3、
(湖南龙山皇仓中学高一9月月考) In
this century the traditional American family is constantly faced with the
threat of breakdown. Some sociologists suggest that one little – noticed cause
may be the introduction of the TV dinner.
Before the
appearance of television seats, the American dinner was a big event for the
family. In many homes dinner time may be the only time when everyone got
together. A typical dinner was usually in three stages. In the preparation
stage, the children and Father frequently helped with setting while Mother put
the last touches on the roast. In the eating stage, family members shared the
day’s experiences and more than food was consumed. In this stage families got
to know one another and made joint decisions around the dinner table, and thus the
family solidarity(团结) was
strengthened. In the cleaning – up stage, children or Father again gave their
hands, so that their significance to the home community was clear.
Unfortunately, all of these have been erased by a product-the television set.
By the
beginning of the 1980s, the typical American family dinner was just twenty
minutes long. The speed – up of this once – leisurely experiences is clearly
connected to the overall pace of modern life and maybe a model of the modern
life is the TV dinners-meals designed to be consumed between the opening and
closing credits of a half – hour program. The once family affair has now become
nothing more than the use of a fork and knife.
ot
to eat