Unit four

   
               Many people in the United  States  spend most of 
               their free time  watching television.  Certainly,  there 
               are many  worthwhile programs on television,  includ-
               ing  news,  educational  programs  for  children,  pro-
               grams on current  social problems,  plays, oziies, con-
               erts,  and so on.  Nevrtheless,  perhaps people should
               not be spending so much of  their time in  front of the
               TV. Mr Mayer imagines what we might do if we were
               forced to find other activities.  

                     TURNING OFF TV : A QUIET HOUR

       I would  like to propose that for sixty to ninety  minutes each  evening,
     right after the early evening news,  all television broadcasting in  the United
     States be prohibited by law.
           Let us take a serious,  reasonable  look at  what the  results might  be if 
5  such a proposal were accepted. Families might use  the time for a real family 
     hour. Without the distraction  of TV,  they  might  sit around together  after 
     dinner and actually talk  to one another.  It is well known  that  many  of our
     problems -- everything,  in  fact,  from  the  generation  gap  to the  high  di-
     vorce rate to some forms  of mental illness - are caused  at least  in  part  by 
10 failure to communicate.  We  do  not  tell  each  other what  is disturbirig us. 
     The result is emotional difficulty of  one  kind or another. By using the quiet
     family hour to discuss our problems, we might get  to know each  other bet-
     ter, and to like each other better.
           On evenings when  such talk  is unnecessary , families could  rediscover 
15 more active pastimes.  Freed  form  TV,  forced  to  find their  own  ctivities, 
     they might take a  ride  together  to  watch  the  sunset. Or they might  take a 
     walk together (remember feet? ) and  see the  neighborhood  with fresh , new 
     eyes.
          With free time  and  no TV,  children and  adults  might  rediscover  read-
20 ing.  There is more entertainment in a good book than in a  month  of  typical 
    TV  programming.  Educators  report  that  the  generation  growing  up  with 
    television  can  barely  write   an   English  ntence,  even  at  the  college  level.
    Writing  is often learned from  reading.  A  more literate new generation could
    be a product of the quiet hour.
25       A  different  form  of  reading  might also  be done,  as it was  in the past: 
    reading aloud.  Few  pastimes  bring  a  family closer  together than  gathering 
    around and listening  to mother  or father read  a  good  story. The  quiet hour 
    could  become  the  story  hour.When  the quiet  hour ends, the TV  networks 
    might even  be forced  to come  up with better shows  in order  to get us back 
30 frorn our newly diseovered activities. 
          At  first  glance,  the  idea  of  an  hour without  TV  seems  radical. What 
    will  parents  do without  the  electroriic  baby-sitter?  How  will  we spend the 
    time?  But it is  not  radical  at all.  It  has  been only  twenty--five  years  since 
    television  came  to control  American free time.  Those  of us  thirty--five and 
35 older  can  remember  childhoods  without   television,  spent  partly  with  ra- 
    dio -- which  at  least   involved   the   listener's   imagination -- but  also  with 
    reading ,  learning ,  talking ,  playing   games ,  inventing   new   activities.  It
    wasn't that difficult. Honest. The truth is we had a ball.

                     
                            New Words

                  
                           Phrases & Expressions

                                   Proper Names