"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 found 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 program. We have even given up sitting at table and having a leisurely evening meal,exchanging the news of the day. If any member of the family dares to open his mouth during a program, he is quickly silenced. Little by little, television cuts us off from the real world. 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 Television.
“的确如此。不过，在电视出现以前，我们经常做什么呢?”这样的感慨对我们是多么耳熟啊! 电视出现在我们生活中还没有那么久，但是，我们已经开始忘却没有电视的世界曾经是个什么模样了。在我们把这个独眼怪物请进家门之前，我们从来都不觉得打发闲暇时光是什么难事。那时，我们享受着种种优雅的乐趣。比如，我们曾有各种爱好，我们曾在家里款待朋友或者到朋友家做客，我们曾去剧院、电影院、餐馆和体育竞赛场馆娱乐消遣。我们曾经时常读读书，听听音乐和广播聊天节目。所有这些都已成为过去。现在，我们所有的闲暇时光都被电视主宰着。我们急匆匆地冲回家，狼吞虎咽地扒完饭，就为了赶上这个或那个电视节目。我们现在甚至放弃了围坐在餐桌前一边悠闲地享用着晚餐，一边交谈这一天的见闻的习惯。若是某个家庭成员竟敢在收看电视节目的时候开口说话，大家一定会立即叫他闭嘴。渐渐地，电视剪断了我们与外界真正的联系。只有当我们远离现代文明，在海滨或山区度假的时候，我们才意识到电视与真实的生活是多么不相干。在宁静的自然环境中，我们很快发现，对于催眠的、专制的电视王国，我们并没有丝毫的眷恋。
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