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PartIWriting(30minutes)
Net-surfing——AreYouReady?
PartIIReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)
Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1.
Forquestions1-7,mark
Y(forYES)ifthestatementagreeswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage;
N(forNO)ifthestatementcontradictstheinformationgiveninthepassage;
NG(forNOTGIVEN)iftheinformationisnotgiveninthepassage.
Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.
TheTroubleWithTelevision
Itisdifficulttoescapetheinfluenceoftelevision.Ifyoufitthestatisticalaverages,bytheageof20youwillhavebeenexposedtoatleast20,000hoursoftelevision.Youcanadd10,000hoursforeachdecadeyouhavelivedaftertheageof20.TheonlythingsAmericansdomorethanwatchtelevisionareworkandsleep.
Calculateforamomentwhatcouldbedonewithevenapartofthosehours.Fivethousandhours,Iamtold,arewhatatypicalcollegeundergraduatespendsworkingonabachelor'sdegree.In10,000hoursyoucouldhavelearnedenoughtobecomeanastronomerorengineer.Youcouldhavelearnedseverallanguagesfluently.Ifitappealedtoyou,youcouldbereadingHomerintheoriginalGreekorDostoyevskyinRussian.Ifitdidn't,youcouldhavewalkedaroundtheworldandwrittenabookaboutit.
Thetroublewithtelevisionisthatitdiscouragesconcentration.Almostanythinginterestingandrewardinginliferequiressomeconstructive,consistentlyappliedeffort.Thedullest,theleastgiftedofuscanachievethingsthatseemmiraculoustothosewhoneverconcentrateonanything.ButTelevisionencouragesustoapplynoeffort.Itsellsusinstantgratification（满意）.Itdivertsusonlytodivert,tomakethetimepasswithoutpain.
Television'svarietybecomesanarcotic（麻醉的）,norastimulus.Itsserial,kaleidoscopic（万花筒般的）exposuresforceustofollowitslead.Theviewerisonaperpetualguidedtour:30minutesatthemuseum,30atthecathedral,30foradrink,thenbackonthebustothenextattraction—exceptontelevision.,typically,thespansallottedarcontheorderofminutesorseconds,andthechosendelightsaremoreoftencarcrashesandpeoplekillingoneanother.Inshort,alotoftelevisionusurps（篡夺；侵占）oneofthemostpreciousofallhumangifts,theabilitytofocusyourattentionyourself,ratherthanjustpassivelysurrenderit.
Capturingyourattention—andholdingit—istheprimemotiveofmosttelevisionprogrammingandenhancesitsroleasaprofitableadvertisingvehicle.Programmersliveinconstantfearoflosinganyone'sattention—anyone's.Thesurestwaytoavoiddoingsoistokeepeverythingbrief,nottostraintheattentionofanyonebutinsteadtoprovideconstantstimulationthroughvariety,novelty,