Unit Four 
Text
Many people in the United States spend most of
their free time watching television. Certainly, there
are many worthwhile programs on television, includ-
ing news, educational programs for children, pro-
grams on current social problems, plays, oziies, con-
erts, and so on. Nevrtheless, perhaps people should
not be spending so much of their time in front of the
TV. Mr Mayer imagines what we might do if we were
forced to find other activities.
TURNING OFF TV : A QUIET HOUR
I would like to propose that for sixty to ninety minutes each evening,
right after the early evening news, all television broadcasting in the United
States be prohibited by law.
Let us take a serious, reasonable look at what the results might be if
5 such a proposal were accepted. Families might use the time for a real family
hour. Without the distraction of TV, they might sit around together after
dinner and actually talk to one another. It is well known that many of our
problems -- everything, in fact, from the generation gap to the high di-
vorce rate to some forms of mental illness - are caused at least in part by
10 failure to communicate. We do not tell each other what is disturbiing us.
The result is emotional difficulty of one kind or another. By using the quiet
family hour to discuss our problems, we might get to know each other bet-
ter, and to like each other better.
On evenings when such talk is unnecessary , families could rediscover
15 more active pastimes. Freed form TV, forced to find their own activities,
they might take a ride together to watch the sunset. Or they might take a
walk together (remember feet? ) and see the neighborhood with fresh , new
eyes.
With free time and no TV, children and adults might rediscover read-
20 ing. There is more entertainment in a good book than in a month of typical
TV programming. Educators report that the generation growing up with
television can barely write an English sentence, even at the college level.
Writing is often learned from reading. A more literate new generation could
be a product of the quiet hour.
25 A different form of reading might also be done, as it was in the past:
reading aloud. Few pastimes bring a family closer together than gathering
around and listening to mother or father read a good story. The quiet hour
could become the story hour.When the quiet hour ends, the TV networks
might even be forced to come up with better shows in order to get us back
30 from our newly discovered activities.
At first glance, the idea of an hour without TV seems radical. What
will parents do without the electronic baby-sitter? How will we spend the
time? But it is not radical at all. It has been only twenty--five years since
television came to control American free time. Those of us thirty--five and
35 older can remember childhoods without television, spent partly with ra-
dio -- which at least involved the listener's imagination -- but also with
reading , learning , talking , playing games , inventing new activities. It
wasn't that difficult. Honest. The truth is we had a ball.
New Words
| worthwhile /'wa:6'wail/ a. | good enough for the time or effort needed;valu- |
| able |
| program(me) /'prau~aem/ n. | performance on radio or television |
| educational a. | of or for education; providing education or information |
| current /'k~rant/ a. | of the present time |
| social /'sauf al/ a. | of or in society |
| movie /'mu:vi/ n. | film that one sees at a cinema |
| nevertheless /,neva8a'les/ conj. | but; however |
| propose /prapauz/vt. | suggest |
| broadCasting /'bra:d,kaatir~/ n. | the action of sending out sound ( or images ) by |
| broadcast v. & n. | radio (or television)
|
| prohibit /prahibit/ vt. | forbid by law |
| proposal /prapauzal/ n. | suggestion |
| actually ad. | in actual fact, really |
| generation /,dgena reif an/ n . | all the people about the same age ( |
| gap /gaep/ n. | an empty space between two things or two parts |
| of a thing;a wide difference of opinion, char- |
| acter, or the like |
| divorce /divoa/ n. | end of a marriage by law |
| rate /reit/ n. |
|
| mental /'mentl/ a. | of the mind |
| Communicate /kamju:nikeit/ vi. | share or exchange opinions,ideas,etc. |
| disturb /dista:b/ vt. | make (sb. )worried |
| emotional /i mauf anl/ a. |
|
| pastime /'paataim / n. | anything done to pass time pleasantly |
| sunset /'s~nset/ n. | the going down of the sun; the time when the |
| sun goes down |
| neighborhood n. | the area around a point or place |
| adult /'~delt/ n. |
|
| typical /'tipikal/ a. |
|
| educator /'edju(:)keita/ n. | a person whose profession is education |
| barely /'beali/ ad. | hardly |
| literate /'litarit/ a. | able to read and write |
| product /'pradakt/ n. | sth. made or grown |
| network /'netwa:k/ n. |
|
| glance /gla:ns/ n. | quick look |
| radical /'r~dikal/ a. | extreme; very different |
| electron n. |
|
| baby-sitter /'beibi,sita/ n | someone who looks after a child when the parents |
| are away for a short time
|
| childhood /'tfaildhud/ n. | time when one is a child |
| partly /'partli/ ad. | not completely; in some degree |
| involve /irivolv/ vt. | have as a part or result
|
| imagination n. | the ability to imagine |
| learning n. | the gaining of knowledge or skill through studying; |
| knowledge or skill gained through studying |
Phrases & Expressions
| generation gap | failure of the younger and older generations to communi- |
| cate and understand one another |
| in part | in some degree; partly |
| grow up | change from a child to a man or a woman |
| bring together | cause to meet |
| come up wit | think of ; produce |
| at first glance | when first seen or thought about |
| have a ball | (sl. )enjoy oneself, have a very good time |
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