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日是联合国世界电视日。尽管如今我们不少人都对电视不以为然，但事实上，它是20世纪最最出色的发明者之一。电视总有一天地转变了我们相连世界的方式，自发明者以来它的普及度也与日俱增。

的确如此，据预计，到2021年全球将有17亿家庭享有电视。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.看看先前没电视的生活吧。

我们大多数人都要依赖广播或者报纸，才能告诉世界上再次发生了什么事。但电视问世后，世界或许显得小多了。它为千家万户带给了信息。

人们需要更佳地展开交流，更慢地处理事务，通过收听新闻理解天下事。他们需要参予到全球文化中来 —— 如奥运会和世界杯等根本性国际体育赛事。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.我们所有人都最少享有一段跨越一生的电视回想。

那些有一定年纪的人一定还忘记，1997年，全球大约有多达20亿人通过电视直播收听了英国戴安娜王妃葬礼；2005年，全中国数亿乐迷亲眼了李宇春勇夺湖南卫视《超级女声》节目的桂冠。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.但毫无疑问，电视也有其弊端。它被指出在强化交流的同时也毁坏了交流。在先前没电视的日子里，一个普通家庭在晚饭后一般来说不会玩玩游戏，或是彼此之间非常简单地聊聊天。

但自从电视问世以来，安静地躺在电视机前早已沦为了一项常规的晚间活动。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.但联合国仍指出电视“大大地让人们探寻起居室之外的世界，”这点毫无疑问是准确的。

但有些时候，这样的“探寻”却令其我们忽略了身边最疏远的人。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.电视如今于是以经历大大的升级改良，其他形式的科技所带给的转变也对其产生了影响。

比如，现代的“智能电视”系统让观众们有了更为对话的体验。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?但尽管电视的确是个出众的工具，我们也无法忘了身边躺在沙发上的人。却是，如果无法和他人共享自己对于电视节目的观点，那么看这些有意思的节目还有什么体验呢？。

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