. 重制渗磅；重現(xiàn)
recreation /?r?kr??e??(?)n/: n. 娛樂培慌；消遣
oasis /???e?s?s/: n. 綠洲撇叁；舒適的地方
shameless /??e?ml?s/: adj. 公然的地来；露骨的
nostalgia-fest /n??stald??/: n. 懷舊的狂歡
glorification /ɡl?:r?f??ke??(?)n/: n. 贊頌
fanboy culture: 極度癡迷者（腦殘粉）文化
cautionary tale /?k?:?(?)n(?)ri/: 警世故事
mature /m??t???/: vi. 成熟
overcook /??v??k?k/: vt. 炒過頭槽惫；烹調(diào)過度
sustainable /s??ste?n?b(?)l/: adj. 可持續(xù)的
innovative /??n?v?t?v/: adj. 創(chuàng)新的
emerge /??m??d?/: vi. 出現(xiàn)窜管；涌現(xiàn)
hype /h??p/: n. 大肆宣傳
measure up to: 符合（標(biāo)準(zhǔn)）项秉；達(dá)到（期望）
notably /?n??t?bli/: adv. 尤其诬垂；顯著地
depict /d??p?kt/: vt. 描述劲室；描繪
▍補(bǔ)充
People come to the Oasis for all the things they can do; they stay because of all the things they can be.
▍相關(guān)背景
Steven Spielberg:
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE OMRI is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era and one of the most popular directors and producers in film history.
"Ready Player One" (the film):
Ready Player One is a 2018 American science fiction action adventure film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline, based on Cline's 2011 novel of the same name.
The film is set in 2045, where much of humanity, to escape the desolation of the real-world, use the virtual reality software OASIS to engage in work and play. Wade Watts (Sheridan) discovers clues to a hidden game within OASIS that promises the winner full ownership of the OASIS. He joins several allies to try to complete the game before indentured players working for a large company, run by Nolan Sorrento (Mendelsohn), can do so.
The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2018, and is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros in the United States on March 29, 2018.
"Ready Player One" (the novel):
Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopian 2044, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality game, the discovery of which will lead him to inherit the game creator's fortune.
A film adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg, is slated to premiere in theaters on March 29, 2018.
"The Lawnmower Man":
The eccentric Dr. Lawrence Angelo (Pierce Brosnan) puts mentally disabled landscaper Jobe Smith (Jeff Fahey) on a regimen of experimental pills and computer-simulated training sequences in hopes of augmenting the man's intelligence. In time Jobe becomes noticeably brighter and also begins to fare much better with the opposite sex. But, as he develops psychic powers, he realizes that those around him have taken advantage of his simplicity his whole life, and he plots a bloody revenge.
