Television and Children - Is It Always Wonderful? (2/2)

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The quality of children's programs is an especially important issue, because children are heavy television viewers who are strongly influenced by what they see. As we know, the most important interest of television companies is profit. They don't give much thought to what may be harmful for children to see. Some children's programs are educational and give useful and helpful information through cartoons, puppets, and movies. On the other hand, many programs show violence - fighting, chasing, shooting, and murder. With all this choice, children are affected in several ways:

1. Children don't develop a good imagination, because everything is pictured for them. When they read, they create pictures in their minds in order to follow story. With television, this is not necessary.

2. Children watch television rather than read book; it's much easier. Because children read less, their vocabulary is limited.

3. Many children don't understand the stories they watch but are impressed with the physical actions they see. They become aggressive in their play and are willing to hurt people. They learn that violence mean power: you can make someone do what you want by simply hurting that person. The strongest person "wins."

4. Children can't concentrate on a topic; they lose interest quickly. Pictures on television are usually fast moving. When a story slows down, the viewer changes channels back and forth. They get no practice in concentrating and then are bored with activities in the classroom.

5. Commercials teach children that being young, beautiful, and sexy are the most important personal qualities.

6. At an early age, children have a broad knowledge of what the world is like... near and far, below the oceans, and in outer space. They also become familiar with people of many ethnic backrounds working, playing, and living together.

Can anything be done to improve the negative points? The answer is yes, but it is not easy. Some helpful suggestions are:

1. Don't have television sets in every room in the house.
2. Don't allow television watching during mealtime or homework periods.
3. Discuss with children in advance which programs they can watch.
4. Watch television together with your children. Have discusstions about the characters; what is realistic; and what behavior is unacceptable.
5. Use some programs as a basis for more research of a country, an animal, a person, or a time in history.

Yes, television is remarkable... if we use it wisely!

Television and Children - Is It Always Wonderful?

Among the outstanding inventions of modern times, television definitely must be included. Without leaving home, we can see and hear queens, presidents, ordinary people, and animals in African jungles. In other words, the whole world is brought home to us through television. Interesting events from all parts of the world are pictured and explained on television for everyone to see. We can get to know people from faraway places, and people in foreign lands get to know Americans. Television is a remarkable invention!

In the United States, television stations are not run by the government; they are owned by companies that want to make a profit from the business of television. They put on all kinds of programs and always do a lot of research to find out how many people watch each program. Profits come from the money paid by various companies for commercials. (Advertisements on television are called commercials.) For programs with large audiences, the cost of commercials is high. For program with moderate audiences, the cost is lower. When a program has a small number of people watching it, it is discontinued. There is a variety of programs that one can see on every channel: news, sports (baseball, tennis), interviews, talk shows (where different topic are discussed), comedies, mysteries, game shows, musical programs, and children's programs.

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Money - Does It Bring Happiness ... or Problem? (2/2)

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Credit cards are the modern magic that allows people to buy, fly, eat, and treat without cash. With credit cards, people feel rich, powerful, and happy. For many, however, credit cards are the first step to serious financial problems.

Charge cards or credit cards are an easy way of getting credit - that is, borrowing money. They are very convenient and safe to use. Shoppers get monthly bills for their purchases. If they pay their bills promptly, they avoid paying interest charges. If they pay only part of their bills, high interest charges are added on every month. This, in reality, increases the price of whatever they bought.

Many shoppers have trouble controlling their spending because of the cards. Because they can get all kinds of things just by signing their names, they don't think about the bills that will surely come. They are not efficient money managers. Financial advisers and counselors are in business to help people manage their money wisely. They teach their clients to make a budget. A budget is a written record that helps people see where their money goes, where they can cut down on spending, what they can cut out, and how they can manage better. Most often, however, the first bit of advice is to get rid of all credit cards!

Credit cards can make shopping a pleasure. However, the user must know how to control the cards and not be controlled by the cards.

Money - Does It Bring Happiness ... or Problem? (1/2)

Money! Money! Money! No ones goes through life without handling money. Millions of people work hard year in and year out to earn money. Some people are born into money; some marry into money; others inherit money. Millions buy lottery tickets hoping to win money. Some even break the law in order to get money. Everybody wants to have money, because it makes life easy... or does it?

Saving money is often difficult, but spending it can cause difficulties, too. The many different ways people deal with money reveal much about them. Uncontrolled spending may be a sign of personal problems. Some shoppers buy, buy, buy more than they can use. Psychologists say that this is a way of giving themselves love or power. Many people buy expensive things they don't really need in order to get rid of unhappy feelings. Some people are heavy gamblers and cannot stop, even though they lose all their money. Others find it very painful to spend money, even if they have a lot of it. People who misuse their money probably need psychological help for their personal problems. This help might also change their ways of using money.

For all of us, it makes good sense to live within one's income - that is, not to spend more than what one earns. For people with low and moderate incomes, it is not easy to spend less than they earn. Surprisingly, many people with high income have the same problem. How is it possible to spend more money than one has? Actually, it is quite easy. People can shop in department stores, stay in hotels, fly to distant places, order expensive gifts, eat in fine restaurants, yet not spend one penny in cash... temporarily. It is the small, plastic credit card that lets a person shop without using cash.


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Prastic - A wonderful invention (2/2)

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Furthermore, a research company predicts that foods now packed in steel cans will also eventually be packed in plastic containers. These will weigh less than steel and will not use up precious natural resources. Business and consumers benefit from the many advantages of plastic.

Not only private industry but also the Army is testing the uses of plastic in the form of helmets, bulletproof vests, plastic car engines, jet planes with partly plastic wings, and plastic parts on submarines.

In the field of medical science, amazing progress has been made with plastic in recent years. Many defective organs of the body can now be replaced by artificial ones made mostly of plastic. The possibilities are really endless and exciting. Artificial hearts, as well as knees, hips, and other joints have already becomes a reality. Biomedical engineers are doing more and more research in this area.

One serious problem with plastic is the fact that it is not biodegradable - that is, it does not decompose. Even after years of being in a garbage dump, plastic remain plastic. Currently, however, researchers are working on biodegradable plastic, which will reduce the amount of garbage generated. Biodegradable plastic will also be recyclable into new plastic products. The amount of garbage will be further reduced when plastic can be used over and over again.

We can easily see that people will use plastic for a long, long time. Doctors, plumbers, and people everywhere benefit from using plastic in one form or another. The plastic industry continues to grow, because there are always new ways to use this material. Without a doubt, the Plastic Age is with us.

active plastic