Television has changed our lives in many ways. Many people now spend more time watching TV than doing anything else. Researchers in the USA has estimated(估计)that when most students leave school they have spent 11,000 hours in the classroom and 22,000 hours watching television. But what effect does this have?
Benefits(好处) of television:
1. Television helps us to learn more about the world and to know and see many mew things. Television can offer present information to us in a more effective way than books. It can also make things more memorable.
2. It entertains (使欢乐) us. It is an enjoyable way to relax. For millions of people around the world, television is a source of companionship and helps them to cope with everyday life.
3. It has increased the popularity of sports and arts.
4. It has made us aware of our global responsibilities. In 2000, for example, 1.5billion people in 147 countries watched a TV pop concert and helped to collect more than $100million for people in Africa.
Dangers:
1. Television can make us passive (消极的). We don't have to think and our brains become lazy.
2. It encourages us to buy things that we don’t need, and can make us unhappy with our own life.
3. It takes time away from activities such as reading, conversation, and games.
4. It gives a false picture of society. A study in 2003 showed that people who watch a lot of TV are more afraid of crime. They also think that there is a lot more crime than there really is .
5. Some critics(批评家) say that television make people violent. A ten-year study in the United States showed that children who watch violent television programmes are more likely to be violent themselves.
小题1: What’s the proper description of the time American students spend on TV and study?
A．They spend twice as much time on TV as in the classroom.
B．They spend twice as much time in the classroom as on TV.
C．They spend as much time on TV as in the classroom.
D．They spend less time on TV than in the classroom/小题2: The underlined word “memorable” is closed in meaning to .
A．easy to be remembered
B．remembered forever
C．interesting
D．knowledgeable小题3:Which of the following number is NOT true of the pop concert mentioned in the passage?
A．People in more than 140 countries watched it on TV
B．It helped to collect more than $100 million
C．It was held in 2000.
D．1.5million people watched it on TV.小题4: According to the passage, the dangers of watching TV too much included all the following except that .
A．television can make us active
B．television encourages us to buy things that we don’t need
C．television gives us a worse picture of society
D．television takes time away from a lot of activities
