Passage Nineteen (TV’s Harmfulness)

       Yes, but what did we use to do before there was television? How often we hear statements like this! 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 fond it difficult to occupy our spare time. We used to enjoy civilized¹ 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 goggle² box. We rush home or gulp³ down our meals to be in time for this or that programme. We have even given up sitting at table and having a leisurely⁴ evening meal, exchanging the news of the day. A sandwich and a glass of beer will do – anything, providing it doesn’t interfere⁵ 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 addicted⁶ to the telly. Food is left uneaten, homework undone⁷ 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 preliterate communities. We become utterly⁸ dependent on the two most primitive⁹ media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.

       Television encourages passive enjoyment¹⁰. We become content with second-hand¹¹ 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 s splendid medium of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other. We only become aware how totally irrelevant¹² 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.

1.       What is the biggest harm of TV?
[A] It deprives people of communication with the real world.
[B] People become lazy.
[C] People become dependent on second-hand experience.
[D] TV consumes a large part of one’s life.

2.       In what way can people forget TV?
[A] Far away from civilization.
[B] To a mountain.
[C] By the sea.
[D] In quiet natural surroundings.

3.       What does a mother usually do to keep her children quiet?
[A] Let them watch the set.
[B] Put them in the living room.
[C] Let them watch the rubbish.
[D] Let them alone.

4.       What does the first sentence in the first paragraph mean?
[A] We found it difficult to occupy our spare time.
[B] We become addicted to TV.
[C] What we used to do is different from now.
[D] We used to enjoy civilized pleasures.

Vocabulary

1.       goggle             转动眼珠，瞪眼
   goggle box   （英俚）电视机

2.       gulp                狼吞虎咽

3.       telly                电视机

4.       pacifier            平息者，抚慰者。这里指平静人，使人不吱声的东西。

5.       rubbishy          垃圾的，无价值的

6.       sadism            施淫虐

7.       glue                胶（水）；粘牢
   glue to the sets  和电视机粘在一起，指成了电视迷

8.       hypnotic          催眠的

难句译注

1.       There is a limit to the amount of creative talent available in the world.

【参考译文】世界上可以获得的创造性才能的数量是有限的。

写作方法与文章大意

       这是一篇论说“电视有害”的文章。采用对比分析手法。先提出问题，对比过去和现在“过去在业余时间，我们享受文明的欢乐，有各种嗜好，招待朋友，访友，外出娱乐，在家读书听音乐……现在一切受电视支配。匆忙赶回家，狼吞虎咽地吃完饭为的是准时看某个电视节目。只要不干扰节目，吃什么都可以！一块三明治，一杯啤酒就行。看时，谁都不许说话，完全没有了过去的那种悠闲，坐在一起吃晚饭，相互交谈白天的一切。”

       然后列出电视种种恶果：整个几代人成了电视迷，连孩子也不能幸免，电视消耗了大量的创造性工作，人们成为以来电视生存的人，被动娱乐，制止我们和真实世界交流。

       最后结论：到大自然去，忘掉电视。

答案详解

1.       A 它剥夺了人们和真实世界的联系。文章多次提到现在我们不能探亲访友，一家人互不交流，而一旦离开电视就进入了真是世界。
B. 人变懒。C. 人们变得依赖二手经验。D. 电视浪费了人生的大量时间。这三项只是危害重具体一个组成部分。

2.       D 在安宁的大自然的怀抱中。答案在最后一段最后一句“在安详宁静的大自然环境中，我们很快发现我们对催眠的电视暴君连想都不怎么想！”
A. 远离文明。B.去山上。C.在海边。

3.       A 叫他们看电视。这在第二段第三句起“电视是一个万能安静器。母亲为使孩子们安静，就把他们放在起居室内，打开电视看。这是现在最权威的一招。至于孩子们看的使垃圾般的商业广告，还是施淫虐或暴力片都无关紧要，只要他们安静不闹。”
B.把他们搁在起居室。C.让他们看垃圾片。都是其中的具体一部分。D.让他们呆着。没有提到。

4.       B 我们都成了电视迷。第一句“是的，可是没有电视之前，我们常干些什么？”这说明人们已经习惯于电视，以来电视，到了没有电视怎么办的境地。不知道没有电视前的情况。第二段“整个几代人越来越迷上了电视，饭不吃，家务不干，不睡觉。”可以说整篇文章都描写了人们对电视迷恋，依赖。第一句话是引言。所以B对。
A. 难以消遣。只是人们的一种感受。C.过去和现在不同。是一种对比，并没有点出这句话的真正内涵。D.享受文明欢乐。是过去所作的一个具体例子。