Topic 1: Does increasing travels between countries enable people to learn different cultures or to

Topic 45: Some people suggest that there should be restrictions on a detailed 
description of crimes in the newspapers and on television. To what extent do you 
agree or disagree?
 
(heroic violence), (performed by heroic characters), (idolized by movie fans);
(unpunished violence), 
(desensitize audiences to crime scenes), (rampant and inevitable)
(educational and informative), ( increase the knowledge of laws) ,
(draw attention to certain crimes), ( take precautions and pay attention to self-defense)
The violent contents broadcasted by the mass media (the television and the printing press 
in particular) have been singled out in recent years as a matter of urgent public concern. It 
has been argued that a detailed description of crime, especially violent crime, should be 
restricted. I agree on this suggestion based on the following concerns.
There can be little doubt that a complete description of crimes has a direct impact on 
viewers' perception of crime, including its nature and impacts, ongoing exposure to reports 
on crime scenes has desensitized viewers to the horrors of serious crimes such as homicide. 
Many TV programs tend to dramatize the process of tracing criminals. So immersed are 
viewers ill the storyline that few are encouraged to link the crime to a brutal, unsympathetic 
and devastating act. Meanwhile, hardly has any newspaper or TV editor carried out a follow-
up study of convicting criminals. This form 0] representation fails to alert viewers to the fact 
that no criminal can stay at large and all offenders will be brought to justice.
Meanwhile, the depiction of violence is potentially the primary cause of "copycat" 
suicides, fights, shootings and bombings. People are inclined to vent their discontent in 
various ways, and one of the most common is violence. The documentary on a criminal or 
violent act provides them with role models, those characters who initiate most of the acts of 
violence on television. The portrayal of those characters encourages viewers to emulate 
violent behaviour, believing that their acts are likely to be acknowledged.
Despite its enormous effects on the audience, the description of crimes on television or 
newspapers should not be made a scapegoat for all social violence. It would divert people's 
attention from the root causes of violence. Some depictions of violence are likely to 
contribute to harmful effects on viewers, whereas other portrayals may be pro-social and 
beneficial for the audience. For example, many programs encourage no-violent alternatives to 
solutions. Similarly, television and newspapers have played a significant role in educating the 
audience about the advantages of building a non-violence community and the inadvisability 
of excessive drinking, car racing, drug using and other unlawful acts.
As suggested above, media violence, including the detailed picturing of violent acts, 
contributes at least partly to social violence and to the audience's aggressive thoughts and 
behaviour. However, there is no simple cause-and-effect relationship between media violence 
and societal violence and both have multiple causes.
1. Single out=select=highlight
2. Horror=terror
3. Dramatize=sensationalize=exaggerate=overstate 
4. Immersed in=absorbed in=engrossed by=captivated by
5. Unsympathetic=uncaring=indifferent=cruel
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6. Follow-up=subsequent=following
7. Convict =sentence=find somebody guilty
8. Representation = portrayal = description = account
9. At large=free=at liberty
10. Inadvisability=inappropriateness=unsuitability
11. Unlawful=illegitimate=illegal=illicit
 
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