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.

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.

4. What is the best title of this passage?

A World Governments should conduct serious campaigns against smoking.

B World governments take timid measures against smoking.

C smoking is the most important source of income to many countries.

D tobacco industry spends a large sum of money on medical research.

第57天

A.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 civilized 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 home or gulp down our meals to be in time for this or that programme. We have even given up sitting at table and having a leisurely evening meal, exchanging the news of the day. A sandwich and a glass of beer will do – anything, providing it doesn’t interfere 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 addicted to the telly(电视). Food is left uneaten, homework undone 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 utterly dependent on the two most primitive media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.

　　　　 Television encourages passive enjoyment. We become content with second-hand 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 irrelevant 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.

3. What does the sentence “because you are in good company” mean?

A you are backed by the government. B You are not alone.

C You have good colleagues.　　　 D Governments are blind to evils of smoking too.

2. The tone of this passage is________________.

A critical.　 B ironical(讽刺的用反语的).　 C distaste(不喜欢).　　 D amusing.

1. Why do a few governments take timid measures toward smoking?

A because they are afraid of people.　 B Because diseases cost a lot.

C Because they are afraid of the cutting down of their revenue.

D Because they are afraid of manufacturers.

5. The passage is________

A .a review.　　　　　 B a preface.　　 C an advertisement.　　　 D an editorial.

B.Strictly Ban smoking

　　　　 If you smoke and you still don’t believe that there’s a definite(一定的)link between smoking and bronchial(支气管的)troubles, heart disease and lung cancer, then you are certainly deceiving yourself. No one will accuse you of hypocrisy. Let us just say that you are suffering from a bad case of wishful thinking. This needn’t make you too uncomfortable because you are in good company. Whenever the subject of smoking and health is raised, the governments of most countries hear no evil, see no evil and smell no evil. Admittedly, a few governments have taken timid measures. In Britain for instance, cigarette advertising has been banned on television. The conscience of the nation is appeased, while the population continues to puff its way to smoky, cancerous death.

　　　　 You don’t have to look very far to find out why the official reactions to medical findings have been so lukewarm. The answer is simply money. Tobacco is a wonderful commodity to tax. It’s almost like a tax on our daily bread. In tax revenue alone, the government of Britain collects enough from smokers to pay for its entire educational facilities. So while the authorities point out ever so discreetly that smoking may, conceivable, be harmful, it doesn’t do to shout too loudly about it.

　　　　 This is surely the most short-sighted policy you could imagine. While money is eagerly collected in vast sums with one hand, it is paid out in increasingly vaster sums with the other. Enormous amounts are spent on cancer research and on efforts to cure people suffering from the disease. Countless valuable lives are lost. In the long run, there is no doubt that everybody would be much better-off if smoking were banned altogether.

　　　　 Of course, we are not ready for such a drastic action. But if the governments of the world were honestly concerned about the welfare of their peoples, you’d think they’d conduct aggressive anti-smoking campaigns. Far from it! The tobacco industry is allowed to spend staggering sums on advertising. Its advertising is as insidious as it is dishonest. We are never shown pictures of real smokers coughing up their lungs early in the morning. That would never do. The advertisement always depict virile, clean-shaven young men. They suggest it is manly to smoke, even positively healthy! Smoking is associated with the great open-air life, with beautiful girls, true love and togetherness. What utter nonsense!

　　　　 For a start, governments could begin by banning all cigarette and tobacco advertising and should then conduct anti-smoking advertising campaigns of their own. Smoking should be banned in all public places like theatres, cinemas and restaurants. Great efforts should be made to inform young people especially of the dire consequences of taking up the habit. A horrific warning – say, a picture of a death’s head – should be included in every packet of cigarettes that is sold. As individuals, we are certainly weak, but if governments acted honestly and courageously, they could protect us from ourselves.

4. The danger to the plan lies in

A the two parties’ objection.

B different idea of the two parties about the plan.

C its passage.

D distortion.

3. What is the editor’s attitude?

A support.　　　 B distaste.

C Disapproval.　 D Compromise.

2. What is the requirement of the most liberal wing of the Democratic-party?

A They want a more direct action.

B They want an incomes policy to check inflation.

C They want to rebuild industry.

D They want a wall of protective tariffs.