Perhaps the most ironic aspect of the struggle for survival is how easily organisms can be harmed by that which they desire. The trout is caught by the fisherman's lure, the mouse by cheese, and man by the world's most popular leisure pastime, television.

    在生存斗爭中，最諷刺的一點就是，生物體最想要的東西往往輕而易舉地損害他們。鮭魚因魚餌上鉤，老鼠為奶酪亡命，而人類會被世界上最流行的休閑方式——看電視毀滅了。

    Most people admit to having a love-hate relationship with it (the TV). They complain about the "boob tube" and "couch potatoes", then they settle into their sofas and grab the remote control.

    許多人承認電視機讓他們又愛又恨。他們抱怨完“電視機”和“泡在電視機前的人”，轉而就一屁股陷進沙發里，抓起遙控器。(boob tube：<俚>電視機； couch potatoes：<美俚>終日懶散的人，老泡在電視機前的人。)

    The amount of time people spend watching television is astonishing. According to a research, on average, American adults spend four hours a day in front of the TV--fully half of their leisure time. Over a lifetime, that's more than nine years. Yet, we love to complain that we don't have time for the things we really want to do.

    人們用于看電視的時間多得驚人。調查顯示，美國成人平均每天看四小時的電視，而這些時間占用了他們業余生活的一半。人們一生用于看電視的時間超過了9年，但是卻抱怨沒有時間去實現一些夢想。

    There are two reasons we end up watching more TV than we know we should. People think they need it and it's easy. We usually don't realize how many hours we're watching television. Since it's a passive activity, with feelings of lowered alertness continuing even after the set is off, watchers typically find their energy and concentration are low. Inertia sets in. Hence, there is no motivation to get up and do something else once you're planted on the couch.

    我們看電視的實際時間總是比想象中的多，這里有兩點原因。因為人們依賴電視，并且非常享受輕松的看電視過程，所以常常會不自覺地在上面花費過多的時間。看電視是一種消極的活動，所以通常觀眾都會覺察到他們的精力和注意力有所下降，甚至在關上電視之后，那種注意力下降的感覺依然繼續。惰性隨之而來。因此，一旦人們打開電視，就牢牢地被釘在沙發上，而懶得起身去做別的事情，

    Don't make it easy to be a potato. Instead of being a passive watcher, you should have a plan in place for your time and don't watch beyond what you've planned. When your show is over, turn the TV off.

    不要輕易讓自己淪為電視的俘虜。我們要做一個積極的電視觀看者：定出自己計劃要看的電視節目及時間，然后嚴格遵守。節目一結束，立刻關掉電視。

    There are also ways to make TV watching harder. Most people arrange their living room furniture around the TV. But you may try to put the TV away in a cabinet, a back room, or the basement. Then arrange your couches and chairs for conversation and reading. If your TV is too big to move, you can remove the batteries from your remote so that channel surfing must be done manually.

    你也可以用一些其他方法為看電視設置障礙。大多數人都會把電視放在起居室的中間，那么你不妨把電視放在小房間、后屋或地下室里。那些沙發和椅子變成聊天和閱讀時間的好伙伴。如果電視機太大不好搬，也可以取出遙控器的電池，這樣當你來回換頻道時就必須手工操作了。

    Keep a list of alternate activities taped to the TV as a reminder.The TV-Turnoff website lists screen-free suggestions like starting a garden, looking at the stars, or going to a bookstore as options.

    將看電視之外的一些活動列出來，貼在電視機上時時提醒自己。一個名為“關掉電視”的網站列出了一系列遠離屏幕的建議，比如種種花草，觀觀星象，逛逛書店。

    The first few days can be rough, but, after that initial period, people find freedom. They get more things done and that makes them happier.

    最初幾天你可能非常難受，但是一旦過了開始的階段，你就會感覺自在多了。你會發現許多事情值得忙碌，你會變得更加快樂。

    You may see TV watching as a way to decompress13 after your day. Since studies have shown that watching television doesn't lower your stress level, and in fact may increase it, you're better off trying other activities. Could you do something that is more relaxing like yoga14, reading, or listening to music?

    你可能認為看電視是勞碌一天后的一種解壓方式。但是研究顯示：看電視并不會減輕你的緊張程度，相反，它會加劇緊張程度。所以，你最好去試試別的休閑方式。還有什么比練瑜珈，讀書或者聽音樂更令人身心愉悅的呢？