In many countries the slums are a (5)______ to the eyes. Slums grow round big cities and are found with all the drawbacks. These are the areas of disease, filth and crime.

Many people have forgotten what the world was like before TV. But today it has become an integral part of our lives. No medium can compare with TV as a means of information, entertainment and education. TV now plays such an important role in so many people’s lives that it is essential for us to try to decide (1)_____ it is bad or good. First of all, TV is not only a convenient source of entertainment, but also a (2)______ cheap one. For a family of 4, for example, it is more convenient as well as cheaper to sit comfortably at home than to go out. They don’t have to pay for expensive tickets. All they have to do is to turn on TV and they can see films, political discussions and the latest exciting football matches. Some people say that this is fist where the danger lies. The TV viewers need do nothing: they (3)______ no choices, they’re completely passive and don’t even use their legs. TV, people often say, informs about current events and the latest developments in science and politics. A lot of good films, music programs have appeared recently on TV. (4)______ here again there is a danger. We get to like watching TV so much that it begins to dominate our lives. A friend of mine told me that when his TV set broke he and his family suddenly found that they had much more time to do things. The most important thing which is really criticizing is poor quality of the programs and its harmful effect on children. For example the film
“Natural Born Killers” teaches children to kill and there was one accident in France when a group of teenagers kill their parents. There are many arguments for and against TV. I think we must understand that TV in itself is neither good (5)______ bad. TV is as good or as bad as we make it.
(Source: Television and Advertisement www.nativeenglish.ru/topics/television-and-advertisement)