【明報專訊】Pokémon GO, the augmented reality (AR，擴增實境) game jointly developed by Niantic, Inc. and The Pokémon Company and released last July, has taken the world by storm. However, a French mayor has mailed a decree to the companies ordering them to remove any Pokémon set in his town.
Fabrice Beauvois is mayor of Bressolles (布朗索爾), a town in eastern France. The decree he issued on August 9 says the game causes safety and security problems. It says it puts pedestrians and drivers at risk because players are too attentive to their smartphones to monitor road conditions.
"When a cafe or a restaurant owner wants to open a business in any French town, he has an obligation to request its mayor's prior authorisation. The rule applies to all people wishing to set up an activity or occupy a space on a public property. It applies to Niantic as well, even though its settlement is virtual," Beauvois said.
(sources: Ming Pao, Associated Press)
■Photo Story
Pokémon and PokéStops are set on the basis of the real map. One must frequently walk and travel to catch Pokémon.
■English highway﹕To take somebody /something by storm
This idiomatic expression means to be extremely successful very quickly in a particular place or among particular people.
e.g. MoMo's dance performance has taken the crowd by storm.
Answer the following questions.
(answers on next text)
1. What is Pokémon GO ?
a. an event
b. a TV show
c. a game
d. a film
2. Is the following sentence true or false?
Fabrice Beauvois does not worry about motorists' or pedestrians' safety.
True / False
3. Fill in the blank with a word found in the passage.
When any road users play Pokémon GO, they cannot attentively _______________ road conditions.
4. Why does Fabrice Beauvois think the Pokémon GO developers ought to have sought his authorisation?
■Quiz
mayor (n) 市長
decree (n) 命令
attentive (adj) 專心的
obligation (n) 義務╱責任
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One may turn its virtual reality mode on so that Pokémon appears in the virtual reality through its camera.');){kind=small}
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