Read the text.

A NATIONAL DISEASE?

At any time between four in the afternoon and midnight, at least ten million viewers in Great Britain are sure to be watching television. This figure can even rise to 35 million at peak viewing hours. With such large numbers involved, there are those who would maintain that television is in danger of becoming a national disease.

The average man or woman spends about a third of his or her life asleep, and a further third at work. The remaining third is leisure time – mostly evenings and weekends, and it is during this time that people are free to occupy themselves in any way they see fit. In our great-grandfathers’ days the choice of entertainment was strictly limited, but nowadays there is an enormous variety of things to do.

That the great boom in television’s popularity is destroying “the art of conversation” – a widely-held middle-class opinion – seems to be at best irrelevant, and at worst demonstrably false. How many conversations does one hear prefaced with the remarks, “Did you see so-and-so last night? Good, wasn’t it! ” which suggests that television has had a beneficial rather than a detrimental effect on conversational habits: at least people have something to talk about! More disturbing is the possible effect on people’s mind and attitudes. There seems to be a particular risk of television bringing a sense of unreality into all our lives.

Most people, it is probably true to say, would be horrified to see someone gunned down in the street before their very eyes. The same sight repeated nightly in the comfort of one’s living-room tends to lose its impact. What worries many people is that if cold-blooded murder – both acted and real – means so little, are scenes of earthquakes and other natural disasters likely to have much effect either?

Such questions are, to a large extent, unanswerable, and it is true to say that predictions about people’s probable reactions are dangerous and often misleading. But if television is dulling our reactions to violence and tragedy, it can also be said to be broadening people’s horizons by introducing them to new ideas and activities – ideas which may eventually lead them into new hobbies and pastimes. In the last few years there has been a vast increase in educative programmes, from the more serious Open University, to Yoga and the joys of amateur gardening. Already then people have a lot to thank the small screen for, and in all probability the future will see many more grateful viewers who have discovered new pursuits through the telly’s inventive genius.

Television, arguably the most important invention of the twentieth century, is bound to be exerting a major influence on the life of the modern man for as long as one dare predict: that it will also virtually certain. Yet in arousing hitherto unknown interests – challenging to its own hold over the lethargic minds of its devotees – it is not inconceivable that television may be sowing the seeds of its own downfall.

5. There are eight personal (and very different) opinions about newspapers and TV programs. Read these texts and answer the question: What is your opinion about mass media?

1 Torsten (Germany): I think the media are out of control. They don’t just report the news any more – they create it, too. I mean, the TV news isn’t shorter on a day when hardly anything happens, is it? They make everything seem so dramatic, too. Look at newspaper headlines – they always use words like “Crisis! ” “Triumph! ” “Disaster! ” And what happens two or three days later? Everyone’s forgotten about that story and moved on to the next one. It’s crazy.

2 Cindy (America): In my opinion, today’s younger generation is the best-informed ever. We are really lucky. And why do we know so much?... because of the media. OK not all papers and programs are good, I admit, but so what? You don’t have to read or watch the bad ones. It’s like an information supermarket… you go in, look at what’s available and choose what you want.

3 Alfredo (Spain): I feel sorry for people who work in the media, I really do. They get the blame for everything. After all, they’re only doing their job, aren’t they? It’s not their fault if the world’s in mess. What they do is difficult and people should realize that instead of complaining all the time.

4 Barbara (Ireland): My view of the media?... I think it’s become a Frankenstein’s monster. I mean, all you have to do is turn on the TV to see that. All right, there are a few interesting programs, but eighty per sent of it’s totally pathetic. Quiz shows, adverts, soap operas, awful American comedies… And tabloid newspapers are no better. They’re like comics for grown-ups. But maybe that’s what people want. I don’t know. All I can say is, it’s definitely not what I want.

5 Marie-Luise (France): To be honest, I don’t pay much attention to the media. My parents and some of my friends say I should, but I don’t really see the point. If I could do something about all the awful disasters in the news, then maybe. I can’t, though, so why should I depress myself for no good reason? Instead I just get on with my life and try to have fun. Because that’s what really matters, isn’t it?

6 Guy (Britain): I am a big fan of the news media. I think they do a fantastic job– especially on the really important stories. Take the end of the Cold war, for example. Thanks to journalists and TV reporters the whole world was able to see it happen, day by day. They’re good at covering issues like the environment, too. In fact, that’s one reason why the Green movement is so strong today. Everybody’s read about it and seen the TV pictures.

7 Charlie (Australia): Money. That’s what the media is all about. M. O. N. E. Y. The people who run newspapers and TV stations need to make a profit. So what do they do? They print stories and make programs which will be popular. Not good necessarily, or original or ever honest, but popular. It’s like eating junk food all the time – except what the media gives us is junk TV and Junk journalism.

8 Hiroko (Japan): I use the media in different ways at different times. It depends on my mood. Sometimes I want to watch a serious current affairs program. Other times I want to escape from reality and read about pop stars in a teen magazine. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that – it’s a fact of life. I like the media because they allow me to do both.

6. Study the following:

triumph – great success, glory

in a mess – in serious trouble

pathetic – weak and stupid

grown-ups – adults

junk food – hamburgers, pizzas, chocolate bars, popcorn, hot dogs, ets.