Question

BEGINNING COMPREHENSION Read the following extract and write a summery of 70 words. Indicate the number of words below. Switch off the TV and throw away the newspapers. Scientists predict that exposure to bad news in the media will cause depression rates to rise in the next fifty years. Until a century ago, people did not have as much contact with the outside world as they have today. In those days few people travelled farther than a few kilometres from the village in which they were born. They did not instantly receive news of murders and wars taking place in other parts of the world as we do today. Today we live in a global media village. Every day we are exposed to the horrors of murder in the next town, the footage of children who are dying of starvation in neighbouring countries and news of planetary disasters being caused by global warming. All the bad news gives us a sense of helplessness. Children are the ones who suffer the most. As children watch the horrors of the world with their parents on the TV room couch, they learn a poisonous secret - that the world is full of sadness and violence and that there is nothing they can do about it. This leads to feelings of despair. Scientists believe that the younger the age at which a child starts to despair, the lower that child's ability will be to handle difficulties in life. In other words, right now the seeds of despair are being sown in the next generation. Clinical psychologist Thabi Bobe says, "Strange as it sounds, it is time to switch off the TV and throw away the newspapers if we want to protect our children and ourselves. No news is good news!"​

Answer 1

The extract discusses the potential negative impact of constant exposure to bad news through media on depression rates. It highlights how, in the past, people had limited contact with global issues, but today's global media village exposes individuals, particularly children, to violence, sadness, and helplessness. Psychologist Thabi Bobe suggests limiting media consumption to protect children and ourselves from the despair it may cause, as it can affect their ability to handle life's difficulties.