On April 19, millions of TV screens in the United
States of America will go blank for seven full days.
April 19-25 is TV-Turnoff Week. TV-Turnoff
Network, a non-profit organization, has promoted
the annual event since 1995. At first, only a few
thousand people took part. This year, there will be
participants in every American state and in more
than 12 countries.
to go blank погаснуть
non-profit [,non'profit] некоммерческий
to promote [prә'mәut] продвигать, проводить
annual event [,ænjuәl i'vent] ежегодное мероприятие
participant [pa:'tisipәnt] участник
SCARY STATISTICS



The average American watches
3 hours and 46 minutes of TV
each day (that's more than 52
days of non-stop TV-watching
per year).
By the age of 65 the average
American will have spent nearly
nine years glued to the TV-set.
The number of videos rented
daily in the United States is six
million while the number of
books borrowed from public
libraries is three million.
scary [skeәri] страшный,
пугающий
statistics [stә'tistiks]
статистика
average ['ævri] средний,
обычный
to be glued [glu:d] to the
TV-set быть
«приклеенным» к
телевизору, не отходить от
телевизора
to rent [rent] брать
напрокат
to borrow [borәu] брать (на
время)
SCARY STATISTICS




40% of Americans watch
television while eating
dinner.
By the age of 18 the average
American child will have
seen 200,000 violent
scenes on television.
An average child sees 30,000
TV commercials a year.
By the age of 65, the average
American will have seen two
million TV commercials.
violent scene [,vaiәlәnt 'si:n]
сцена насилия, жестокости
commercial [кә’mз:∫l]
телереклама
TV'S BAD FOR HEALTH


Each year, both kids and adults in the
US spend more time glued to the TVset than doing anything else, except
for sleeping!
People have worried about the effects
of TV ever since the 1940s, when
television became popular. Studies
show that too much TV watching
leads to such problems as bad eating
habits, lack of exercise, obesity and
depression. And far from relaxing us,
TV actually raises stress levels.
adult ['ædлlt] [ә’dлlt]
взрослый
effect [i'fekt] влияние,
воздействие
lack of недостаток
чего-либо
obesity [әu'bi:siti]
тучность, ожирение
depression [di'pre∫n]
депрессия,
подавленное
состояние
to raise stress levels
повышать уровень
стресса


More than one in eight American kids
today is overweight. Sitting in front of
the tube for long hours is one reason.
The steady stream of commercials
advertising sugary soda, chocolate and
fast food is another. It has been counted
that during four hours of Saturdaymorning cartoons, American TV
companies run more than 200 ads for
junk foods.
As US Surgeon General Dr. David
Satcher said, "We are raising the most
overweight generation of youngsters in
American history... This week is about
saving lives.”
overweight [әuvә'weit]
страдающий ожирением
tube [tju:b] амер. разг.
телевизор
steady ['stedi] stream
непрерывный поток
to advertise ['ædvәtaiz]
рекламировать
cartoon [ka:'tu:n]
мультфильм
ad (сокр. от advertisment
[әd‘vз:tismәnt]) реклама
junk food ['лŋк fu:d]
вредная, нездоровая пища
(в закусочных, автоматах)
surgeon general [,sз:n 'еnәrәl] главный хирург
to raise [reiz] растить
generation [,enә'rei∫n] поколение
youngsters ['jлŋstez] молодежь, подростки
GOOD FOR THE BRAIN?


Lots of people admit that the quality of
television could be better. They would
prefer to see fewer soap operas and
crime series, and more history, drama,
and science. One reason for the poor
quality is that the TV companies make
most of their money by selling
advertising. Advertisers pay more money
for time during popular shows, especially
in the evenings when the audiences are
biggest.
"If we show serious programs," say the
TV companies, "the advertisements will
look meaningless, and that won't please
the advertisers."
to admit [әd'mit]
признавать
quality ['kwoliti]
качество
soap opera ['sәup
,oрәгә] сериал,
«мыльная опера»
crime series [,kraim
'siәri:z]
криминальный
сериал
audience ['o:diәns]
телезрители,
зрительская
аудитория
meaningless
['mi:niŋlәs]
бессмысленный
TV AND VIOLENCE

Not long ago, a new study published
in the journal Science gave fresh
evidence of a connection between TV
watching and violence. Psychologist
Jeffrey G. Johnson and his research
team followed children in 707 families
for 17 years. The researchers found
that kids who watched more than one
hour of TV a day were more likely
than other kids to take part in
aggressive and violent behaviour as
they grew older.
evidence ['evidәns]
доказательство,
факты
connection [kә'nek∫n]
связь
psychologist
[sai'kolәist]
психолог
research [ri'sз:tf] team
группа, команда
исследователей
aggressive [ә'gresiv]
агрессивный
behaviour [bi'heiviә]
поведение
Elvis Presley, the late king of rock, once
became so angry with what he was watching
that he grabbed his gun and shot the TV set.
Who says that watching TV doesn't lead to
violence?
"BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE" SYNDROME
The "beautiful people" syndrome is what
happens when you watch too much TV.
 You begin to believe, or expect, ordinary
people to act, behave, and look like TV stars.
After watching hours and hours and hours of
beautiful, skinny and wealthy people on TV
you realize that your life isn't as wonderful as
it should be.
 What is the result of the "beautiful people"
syndrome? A lot of unhappy citizens.

syndrome ['sindrәum] синдром
skinny ['skini] очень худой
wealthy ['welθi] богатый, состоятельный
citizen ['sitizәn] гражданин, житель
TURN IT OFF!

TV-Turnoff Network wants
to encourage life outside the
tube. "We're not anti-TV,"
says the group's director,
Frank Vespe. The goal is to
help people tune into real life
so that "they won't have time
for TV."
to encourage [in'клri]
поддерживать, поощрять
goal [gәul] задача, цель
Do you have any idea how much TV you and your
family watch ? Have you ever spent a week without TV?