Reading Questions for “The Trouble With Television” Name _____________________________
by Robert MacNeil p. 519 in Prentice Hall Literature text
Period ______
1. Write down the sentence that contains the opinion of the author in the 1st paragraph.
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2. Write down one fact that the author uses to back up the opinion statement in 1st paragraph.
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3. On p. 520, what is the first negative “trouble” about television that he talks about? How does he
support this claim?
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4. On p. 521, what does he say is the “prime motive of most television programming”?
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5. How does television programming keep our attention, according to Mr. MacNeil?
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6. What does he think news shows result in? Why does he think the news is not “really absorbable
and understandable?
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Matching vocabulary
____1. diverts (p 520)
____2. usurps (p520, 2nd para.)
a. quality of being connected in a way that is easily understood
b. of little importance, insignificant
____3. pervading (p520)
____4. trivial (p523)
____5. coherence (p522)
____6. anachronism (p523)
c. distracts; entertains or amuses
d. to seize and hold, or use without authority or permission
e. something that seems to be out of its proper place in history
f. spreading throughout
6. In “The Trouble With Television,” Robert MacNeil discusses the impact television had on people
and society in the 1980s. Thinking about modern society, what technology do you think has the
most impact/influence on people and society? Is it positive, negative, or both? Give two examples to
support your answer.
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