牛津译林版高中英语必修一Unit 2《Growing pains》背景知识拓展

Unit 2 Growing pains

It's no secret that most busy American mothers use the TV set as a live-in babys itter. In some households the TV holds a child's attention for the half hour or two while mom works on dinner; in others it is the child's constant daytime compan i on. Is there any harm in this?

Debate rages over the question, and research is published showing that TV reduces attention span, makes children jumpy or inclines them to violence. In today's cartoon David Horsey makes fun of the cla ims of "children's TV", the special programming that supposedly uses entertainment to help youngsters to learn to read and take their first steps in the big, perse world outside their family. What do children really get from this programming? Horsey's opinion is that children's programming chiefly turns kids into TV addicts, not into readers or peop le who can get along well with others. The toddler in the cartoon, still at the age of pacifiers and stuffed animals, is held spellbound by the figure on the screen. What is the stimulating message of this creature specifically designed to fascinate small children? "Can you say TV?" The s ooner the kid learns the word, the more effectively he can remind or nag his mother to turn on the TV.

在美国，很多忙碌的母亲把电视当成住在家里的保姆，这已不是什么秘密。在有些家庭中，当妈妈做饭时电视会拴住孩子的注意力，有时是半小时甚至两小时。还有些家庭，电视就是孩子整天的伙伴。这种情况有什么害处吗？

对这一问题的争论十分激烈，相关研究也在发表，这些研究表明，电视缩小了孩子们的兴趣范围，使孩子们变得心绪不宁，产生暴力倾向。在今天的漫画中，漫画家戴维·霍尔西嘲笑了“儿童电视节目”的自我标榜，这种电视节目据说是用娱乐方式来帮助儿童学习认字，帮助儿童向家庭之外的大千世界迈出第一步。但是孩子们从这种节目中真正得到了什么呢？

霍尔西认为，儿童节目的主要功能是把儿童变成电视迷，而不是变成爱读书的人或是善于与不同的人相处的人。漫画中刚学走步的孩子还处于叼奶嘴和玩毛绒动物玩具的年龄，可已经被电视上的人物迷住了。而这个被设计成非常吸引小孩子的形象正在启发孩子什么呢？“你会说‘电视’这个词吗？”只要孩子一学会这个词，他就能更明确地提醒妈妈,更可能是纠缠妈妈,打开电视。

注：babysitter 代人照看孩子者companion同伴，伴侣rage（争论）激烈进行jumpy紧张不安的perse各种各样的toddler刚学会走路的孩子pacifier橡皮奶嘴stuffed吃饱了的spellbound入迷的

stimulate激发nag跟……纠缠不休

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