Forget Twitter and Facebook, Google and the Kindle．Television is still the most influential medium around．Indeed, for many of the poorest regions（地区） of the world, it remains the next big thing — finally becomes globally available．And that is a good thing, because the TV revolution is changing lives for the better．
Across the developing world, around 45% of families had a TV in 1995; by 2005 the number had climbed above 60%．That is some way behind the U．S．, where there are more TVs than people, and where people now easily get access to the Internet．Five million more families in sub-Saharan Africa will get a TV over the next five years．In 2005 , after the fall of the Taliban（塔利班）,which had outlawed TV, 1 in 5 Afghans had one．The global total is another 150 million by 2013 — pushing the numbers to well beyond two thirds of families．
Television’s most powerful effect will be on the lives of women．In India, researchers Robert Jensen and Emily Oster found that when TVs reached villages, women were more likely to go to the market without their husbands’ approval and less likely to want a boy rather than a girl．They were more likely to make decisions over child health care．TV is also a powerful medium for adult education．In the Indian state of Gujarat, Chitrageet is a popular show that plays Bollywood songs with words in Gujarati on the screen．Within six months, viewers had made a small but significant（有意义的） improvement in their reading skills．
Too much TV has been associated with violence, overweight and loneliness．However, TV is having a positive influence on the lives of billions worldwide．
1．The underlined word “outlawed” in paragraph 2 probably means “__________”．
A． Allowed B．banned C．offered D．refused
2．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Americans used to get access to the Internet easily．
B．The world’s TV sets will total 150 million by 2013．
C．45% of families in the developing countries had a TV in 2005．
D．Over two thirds of families in the world will have a TV by 2013．
3．The author intends to __________．
A．stress the advantages of TV to people’s lives
B．persuade women to become more independent
C．encourage people to improve their reading skills
D．introduce the readers some websites such as Google
4．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．TV Will Rule the World B．TV Will Disturb the World
C．TV Will Better the World D．TV Will Remain in World