Перевести текст television is doing a great harm. it is monster." how often we hear statements like this! television hasn't been with us all the time, but we are already beginning to forget what the world was like without it. what did we use to do before there was television? first of all, we never found it difficult to spend our free time. we used to enjoy civilized pleasures. for instance,we used to have hobbies, we used to entertain our friends and be entertained by them, we used to go outside for our amusements to theatres, cinemas, restaurants and sporting events. we even used to books and listen to music. all that belongs to the past. now all our free time is regulated by the " magic box". we rush home to be in time for this or that programme. a sandwich and a glass of tea will do - anything if only it doesn't interfere with the programme. whole generations are growing up addicted to the telly. food is left uneaten, homework undone and sleep is lost. it is now standard practice for mother to keep the children quiet by putting them in the living - room with the telly alone: it doesn't matter what the children will watch - what so long as they are quiet. television encourages passive enjoyment. it is so easy to sit in our armchairs watching others working. little by little, television cuts us off from the real world. we get so lazy, we choose to spend a fine day in semi -darkness, glued to our sets, rather than go out into the world itself. television is a splendid means of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other. we only understand it when we spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountains, far away from civilization, in quiet, natural surroundings.