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

¹ For detailed information see Appendix

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. The vast majority of the population, though, seem to be quite content to spend their evenings goggling at the box. Even when they go out, the choice of the pub can be influenced by which one has a colour television; it is, in fact, the introduction of colour that has prompted an enormous growth in the box's popularity, and there can be little likelihood of this popularity diminishing in the near future. If, then, we have to live with the monster, we must

study its effects.

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 cold­blooded 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 con­tinue to grow in popularity as the years go by is 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.

(From: Arnold J., Harmer J. "Advanced Writing Skills". Ldn., 1980)

1. As you read the text: a) look for the answers to these questions:

1. According to the author, how do most British people spend their evenings? 2. What has prompted an enormous growth in television's popularity? 3. What is the effect of continual violence on television in the author's opinion? 4. Why does the author think that television may be "sowing the seeds of its own downfall"?

b) Find in the text the arguments the author gives to illustrate the following:

1. The statement that television is destroying the art of conver­
sation seems to be irrelevant 2. Television is dulling viewers' reac­
tions to violence and tragedy. 3. Television is broadening people's
horizons.

c) Summarize the text in 3 paragraphs.

2. Use the thematic vocabulary in answering the following questions:

1. What are your favourite programmes? Refer to specific pro­grammes to illustrate your preferences. 2. What qualities do you look for in a television programme? 3. What are the programmes that appeal to specific age groups? 4. What is the amount of week­end TV time devoted to sports programmes? Would you rather watch a favourite sport on TV or view it in person? Give your argu­ments/reasoning. 5. What genres seem to dominate prime-time viewing? First check a week's TV schedule and make a list of all prime-time TV and break it into genres. 6. Should musical concerts and theatrical performances be broadcast on TV? 7. What are the challenges of video? 8. Do you think the emergence of music video

clips presents some problems to musicians? What problems? 9. What advantages, if any, does television have over radio? Will television oust radio in the future?

3. First read the following text:

The Story So Far

The idea of a machine able to broadcast both sound and vision goes back to 1875. But it wasn't until 1926 that a Scottish engineer turned the idea into a practical reality. Now, his invention dominates the modern media. This is its story.

John Logie Baird produced the first television pictures just eight years after the First World War. They were in black and white and were not very clear, but he had proved that the principle worked. Early sets made in the years of Baird's breakthrough cost as much as a small car and not many were sold. Soon, though, his original system was improved and in 1936 Britain's first regular TV programme went on the air. "Here's Looking At You" was broadcast by the BBC from north London's Alexandra Palace studios twice a day for a weekly budget of one thousand pounds. But Great Britain wasn't the only country producing programmes. Other European nations, including Germany, were also involved in the early days of television. As, of course, was America — and it's there that the real TV revolution be­gan after World War Two.

US television boomed in the late '40s. Commercial stations be­gan to open in almost every city, and national networks made pro­grammes which were seen from coast to coast. One of the American networks — CBS — even developed a colour service as early as 1951. Two years later, TV took another important step when it covered its first major international event — the coronation of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. It was the first time that a worldwide audience of millions had seen history take place in their own homes.

By the end of the decade, TV culture was rapidly becoming a fact of life on both sides of the Atlantic. Even so, it was still a very young medium — lots of people didn't have sets — and many experts thought it wouldn't last. That all changed in the '60s and 70s, though, as tele­vision started to satisfy the public's desire, not just for entertainment, but also for rapid, accurate information. As more and more sets were

sold, the importance of TV news quickly grew. After all — what other medium could show you live — as TV did in 1969 — Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon?

Since 1980 there have been four more major developments. The first is video, which has given viewers the power to control what they watch and when they watch it. These days, fifty per cent of homes have a VCR (video-cassette recorder) and millions more are being sold every year.

The second is satellite TV. Thanks to DBS (direct broadcast satel­lites), dozens of new channels are now available to anyone who buys a receiving "dish". Many of these new channels specialize in one kind of programme — e. g. news, sport, cartoons, music, movies.

The third development is cable — a system of hi-tech wires, which provides even more channels... at a price. But not only that. Cable also makes it possible for you to communicate through your TV, not just the other way around. More about that in a moment.

Fourthly, there's HDTV (high definition television), which now offers a much clearer and more realistic picture than was possible even a few years ago.

So... more channels, more choice, more clarity. What is there left for TV to achieve in the future? The answer to that is two-way communication. Modern technology means that twenty-first century televisions will be linked to computer databanks. This way, viewers will be able to ask questions (via remote control) about what they're watching and the answers will appear on their screens. This idea is called "hyper-media" and it's still at an early stage. But then, as we've just seen, TV has come a very long way in a very short time. The hyper-media revolution could happen soon­er than many people think.

a) Find the English equivalents for the following:

передавать звук и изображение; восходить к; превратить в реальность; про­рыв; выйти в эфир; претерпеть бурный рост; в конце 40-х годов; общенацио­нальные сети; цветное ТВ; освещать событие; десятилетие; быстрая и точная информация; показывать в прямом эфире; видеомагнитофон; спутниковое те­левидение; "тарелка"; за определенную цену; двусторонняя связь; дистанци­онное управление; телевидение прошло очень длинный путь за очень корот­кое время.

b) Answer the following questions:

1. When did the idea of broadcasting both sound and vision first occur? 2. What were the major milestones in the development of TV before World War II? 3. How did TV develop in the USA after the war? 4 What was the first international event to be covered by TV? 5 What are the latest developments in TV? 6. What are the possible future achievements of TV?