E Forget Twitter and Facebook,
Google and the Kindle. Television is still the most influential medium around.
Indeed, for many of the poorest regions (地区) of the world, it remains the next
big thing—finally becomes globally available. And that is a good thing, because
TV revolution is changing lives for the better. Across the
developing world, around 45% of families had a TV in 1995; by 2005 the number
had climbed above 60%. That is some way behind the U. S. , where there are more
TVs than people, and where people now easily get access to the Internet. Five
million more families in sub-Saharan Africa will get a TV over the next five
years. In 2005, after the fall of the Taliban (塔利班) ,which had outlawed
TV, 1 in 5 Afghans had one. The global total is another 150 million by
2013—pushing the numbers to well beyond two thirds of families.
Television’s most powerful effect will be on the lives of women. In India,
researchers Robert Jensen and Emily Oster found that when TVs reached villages,
women were more likely to go to the market without their husbands’ approval and
less likely to want a boy rather than a girl. They were more likely to make
decisions over child health care. TV is also a powerful medium for adult
education. In the Indian state of Gujarat, Chitrageet is a popular show that
plays Bollywood songs with words in Gujarati on the screen. Within six months,
viewers had made a small but significant(有意义的) improvement in their reading
skills. Too much TV has been associated with violence,
overweight and loneliness. However, TV is having a positive influence on the
lives of billions worldwide. The author intends to ______.
A.stress the advantages of TV to people’s lives
B.persuade women to become more independent
C.encourage people to improve their reading skills
D.introduce the readers some websites such as Google