A strong debate has raged in recent years over the idea of whether television has led to the “dumbing down” of society by distracting its viewers away from the more educational pastimes such as reading books. It is probably true that people can learn just as much, if not more, by watching television rather than by reading books. But the true value of reading books does not lie merely in the words and information that the reader receives but rather in the act of reading itself. The knowledge that is gained from reading may sometimes be of less importance than the sheer act of stimulating the brain that is required in order to comprehend what is being read. Television requires little brainpower to understand – it is in the exercise of the mind where the true importance of reading presents itself.

First of all, if one considers the issue from a pure learning standpoint, an argument can be made that television is at the very least the equal of books in its ability to teach. As a medium, television has an almost magical capability of attracting the attention of children and adults alike. A well-produced television program can be a tremendous vehicle for teaching while simultaneously entertaining a person. For example, consider the educational value of the National Geographic television programs, as opposed to a National Geographic book. In written form, National Geographic can discuss the behavior of humans or animals and even show their behaviors in the form of pictures in the book. However, a television program can give the same discussion as the book, while at the same time use moving pictures in the form of video to vividly recreate those behaviors right in front of the viewers eyes. It is due to the superiority of moving video to still pictures that television can sometimes be a better teacher than any book.

On the other hand, it may be more important now than ever for people to read books, particularly because television is so seductive as a form of entertainment. Most of the criticism aimed at television is due to the lack of any educational content in most of its programs. Television networks thrive on advertising dollars; therefore the most popular programs are the most profitable. In general, people prefer to watch what some call “mindless” entertainment rather than a television program that actually teaches them something. Proof of this can be found in the weekly television program ratings that show the lack of popularity of educational programs as opposed to the appeal of the situation comedy or inane game show. Reading stimulates the mind while television soothes it. The true importance of reading is in the fact that it requires the brain of the reader to work. Imagination and comprehension of the written word exercises the mind, leaving the person with a better ability to think. Books have a strong power to fire the imagination of young and old alike in ways that television cannot. In this manner, books can improve the mind by forcing the reader to think, while television simply shows the viewer something without requiring him or her to think much at all.

To summarize, television and books both have their good points when it comes to the ability to inspire people to learn. Television can impart greater knowledge at times, but it can also waste time that could be better spent elsewhere. Books have the ability to make the reader think, thus allowing them to develop better brainpower. If a person truly wants to become education, he or she should use the two media as complementary resources for learning.

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参考译文

在电视时代，读书不再像过去那样重要了。人们可以依靠看电视获得与他们读书同样多的知识。

近年来，电视是否因其把电视观众的注意力从更具教育作用的消遣方式——例如读书——分散开来而导致了社会的“沉寂”，这方面的争论一直喧嚣不已。很可能人们通过看电视可以同读书获得同样多的知识，倘若不比读书更多的话。但是读书的真正价值不仅仅在于读者所读到的词汇和信息，而且还在于读书这一行为本身。读书所获得的知识，其重要性有时不如为了理解所读内容而刺激大脑这一行为。电视需要很少的脑力劳动去理解——大脑的活动才是读书所呈现的真正意义。

首先，如果我们纯粹从学习的角度来考虑这个问题，那么就可以提出这样一个论点，即电视至少在教学能力上是与书籍等效的。作为一种媒介，电视几乎具有吸引儿童以及成人注意力的魔力。一个制作精良的电视节目，可以在娱乐人的同时成为教学的得力工具。例如，只需考虑一下“国家地理”电视节目的教育意义，并将它与“国家地理”之书籍相对比。以文字的形式出现，“国家地理”之书籍也可以讨论人和动物的行为，并且可以以图画的形式表现其行为。然而，电视节目可以提供与书籍一样的讨论，同时，电视还可以用活动图像逼真地再现那些行为于观众眼前。正是由于活动画面优于静止画面，有时电视才成为比书籍更好的老师。

另一方面，与以往任何时候相比，现在人们去读书会显得更为重要，尤其是因为电视是一种如此具有诱惑力的娱乐形式。大多数对电视的批评是说电视的多数节目缺少教育内容。电视网络绞尽脑汁做广告挣钱，因而最受欢迎的节目往往也是最赚钱的。总的看来，人们喜欢看所谓“不动脑筋”的娱乐节目，而不喜欢看具有教育内容的电视节目。每周的电视节目评估可证实这一点：教育节目收视率低而情景喜剧和无意义的游戏却很受欢迎。读书激活大脑，而电视却使大脑碌碌无为。读书的真正意义在于它需要读者的大脑进行工作。对文字的想像和理解可以活跃大脑，培养人们更好的思维能力。书籍具有点燃青年人甚至老年人想像力的力量，而电视却没有。因此，书籍由于强迫读者思考而增强脑力，而电视只是让观众观看而不需要他/她进行思索。

总而言之，当涉及激发人们学习时，电视和书籍均不乏其优点。电视有时可以传授更多的知识，但它又可能浪费原本可以花在其它活动上的时间。书籍具有激发读者思索的功能，从而开发读者的脑力。如果一个人确实想受到教育，那么他/她应该利用这两种媒介作为互补的学习资源。