Английский язык. Кузьменкова Ю. Б.

Read the text with a dictionary (to make sure you understand it in detail), find Russian equivalents to the underlined expressions and make up short situations trying to use as many lexical units as it is possible.

Television

What did we do before television was invented? Were those better times or worse? Can you imagine your life without television nowadays? Is it a one-eyed monster or a close friend? Who can give a definite answer to these and other questions that might arise on the point?

Before television was admitted to our homes, people never found it difficult to occupy their spare time. They used to enjoy various pleasures and entertainment. For instance, people had hobbies, much more numerous in number than they have at present. They used to have guests and go out much more frequently, people found amusements going to the cinema, theatre, restaurants and sporting events. People used to read books.

Before television we had so many interests to share with our friends and acquaintances. We could spend the whole night debating over a problem that was — or at least — seemed urgent at the time. We found pleasure in communicating, sharing ideas and even discussing books. All that now belongs to the past. Now it seems to have vanished forever. If we do gather with our friends it happens only on “great occasions”, such as holidays and birthday parties. But now it looks more like a tribute to some tradition rather than a necessity. A tradition ... No more than that ...

I may be wrong, but I suppose we are losing something important and we cannot seize it. Our values are getting distorted, but we don’t notice the fact. Earlier people valued communication and it was quite common to cover many miles, even in terrible weather, to see a friend, to spend some time together, to discuss problems and the latest news, even some gossip about acquaintances. People used to write letters, because communication, even the written one was considered to be important. But now things are different. We don’t have to spend weeks and months to get to our friends, but we seldom visit them. We prefer telephone as a means of communication, and television as a means of entertainment. I sense we have lost something important but we cannot realise it.

One wouldn’t be wrong saying that practically all spare time is regulated by the “box”. We rush home or gulp down our meals to be in time for this or that programme. Television demands and obtains absolute attention. If any member of the family dares to say just anything during a favourite — and not only favourite — programme or a film, he is quickly silenced. Food is left uneaten, homework undone and sleep is lost. Television is a universal means of keeping peace in a family. It is now standard practice for mothers to keep children quiet by putting them in the room and turning on the set. Unfortunately, in most cases it doesn’t matter that the children watch commercials or spectacles of rude violence — as long as they are quiet. They — children — watch stupid advertisements and repeat them and parents just get amused hearing the “dear little advertisement sillies” from their babies. And parents are never worried about it before it is too late to worry ...

Everything is mixed up in television — advantages and disadvantages. Every day television consumes vast quantities of creative work. It is quite 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 we become utterly dependent on the two most primitive media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.

Television encourages passive enjoyment. 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, 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 shouldn’t forget however that TV programmes keep people informed about the latest events and achievements in different fields. Everybody knows that television is a very good way of entertainment. TV is a very close friend of many people who are lonely or suffer from different diseases and cannot leave their home. In this case TV is a unifying force.

(Word count: 705)