陳蕙雅思教材 - 雅思閱讀精選 (Television)

Television

Television --  the most pervasive and persuasive  of modern technologies,

marked by rapid changeand  growth -- is        moving into  a new  era, an era  

of extraordinarysophistication  and versatility, whichpromises to reshape

our lives        and our world. It is an electronicrevolution of sorts, made

possible by the marriageof television and computer    technologies.

The word"television", derived from its Greek (tele: distant) and Latin

(visio: sight) roots, canliterally be          interpreted as sightfrom a

distance. Very simplyput, it works in this way: through a sophisticated  

system  of   electronics, television provides the capability of  

converting an image

(focused on  a special photoconductive plate   within a camera) into

electronic impulses,which can be sent through a wire or cable. These

impulses, when fed into areceiver (television set), can then be

electronicallyreconstituted into that same image.

Television is more thanjust an electronic system, however. It is a means

of expression, as well asa vehicle for     communication, and assuch becomes

a powerful tool forreaching other human beings.

The  field of  television  can  be  divided into  two  categories  

determined  by its  means  of transmission. First, there is broadcast

television, which reachesthe masses through broad-based airwave  

transmission  of television  signals.    Second, there  is  nonbroadcast  

television,  which provides for the needs of individualsor specific

interest groups         through controlled transmissiontechniques.

Traditionally,  television has  been  a medium  of  the masses.  We  are

most familiar  with broadcasttelevision because   it has been with usfor

about thirty-seven yearsin a form similar to what exists today. During

those years, it has beencontrolled, for the most part, by the broadcast

networks, ABC, NBC, andCBS, who have been the major purveyors of news,

information, andentertainment. These giants of broadcasting have actually

shaped  not only  television  but     ourperception of it as well. We have

come to look upon thepicture tube as a source of entertainment, placing

our     role in this dynamic medium as the passiveviewer.

電視電視--以快速變化與發展為標誌的最普遍、最具有影響力的一項現代技術，正在步 入一個極端複雜化與多樣化的新時代。  

這個時代承諾重新塑造我們的生活和我們的世界。 這可以稱得上是又一次電子革命，其關鍵在於電視技術與電腦技術的結合。"電視"這個詞

來源於希臘語詞根(tele：遠)和拉丁語詞根(vision：景象)，可以從字面上理解為來自遠處的 景象。  

簡單說來，電視是以這種方式工作的，通過一個複雜的電子系統，電視能夠將一幅

圖像(這幅圖像被聚焦在一部攝像機內的一塊特殊的光導底片上)轉換成能經過導線或電纜 發送出去的電子脈衝信號。  

當這些電子脈衝信號被輸入一部接收機(電視機)時，就可以用 電子學的方法把脈衝信號重新恢復成同一幅圖像。但是，電視不僅僅是一個電子系統，它還

是一種表達工具和傳播管道。  因此，電視成了一個對其他人發生影響的強大工具。電視這 個領域可以根據其發射方式分為兩類。  

第一類為廣播電視，通過電視信號的寬頻無線電波 發射展現在大眾面前；第二類為非廣播電視，使用受控的發射技術來滿足個人以及某些特殊

利益群體的需要。電視早已成為大眾媒介。  我們熟悉廣播電視，因為廣播電視已經以類似 目前的方式存在了大約 37 年。  

在那些年頭中，電視絕大部分一直由 ABC、NBC、CBS 這 些廣播電視公司控制著，這些廣播電視公司一直是新聞、資訊和娛樂的主要提供者。  這些

廣播業的巨頭實際上不僅塑造了電視，而且也塑造了我們對電視的理解。  我們漸漸把顯像 管看作是娛樂的來源，讓自己成為這個生動的媒介的被動觀眾。