2012年8月4日雅思大作文真题:Television

Television knows no night, but people should control their screen time. As enjoyable as are a variety of programs from dramatic series to news cycles, too much television viewing time may have adverse consequences that rival those of lack of physical activity, obesity and smoking. Despite the advantages of television programs being transmitted around the clock, a public health case may be made that adults as well as children need to reduce the time spent in front of the 'box'. If used wisely, television benefits people daily. It has proved to be the most important and cherished medium for entertainment and information. For example, the 24-hour television is helping to relieve feelings of depression during a hard day, and of loneliness during a sleepless night. It is not only a powerful and effective learning tool for children but also is useful for adults to understand the complex social aspects of communication. In a certain sense, any time wasted in enjoying TV is not actually wasted because it is exactly what is right about it. To tell the truth, what can be a better way to digest free time than watching television? Sitting too long is a ubiquitous sedentary behavior, which doctors say may lead to health risks. According to a medical report, every hour viewed may shorten life by as much as 20 to 25 minutes. If the report is reliable, anyone who spends six hours a day watching television is at risk of dying five years sooner than those who enjoy more active pastimes. The message is clear: children should limit viewing time to two hours, and adults to four hours, in order to avoid possible negative effects. That is to say, going beyond these limits is said to be harmful to health. Even though the relationship between viewing time and life expectance is hard to be calculated, there are reasons to believe that addiction to the 24-hour television programs is anything but positive. Those television programs, being both entertaining and informative, do not mean to affect adults as well as children, of course. The 24-hour television transmission is a positive development as long as people can be aware of possible health problems. In some countries, TV networks never sleep, but people need to rest and do physical exercises for good health.