Some people believe that it is beneficial for children to spend time on TV, video and PC games, while some hold the opposite view. Talk about these two views and give your own opinion.
When it comes to whether children shall spend their spare time watching TV, video and playing PC games, people’s opinions diverse greatly. Some say it is basically a waste of children’s time, while others argue that children can benefit a lot from such activities.
It is firmly maintained by many parents and teachers that children’s main purpose is to pursue outstanding academic achievements at school. To beat their competitors, they must make the best use of every precious minute. Therefore, they can not afford to indulge themselves before the “idiot box” as TV or in playing the senseless virtual games. Moreover, watching TV and playing PC games are addictive for many poorly-disciplined children, consuming their interest in study and eroding their academic aspirations.
However, many other people hold different views, arguing that if properly guided and supervised, children can expand vision and knowledge as well as foster their creativity from those fun activities. There are many educational programs on TV such as Discovery which feed children extensive knowledge in science and arts. By sparking children’s interest and imagination in various topics, these programs are often more enlightening than textbooks. Furthermore, when playing PC games, children can foster a stronger sense of cooperation as well as competition, and sharpening their mind against possible risks in the real world. Last but not least, watching cartoons and science fiction movies definitely stimulates children’s imagination and creativity. Many youngsters have been inspired to come up with novel inventions of become engineering elites in later life exactly with the inspirations from those sources.
From the above discussion, it is evident that if children can balance their study and fun time properly, watching TV, video programs and playing PC games will unquestionably bring them more benefits than harm. After all, books are not the only source of useful knowledge; in order to grow healthily in modern times, children need to accumulate knowledge and skills from various channels, and suitable time for relaxation and inspiration is surely more welcome than not.
Useful Phrases
1. a waste of (time / energy): 对（时间/精力）的浪费
2. benefit from: v. 从…中获益
benefit: n.利益，收益 gain benefits from =benefit from,
Something brings benefits to somebody
beneficial: a. 对…有益的 something is beneficial to somebody.某事对某人有益
beneficiary: n. 受益人 somebody is the beneficiary of something. 某人从某事中获益
3. make the best use of：充分利用
4. afford to do: 能够承担做某事
