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Many people in the United States spend most of their free time watching television. Certainly, there are many worthwhile programs on television, including news, educational programs for children, programs on current social problems, plays, movies, concerts, and so on. Nevertheless, perhaps people should not be spending so much of their time in front of the TV. Mr. Mayer imagines what we might do if we were forced to find other activities.
在美国，许多人把大部分空闲时间花在看电视上。的确，电视里有很多值得一看的节目，包括新闻、儿童教育节目、讨论当前社会问题的节目、戏剧、电影、音乐会等等。然而，人们也许不该在电视机前花费那么多的时间。如果我们被迫要找一些其他的活动，那我们可以做些什么呢？对这一问题，梅耶先生做了一番想像。
Turning Off TV: fi Quiet Hour
关上电视机：清净一小时
I would like to propose that for sixty to ninety minutes each evening, right after the early evening news, all television broadcasting in the United States be prohibited by law.
我想建议每天晚上一播完晚间新闻，美国所有的电视台都依法停播六十至九十分钟。
Let us take a serious, reasonable look at what the results might be if such a proposal were accepted. Families might use the time for a real family hour.
让我们认真而通情达理地看一下，如果这一建议被采纳的话，会有什么样的结果。千家万户也许会利用这段时间真正地团聚一番。
Without the distraction of TV, they might sit around together after dinner and actually talk to one another. It is well known that many of our problems — everything, in fact, from the generation gap to the high divorce rate to some forms of mental illness — are caused at least in part by failure to communicate. We do not tell each other what is disturbing us. The result is emotional difficulty of one kind or another. By using the quiet family hour to discuss our problems, we might get to know each other better, and to like each other better.
没有电视机的干扰，他们晚饭后也许会围坐在一起，当真交谈起来。众所周知，我们的许多问题——事实上是所有的问题，从代沟、高离婚率到某些精神病——至少部分地是由于没能交流思想而引起的。我们谁也不把自己心头的烦恼告诉别人，结果感情上便产生了这样那样的问题。利用这安静的、全家聚在一起的时刻来讨论我们的各种问题，我们相互之间也许会更加了解，更加相爱。
On evenings when such talk is unnecessary, families could rediscover more active pastimes. Freed from TV, forced to find their own activities, they might take a ride together to watch the sunset. Or they might take a walk together (remember feet?) and see the neighborhood with fresh, new eyes.
有些晚上，如果没有必要进行这种交谈，那么各家各户也许会重新发现一些更为积极的消遣活动。如果他们挣脱开电视机的束缚而不得不另寻自己的活动，他们也许会合家驱车去看日落。或者也许会全家一起去散步（还记得自己长有双脚吗？），用新奇的目光观察住处周围的地区。
