Television and Advertisement

Many people have forgotten what the world was like before TV. But today it has become an integral part of our lives. No medium can compare with TV as a means of information, entertainment & education. TV now plays such an important role in so many people's lives that it is essential for us to try to decide whether it is bad or good.

First of all, TV is not only a convenient source of entertainment, but also a comparatively cheap one. For a family of 4, for example, it is more convenient as well as cheaper to sit comfortably at home than to go out. They don't have to pay for expensive tickets. All they have to do is to turn on TV and they can see films, political discussions and the latest exciting football matches.

TV, people often say, informs about current events and the latest developments in science and politics. A lot of good films, music programs have appeared recently on TV. Yet here again there is a danger. We get to like watching TV so much that it begins to dominate our lives.

The most important thing which is really criticizing is poor quality of the programs and its harmful effect on children. For example the film " Natural Born Killers" teaches children to kill and there was one accident in France when a group of teenagers kill their parents.

There are many arguments for and against TV. We must understand that TV in itself is neither good nor bad. TV is as good or as bad as we make it.

Task II. Scan the text above and write down all the sentences containing the Perfect forms of the verbs.

Task III. Open the brackets using the Degrees of Comparison.

1. Economics is much (difficult) than Mathematics for me.

2. My essay is (long) than yours.

3. It isn’t as (warm) today as it was yesterday.

4. The office building where he works is the (old) in the city.

5. His apartment isn’t as (elegant) as her apartment but it’s much (big).

Task IV. Find the synonyms for the words and combinations given below.

Task V. Fill in the correct article.

1. …Smiths have a dog and a cat.

2. He knows how to work on … computer.

3. She was the first woman to swim across … English Channel.

4. Go down … Kingston Street and turn left into Oxford Street.

5.I don’t like milk in … tea.

Task VI. Open the brackets using the Pronouns some, any, no. Translate the sentences into Russian.

1. There are … figures in this business magazine.

2. Are there … new workers in your office?

3. We haven’t got … profit this month.

4. My boss always likes … sugar in his coffee.

5. He has got … money. He can’t spend his holidays in Switzerland any more.

Task VII. Translate into English.

1. В последнее время на телевидении появилось много познавательных программ.

2. Самое страшное – вредное воздействие фильмов на психику детей.

3. Прежде всего, телевидение сейчас – незаменимый источник информации и развлечений.

4. Сегодня мы можем не тратить деньги на дорогие билеты в кино и смотреть фильмы у себя дома.

5. Мы привыкаем к телевидению и Интернету настолько, что больше не можем жить без них.