大學(xué)英語(yǔ)精讀第一冊(cè)第四單元04
Unit Four
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, movies, con-
erts, and so on. Nevertheless, 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
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
failure to communicate. We do not tell each other what is disturbing 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
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-
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.
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
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
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.
Click the button to listen to the pronunciations of new words
New Words
worthwhile a.
good enough for the time or effort needed; valuable
值得花時(shí)間（或精力）的；有價(jià)值的
program(me) n.
performance on radio or television 節(jié)目
educational a.
of or for education; providing education or information
教育的；有教育意義的
current a.
of the present time 當(dāng)前的
social a.
of or in society 社會(huì)的
movie n.
film that one sees at a cinema 電影
nevertheless conj.
but; however 然而，不過
propose vt.
suggest 建議
broadcasting n.
the action of sending out sound ( or images ) by
broadcast v. & n.
radio (or television) 廣 播
prohibit vt.
forbid by law 禁止
proposal n.
suggestion 提議, 建議
actually ad.
in actual fact, really 實(shí)際上
generation n .
all the people about the same age ( 一 ) 代
gap n.
an empty space between two things or two parts
of a thing; a wide difference of opinion, char-
acter, or the like 缺口, 間隙; 分歧 , 隔閡
divorce n.
end of a marriage by law 離婚
rate n.
率
mental a.
of the mind 精神的;思想上的
communicate vi.
share or exchange opinions, ideas,etc.交流意見，思想等
disturb vt.
make (sb. )worried 使煩惱
emotional a.
感情的
pastime n.
anything done to pass time pleasantly 消遣, 娛樂
sunset n.
the going down of the sun; the time when the
sun goes down
日落 ( 時(shí)分 )
neighborhood n.
the area around a point or place 鄰近地區(qū) ; 地段
adult n.
成年人
typical a.
典型的
educator n.
a person whose profession is education 教育家
barely ad.
hardly 僅僅, 勉強(qiáng); 幾乎沒有
literate a.
able to read and write 能讀寫的 ; 有文化的
product n.
sth. made or grown 產(chǎn)品
network n.
廣播（或電視）聯(lián)播公司；廣播（或電視）網(wǎng)
glance n.
quick look 一瞥 ; 掃視
radical a.
extreme; very different 激進(jìn)的
electronic a.
電子的
electron n.
baby-sitter n.
someone who looks after a child when the parents
are away for a short time ( 代人臨時(shí) ) 照看嬰兒者
childhood n.
time when one is a child 童年
partly ad.
not completely; in some degree 部分地；在一定程度上
involve vt.
have as a part or result (必須) 包括
imagination n.
the ability to imagine 想象力
learning n.
the gaining of knowledge or skill through studying;
knowledge or skill gained through studying 學(xué)習(xí);學(xué)問,知識(shí)
invent vt .
produce (sth. ) for the first time 發(fā)明
Phrases & Expressions
generation gap
failure of the younger and older generations to communi-
cate and understand one another 代溝
in part
in some degree; partly 在一定程度上；部分地
grow up
change from a child to a man or a woman 長(zhǎng)成, 長(zhǎng)大
bring together
cause to meet 使相聚
come up wit
think of ; produce 想出 , 提出
at first glance
when first seen or thought about 乍一看;最初考慮時(shí)
have a ball
(sl. )enjoy oneself, have a very good time 玩得開心
Proper Names
Mayer
邁耶（姓氏）
the United States
美國(guó)
Unit Four
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, movies, con-
erts, and so on. Nevertheless, 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
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
failure to communicate. We do not tell each other what is disturbing 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
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-
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.
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
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
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.
Click the button to listen to the pronunciations of new words
New Words
worthwhile a.
good enough for the time or effort needed; valuable
值得花時(shí)間（或精力）的；有價(jià)值的
program(me) n.
performance on radio or television 節(jié)目
educational a.
of or for education; providing education or information
教育的；有教育意義的
current a.
of the present time 當(dāng)前的
social a.
of or in society 社會(huì)的
movie n.
film that one sees at a cinema 電影
nevertheless conj.
but; however 然而，不過
propose vt.
suggest 建議
broadcasting n.
the action of sending out sound ( or images ) by
broadcast v. & n.
radio (or television) 廣 播
prohibit vt.
forbid by law 禁止
proposal n.
suggestion 提議, 建議
actually ad.
in actual fact, really 實(shí)際上
generation n .
all the people about the same age ( 一 ) 代
gap n.
an empty space between two things or two parts
of a thing; a wide difference of opinion, char-
acter, or the like 缺口, 間隙; 分歧 , 隔閡
divorce n.
end of a marriage by law 離婚
rate n.
率
mental a.
of the mind 精神的;思想上的
communicate vi.
share or exchange opinions, ideas,etc.交流意見，思想等
disturb vt.
make (sb. )worried 使煩惱
emotional a.
感情的
pastime n.
anything done to pass time pleasantly 消遣, 娛樂
sunset n.
the going down of the sun; the time when the
sun goes down
日落 ( 時(shí)分 )
neighborhood n.
the area around a point or place 鄰近地區(qū) ; 地段
adult n.
成年人
typical a.
典型的
educator n.
a person whose profession is education 教育家
barely ad.
hardly 僅僅, 勉強(qiáng); 幾乎沒有
literate a.
able to read and write 能讀寫的 ; 有文化的
product n.
sth. made or grown 產(chǎn)品
network n.
廣播（或電視）聯(lián)播公司；廣播（或電視）網(wǎng)
glance n.
quick look 一瞥 ; 掃視
radical a.
extreme; very different 激進(jìn)的
electronic a.
電子的
electron n.
baby-sitter n.
someone who looks after a child when the parents
are away for a short time ( 代人臨時(shí) ) 照看嬰兒者
childhood n.
time when one is a child 童年
partly ad.
not completely; in some degree 部分地；在一定程度上
involve vt.
have as a part or result (必須) 包括
imagination n.
the ability to imagine 想象力
learning n.
the gaining of knowledge or skill through studying;
knowledge or skill gained through studying 學(xué)習(xí);學(xué)問,知識(shí)
invent vt .
produce (sth. ) for the first time 發(fā)明
Phrases & Expressions
generation gap
failure of the younger and older generations to communi-
cate and understand one another 代溝
in part
in some degree; partly 在一定程度上；部分地
grow up
change from a child to a man or a woman 長(zhǎng)成, 長(zhǎng)大
bring together
cause to meet 使相聚
come up wit
think of ; produce 想出 , 提出
at first glance
when first seen or thought about 乍一看;最初考慮時(shí)
have a ball
(sl. )enjoy oneself, have a very good time 玩得開心
Proper Names
Mayer
邁耶（姓氏）
the United States
美國(guó)