電視,上世紀的高科技神器

Nov 21 is United Nations’ World Television Day. While many of us today take the television for granted, it’s actually one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. TV changed the way that we relate to the world forever, and its popularity just grew and grew since its introduction. Indeed, it’s thought that by 2021, there will be 1.7 billion homes around the world that contain TV sets.

11月21日是聯合國世界電視日。儘管如今我們不少人都對電視不以爲然，但事實上，它是20世紀最偉大的發明之一。電視永遠地改變了我們連接世界的方式，自發明以來它的普及度也與日俱增。的確如此，據預計，到2021年全球將有17億家庭擁有電視。

Think about life before television. We mostly had to rely on the radio or newspapers to know what was going on in the world. But after television arrived, the world seemed a lot smaller. It brought information right to our home. People were able to communicate better, address issues faster and become aware of things happening around the world by watching the news. They could take part in global culture – major international sporting events like the Olympic Games and the World Cup, for example.

想想先前沒有電視的生活吧。我們大多數人都要依靠廣播或者報紙，才能知道世界上發生了什麼事。但電視誕生後，世界似乎變得小多了。它爲千家萬戶帶來了信息。人們能夠更好地進行溝通，更快地處理事務，通過收看新聞了解天下事。他們能夠參與到全球文化中來 —— 如奧運會和世界盃等重大國際體育賽事。

We all have at least one TV memory that will last a lifetime. For those old enough to remember, it’s estimated that over 2 billion people worldwide watched the live funeral parade of Britain’s Princess Diana in 1997. And in 2005, hundreds of millions of music fans across China saw Li Yuchun take the crown on Hunan TV’s Super Girl.

我們所有人都至少擁有一段貫穿一生的電視回憶。那些有一定年紀的人一定還記得，1997年，全球約有超過20億人通過電視直播收看了英國戴安娜王妃葬禮；2005年，全中國數億樂迷見證了李宇春摘得湖南衛視《超級女聲》節目的桂冠。

But there is undoubtedly a bad side to TV. It could be said to have destroyed communication as much as it enhanced it. In the days before television, a typical family would have played games or just chatted with each other after their evening meal. But since then, sitting around the TV in silence has become a regular evening activity.

但毫無疑問，電視也有其弊端。它被認爲在加強溝通的同時也破壞了溝通。在先前沒有電視的日子裏，一個普通家庭在晚飯後通常會玩玩遊戲，或是彼此之間簡單地聊聊天。但自從電視誕生以來，安靜地坐在電視機前已經成爲了一項常規的晚間活動。

Still, the United Nations says that TV “continually invites people to explore beyond their living rooms,” and that is undoubtedly true. But sometimes, this “exploration” is at the expense of ignoring the people closest to us.

但聯合國仍認爲電視“不斷地讓人們探索起居室之外的世界，”這點毫無疑問是正確的。但有些時候，這樣的“探索”卻令我們忽視了身邊最親近的人。

Television is constantly evolving and is impacted by changes in other forms of technology. Modern “Smart TV” systems, for example, allow the viewer to have a more interactive experience.

電視如今正經歷不斷的升級改進，其他形式的科技所帶來的改變也對其產生了影響。比如，現代的“智能電視”系統讓觀衆們有了更加互動的體驗。

But while television is indeed a brilliant tool, let’s not forget about the people sitting next to us on the couch. After all, what good is watching something interesting if you don’t want to share your opinions on it?

但儘管電視的確是個出色的工具，我們也不能忘了身邊坐在沙發上的人。畢竟，如果不能和他人分享自己對於電視節目的看法，那麼看這些有意思的節目還有什麼樂趣呢？