Discussion Ex.1 In pairs do the quiz about the ‘firsts’ and the ‘bests’ media products in Russia. Explain your choice. Compare your results with the classmates.

1. What is the most popular reality TV show?

2. Which search engine is the most popular?

3. Which film is the greatest?

4. Which quiz show is the most popular?

5. Which newspaper sells the most copies?

6. How much TV do people watch every day?

Turn off tv and turn on life!

On April 19, millions of TV screens in the United States of America will go blank for seven full days.

April 19-25 is TV – Turnoff Week. TV – Turnoff Network, a non-profit organization, has promoted the annual event since 1995. At first, only a few thousand people took part. This year, there will be participants in every American state and in more than 12 countries.

Scary statistics:

• The average American watches 3 hours and 46 minutes of TV each day (that’s more than 52 days of non-stop TV-watching per year).

• By the age of 65 the average American will have spent nearly nine years glued to the TV-set.

• 40% of Americans watch television while eating dinner.

• By the age 18 the average American child will have seen 200,000 violent scenes on television.

• An average child sees 30,000 TV commercials a year.

• By the age of 65, the average American will have seen two million TV commercials.

TV’s bad for health

Each year, both kids and adults in the US spend more time glued to the TV-set than doing anything else, except for sleeping!

People have worried about the effects of TV ever since the 1940s, when television became popular. Studies show that too much TV watching leads to such problems as bad eating habits, lack of exercise, obesity and depression. And far from relaxing us, TV actually raises stress levels.

More than one in eight American kids today is overweight. Sitting in front of the tube for long hours is one reason. The steady stream of commercials advertising sugary soda, chocolate and fast food is another. It has been counted that during four hours of Saturday- morning cartoons, American TV companies run more than 200 ads for junk foods. As US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher said, 'We are raising the most overweight generation of youngsters in American history… This week is about saving lives.'

Good for the brain?

Lots of people admit that the quality of television could be better. They would prefer to see fewer soap operas and crime series, and more history, drama, and science. One reason for the poor quality is that the TV companies make most of their money by selling advertising. Advertisers pay more money for time during popular shows, especially in the evenings when the audiences are biggest.

'If we show serious programmes,' say the TV companies, 'the advertisements will look meaningless, and that won’t please the advertisers.'

TV and violence

Not long ago, a new study published in the journal Science gave fresh evidence of a connection between TV watching and violence. Psycholologist Jeffrey G.Johnson and his research team followed children in 707 families for 17 years. The researchers found that kids who watched more than one hour of TV a day were more likely than other kids to take part in aggressive and violent behaviour as they grew older.

'Beautiful people' syndrome

The 'beautiful people' syndrome is what happens when you watch too much TV. You begin to believe, or expect, ordinary people to act, behave, and look like TV stars. After watching hours and hours of beautiful, skinny and wealthy people on TV you realise that your life isn’t as wonderful as it should be.

What is the result of the 'beautiful people' syndrome? A lot of unhappy citizens.

Turn it off!

TV-Turnoff Network wants to encourage life outside the tube. 'We’re not anti-TV,' says the group’s director, Frank Vespe. The goal is to help people tune into real life so that 'they won’t have time for TV.'

Notes

to go blank	погаснуть
non-profit	некоммерческий
to promote	продвигать
annual event	ежегодное мероприятие
participant	участник
adult	взрослый
to be glued to the TV-set	быть «приклеенным» к телевизору, не отходить от телевизора
lack of	недостаток чего-либо
obesity	тучность, ожирение
overweight	страдающий ожирением
tube	телевизор (амер. разг.)
scary	пугающий
steady stream	непрерывный поток
surgeon general	главный хирург
youngsters	молодежь, подростки
meaningless	бессмысленный
evidence	доказательство
research team	группа исследователей
skinny	очень худой
to encourage	поддерживать, поощрять
goal	задача, цель

Comprehension

Ex.1 Answer the following questions.

1. What is TV – Turnoff Week?

2. How much time do Americans spend in front of a TV-set? (mention statistics)

3. What effects does TV have on our health?

4. What was the result of Jeffrey G.Johnson’s research?

5. What does ‘beautiful people’ syndrome mean?

Discussion

Ex.1 Answer the following questions.

1. How much television do most people watch?

2. Do you have any idea how much TV you and your family watch?

3. Have you ever spent a week without TV?

4. What do people usually watch on television?

5. What types of programmes do you usually watch? Why?

6. People who work in TV say ‘Never work with children or animals.’ Why do you think they say this? What can go wrong on a live TV show?

7. Are some channels more reliable than others?

8. Is television a kind of entertainment or a source of information for you?

9. What are the challenges of video?

10. What are the advantages and disadvantages of watching TV?

11. What advantages, if any, does the television have over the Internet and radio? Will television oust the Internet in the future?