Question

Read the following passage:

(1)	How does television affect our lives? It can be very helpful to people who carefully choose the shows that 8 they watch. Television can increase our knowledge of the outside world; there are high quality programmes that help us understand many fields of study, science, medicine, the different arts and so on. Moreover, television benefits very old people, who can’t leave the house, as well as patients in hospitals. It also offers non-native speakers the advantages of daily informal language practice. They can increase their vocabulary and practise listening.
(2)	On the other hand, there are several serious disadvantages of television. Of course, it provides us with a pleasant way to relax and spend our free time, but in some countries people watch television for an average of six hours or more a day. Many children stare at the TV screen for more hours a day than they spend on anything else, including studying and sleeping. It’s clear that TV has a powerful influence on their lives and that its influence is often negative.
(3)	Recent studies show that after only thirty seconds of television viewing, a person’s brain ‘relaxes’ the same way that it does just before the person falls asleep. Another effect of television on the human brain is that it seems to cause poor concentration. Children who view a lot of television can often concentrate on a subject for only fifteen to twenty minutes. They can pay attention only for the amount of time between commercials.
(4)	Another disadvantage is that television often causes people to become dissatisfied with their own lives. Real life does not seem so exciting to these people. To many people, television becomes more real than reality and their own lives seem boring. Also many people get upset or depressed when they can’t solve problems in real life as quickly as television actors seem to.
(5)	Before a child is fourteen years old, he or she views eleven thousand murders on the TV. He or she begins to believe that there is nothing strange about fights, killings and other kinds of violence. Many studies show that people become more violent after viewing certain programmes. They may even do the things that they see in a violent show.

1. On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using Headings and Sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations (minimum four) and a format you consider suitable. Supply a suitable title to it. (4)
2. Make a summary of the above passage in about 80 words. (4)

Answer 1

a.

Title - Effects of Television on Our Lives

Note Making:

1. Introduction:
   1. Good for individuals who carefully chose the shows they watch.
   2. Television affects life in both ways.
2. Advantages of Television:
   1. Increases knowledge of the outside world.
   2. It benefits to native people for daily informal language practice.
   3. Improves vocabulary.
   4. Develops listening skills.
3. Disadvantages of Television:
   1. Creates dissatisfaction with real life.
   2. Children watch tv for more than 6 hours.
   3. People start comparing their lives to tv actors and believe that their existence is boring.
   4. Imitation of violent acts.
   5. Leads to depression & frustration.
   6. Creates dissatisfaction with real life.
   7. Children watch tv more than studying & sleeping.
4. Abbreviations:
   1. vocab - vocabulary
   2. min - minutes
   3. diff. - difference
   4. yrs. - years
   5. concen - concentration
   6. HQ - High Quality
   7. comm. - commercial

b. Television has both advantages and disadvantages in our lives. It increases our knowledge by offering high-quality educational programmes and helps old people, patients and non-native speakers improve their language skills. However, excessive viewing has harmful effects. Many people, especially children, spend long hours watching TV, which negatively affects their studies and sleep. It reduces concentration and attention span. Television can also create dissatisfaction with real life and encourage violent behaviour, as children may imitate what they see on screen.