issue38【jet小组】联系

LITTERBOULDERUID: 2367811

In the age of television, reading books is not as important as it once was. People can learn as much by watching television as they can by reading books. 【38】电视时代的读书已经不像以前那么重要了。人们通过看电视学到的和他们读书所能学到的一样多
提纲：（1）让步肯定电视在传播知识方面所具有的积极作用
       (2) 是否每个人都能从中学到些什么是值得怀疑的，因为大多数人是怀着消遣的目的去看电视的，此外电视制作者的目的值得商榷。
      （3）在绝大多数情况下，书本较电视有优势。从提供的知识的深度，观点的多样性等方面进行分析

Data:2/5/2008                           Time: N/A                                Word:622
The speaker equates the function of watching television, in the age of television we are experiencing, to that of reading books through which we used to get information and knowledge. Considering the correct philosophical side the speaker takes, I fundamentally concede the positive role of TV in transmitting information and spreading knowledge. However, the speaker unnecessarily overestimates its superiority while demeaning the function of reading, which is unjustified and logical flawed.

Doubtlessly, more and more TV programs such as X-Files, Animal Planet, discovery and so forth are becoming teenager’s favorite, even enjoyed by the public of lasting curiosity to the known and insatiable appetite to uncharted fields. After all, colorful and vivid images of documentary programs create more realistic and amazing scenes on a spectacular volcano eruption, an overwhelming tornado or a mysterious exploration into UFO. Few would dispute such superiorities of TV, for it is an inexperienced shock of the impact from moving images that pales any written words no matter how skilled a journalist or how keen an observer . However, as to me, people’s curiosity does not amount to interest in science and the popularity of such programs does not equal t to the awareness of knowledge. To illustrate it, our daily life never lacks such examples. In retrospect, from a comprehensive view, the dominant programs in TV are always TV series, maybe a comedy or a tragedy, a lady’s romance or an iron man’s revenge, as well as talk shows and other non-knowledge programs. In other word, the proportion of such so-called educative programs is quite small compared to all TV programs. Furthermore, taking the ultimate goal of modern media into account, can we rely on a profit-driven institution to take up the role of instilling knowledge which is reasonable to belong to our teachers and books?  

If we look back on the history of human’s civilization, reading is always regarded as lasting catalysts of progress as well as observing and experimenting. One apt illustration of this point involves our own experience of learning from a pupil to a college student. At the beginning of study, teachers always require us read general books on common sense of life and basic knowledge of every subject. At this stage of study, TV can really do some assistance to help form general understanding of the world around us. As our the degree of our research being deeper and the board of our knowledge being wider, I mean something on one particular field or professional problems, we need to look up more and more books for a solution to such a complex problem. Understandably, when it comes to this situation, TV programs become helpless for it only scratches the surface of a complicate question due to some limitations of editors’ ability and commercial need. Furthermore, the validity of the speaker’s assertion is troubling in two other aspects as well. First, we can look up information and materials we need in libraries quickly and conveniently while few would turn to televisions for help. Secondly, the content of a program, whose dominant compositions are images and music, not the explanations, is quite limited compared to that of a book which is abundant in related materials and something enlightening.

In sum, the speaker’s assertion that watching televisions is informative as the same as reading book oversimplifies the process of learning, from general to professional, from informed to inspired, and from surface to core. On one hand the duty of televisions is to provide general descriptive surface of a problem, books need to further the surface to the core in a professional and inspired way. In the final analysis, watching televisions would never lose it appealing to beginners while reading books is sure to survive eternally.