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2013年6月英语六级考试备考深度阅读试题模拟与解析(8) What is destroying America today is not the liberal breed of politicians, or the International Monetary Fund bankers, misguided educational elite, or the World Council of Churches. These are largely symptoms of a greater disorder. But if there is any single institution to blame, it is television. Television, in fact, has greater power over the lives of most Americans than any educational system or government or church. Children particularly are easily influenced. They are fascinated, hypnotized and tranquilized by TV. It is often the center of their world. Even when the set is turned off, they continue to tell stories about what theyve seen on it. No wonder, then, that when they grow up they are not prepared for the frontline of life; they simply have no mental defenses to confront the reality of the world. The Truth About TV One of the most disturbing truths about TV is that it eats books. Once out of school, nearly 60% of all adult Americans have never read a single book, and most of the rest read only one book a year. Alvin Kernan, author of The Death of Literature, says that reading books is ceasing to be the primary way of knowing something in our society. He also points out that bachelors degrees in English literature have declined by 33% in the last twenty years. American libraries, he adds, are in crisis, with few patrons to support them. | 
