Does Television Play a Positive or Negative Role in the Mode

Lesson 1

                   Does Television Play a Positive or
                  Negative Role in the Modern Society?
   
                                       Text

         Do the Advantages of Television Outweigh¹ the Disadvantages?
    Television is now playing a very important part in our life. But television, like other things, has both advantages and disadvantages. Do the former outweigh the latter?

    In the first place, television is not only a convenient source of entertainment, but also a comparatively cheap one. For a family of four, for example, it is more convenient as well as cheaper to sit comfortably at home, with almost unlimited² entertainment available, than to go out in search of amusement elsewhere. They do not have to pay for expensive seats at the theatre, the cinema, or the opera, only to discover, perhaps, that the show is disappointing. 

All they have to do is press a button, and they can see plays, films, operas, and shows of every kind, not to mention political discussions and the latest exciting. football match. Some people, however, maintain that this is precisely³ where the danger lies. The television viewer takes no initiative. He makes no choice and exercises no judgment⁴. He is completely passive and has everything presented to him without any effort on his part.

    Television, it is often said, keeps one informed about current events, allows one to follow the latest developments in science and politics, and offers an endless series of programmes which are hoth instructive and entertaining. The most distant countries and the strangest customs are brought right into one's stitting-room. It could be argued that the radio performs this service just as well; but on television everything is much more living, much more real. Yet here again there is a danger. We get so used to looking at it, so dependent on its flickering⁵ pictures, that it begins to dominate our lives.

    There are many other arguments for and against television. The poor quality of its programmes i.s often criticized. But it is undoubtedly⁶ a great comfort to many lonely elderly people. And does it corrupt⁷ or instruct our children? I think we must realize that television in itself is neither good nor bad. It is the uses to which it is put that determine its value to society.

 

II . Read
   Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoir while reading.

1. Why Watch Television?

　　Matthew: Television is undoubtedly a great invention, but one of the mainyou've  criticisms of it is that people just aren't selectiveenough. I.esley,got a television; how do you pick out the sorts ofprogrammes you want to watch?
Lesley: I t.ry and look at the prograxnmes that are on to decide whichparticular ones interest me, rather than you turning it on a seveno'clock and you leaving it on until half-past eleven when theprogrammes finish.
Matthew: Do you think of television though as a great time-waster?
Lesley: Un ...I think it can be a time-waster and it depends on how particularpeople are about what they want to see...Mm, it can just be a sort oftotal amusement for someone and totallve consuming without reallyconsidering what it is they're watching.
Matthew: Aha, but how do you prevent it coming into your life and taking overyour evenings and at the same time perhaps get . . . get out of thetelevision some of the sort of best things...best programmes that...
that undoubtedly are on television?
Lesley: Well,I suppose one of the problems is ...will depend on what a person'slife style is, and that if he has other outside interestswhich are equally important to him as television, he will then, youknow, mm . . . be more careful about which programmeshe wants to watch because he has time which he wants to use forother things.
Matthew: Do you think though that... that in . . . in a sense television haskilled people's own er...sort of , creativity or their abilityto entertain themselves because if they're bored all they do is justturn on the television?
Lesley: Yes, I think that is a danger, and I think that. .in fact is what ishappening to a lot of people who use it as their ... their main...umfield of amusement and ... because they don't have other outsideinterests and even when people come round they'll leave the televisionon and not be, you know, particularly interested in talking to them,you Know the television will be the main thing in the room.
Matthew: Peter, have you got a television?
Peter: I have, in fact I've got two televisions.
Matthew: Do you watch them a lot?
Peter: Er ... no I...I watch very seldom er ... In fact, I find that I watchtelevision most when I'm most busy, when I'm working hardest and Ineed some sort of passive way of relaxing, something which requiresnothing of me, then I watch television a lot. When I've got more energyleft...um ...in my own private time, in my free time, then I find I domoredifferent things. I do things like um reading, or going out, orworking on anything . . . my hobbies.
Matthew: Do you think though that people can live a perfectly⁸ happy life ifthey haven't got a television?
Peter: Oh yes, I think people who don't have a television or people whoentertainment.don' t watch television can be expected to be morehappy. You canassume I think if they never watch television they arehappier people than the people who watch a lot of television,because I think that television goes with the kind of life whichleaves you with nothing tospare, nothing left, you have to be givenpotted, passive entertainment.
Matthew: Bot in that case you ...you seem as though you're completelyagainst television, is that true?
Peter: No,it's not. I...I have a television in fact,I have two as I said, buter I ... I ...I think there's a dilemma⁹, a difficult situation.
Television in itself is very good; a . . . a lot of the informationand a lot of the programmes are very instructive, they introduce youto things you may never have thought of before or never have heardabout before. But in watching, it makes you very passive; you sit forhour after hour and you get very receptive and very unquestioning audit¹⁰ seems to me the important thing in life is to be active, to . . . todo things, to think things and to be as creative as possible, andtelevision prevents this.

                      2. Children and Television
    Housewife: What do I think of television? Um, um, well, um, it keeps the family at home, the kids don't go oot at night so much now, they come straight in from school most of them, they run in and straight, well the television's on when they come in, I watch it myself during the afternoon. Er, well it's company really and, er, well, then the kids come home, they eat their tea, I have no trouble with them eating their tea because they just ...

　

 well, they don't even look at what they eat, they just sit down and, erm, they eat it and they like the programmes and, and it keeps them quiet while I' m cooking the tea for their dad when he comes home an hour later and tea is ready when the news is on when he comes in, and, er and the news is on or perhaps the football match or something, er, they have to be quiet then,they're not very interested in that themselves, they like the cartoons and things but, em, yeah, well, I think television's great, er, we get on much better in the house now, um, well, we've got things to talk about, erm, you know, if I miss a programme, er, if I' m cooking or something in the kitchen, I miss a bit of what's going on, I mean I have the door open so I can hear, but if I miss a bit then they will tell me, and then perhaps later or perhaps the next day we' ll have a chat about it, you know. It gives us something to talk about really. Um, I don't think it hurts the kids, I don't think it's a problem, you know, like, er, it stops them, makes their eyes go funny or something, I don't think it,s a problem like rhat. I don't think it's a problem at all. They've... they've learned a lot from television, I think, they're always piping up with questions and learning a lot from the television.

                   3. Television Is Doing IrreparabIe Harm
    "Yes, but what did we use to do before there was television?" How often we hear statements like thisl Television hasn't been with us all that long, but we are already beginning to forget what the world was like without it. Before we admitted the one-eyed monster into our homes, we never found it difficult to occi.spy our spare time.

We used to enjoy civilised pleasures. For instance, we used to have hobbies, we used to entertain our friends and be entertained by them, we used to go outside for our amusements to theatres, cinemas, restaurants and sporting events. We even used to read books and listen to music and broadcast talks occasionally. All that belongs to the past. Now all our free time is regulated by the `goggle box' . We rush hom.e or gulp¹¹ down our meals to be in time for this or that programme.

We have even given up sitting at table and hading a leisurely¹² evening meal, exchanging the news of the day. A sandwich and a glass of beer will do-anything, providing it doesn't interfere¹³ with the programme. The monster demands and obtains absolute silence and attention. If any member of the family dares to open his mouth during a programme, he is quickly silenced.

    Whole generations are growing up addicted¹⁴ to the telly. Food is left uneaten, homework undone¹⁵ and sleep is lost. The telly is a universal pacifier. It is now standard practice for mother to keep the children quiet by putting them in the living-room and turning on the set. It doesn,t matter that the children will watch rubbishy commercials or spectacles of sadism and violence-so long as they are quiet.

There is a limit to the amount of creative talent available in the world. Every day, television consumes vast quantities of creative work. That is why most of the programmes are so bad: it is impossible to keep pace with the demand and maintain high standards as well. When millions watch the same programmes, the whole world becomes a village, and society is reduced to the conditions which obtain in pre -literate communities. We become utterly¹⁶ dependent on the two most primitive¹⁷ media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.

    Television encourages passive enjoyment¹⁸. We become content with second-hand¹⁹ experiences. It is so easy to sit in our armchairs watching others working. Little by little, television cuts us off from the real world. We get so lazy, we choose to spend a fine day in semi-darkness, glued to our sets, rather than go out into the world itself . Television may be a splendid medium of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other. We only become aware how totally irrelevant²⁰ television is to real living when we spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountains, far away from civilization. In quiet, natural surroundings, we quickly discover how little we miss the hypnotic tyranny of King Telly.

 

                         4. Television Is Good for People
    TV may be a vital factor in holding a family together where there are, for example, economic problems and husband and wife seem at breaking point. The dangerous influence is surely no more than what all of us are exposed to every day. . . in advertising²¹, in the press.

    Primary and secondary education have improved out of all recognition
since the arrival of TV in the home and this is not only because of programmes designed for schools. Through TV a child can extend his knowledge and it provides vital food for his imagination.

 

                          5. Television Is to Blame
    TV passes on to children the corrupting²² values of a corrupt society.
It's only a matter of time before we can give statistical²³ evidence'of how many criminals society has given birth to in front of the TV on Saturday night.
You can blame TV for the fact that children take longer to learn to read these days and barely see the point any more of acquiring the skill. In my opinion watching TV should be strictly²⁴ confined to "treats".

 
 

1 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

2 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

3 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

4 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

5 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

6 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

7 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

10 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

11 gulp   

vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽

参考例句：

• She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
• Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽，要嚼碎了再咽下去。

12 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

13 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

14 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

15 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

16 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

17 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

18 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

19 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

20 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

21 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

22 corrupting   

（使）败坏( corrupt的现在分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏

参考例句：

• It would be corrupting discipline to leave him unpunished. 不惩治他会败坏风纪。
• It would be corrupting military discipline to leave him unpunished. 不惩治他会败坏军纪。

23 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

24 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。