3350 television reading and comprehension

Name:

________________

Date: ____________________

Television
(TV)

Read the passage and highlight the words you don’t understand

Watching television is an interesting and fun activity. The word television is
often shortened to TV.
The first television broadcast in Australia was in 1956. Back then, the pictures on
a TV were black and white only. Television has changed a lot since then.
On TV you can watch many different programmes about a wide range of things.
Some examples of TV programmes are news, current affairs, sitcoms, cartoons,
dramas, reality shows, sports, documentaries and soap operas.
There are several channels which show different TV programmes. In Western
Australia, the main channels are called “ABC”, “Seven”, “Nine”, “Ten” and “SBS”.
TV guides tell us what programmes are showing on which channel, and at what
time on a particular day.
Most programmes on television are episodes that are part of a series. These
episodes usually last for either 30 minutes or a full hour. On the weekend there
are sometimes movies on TV that you can watch, instead of going to the
cinema.
You can learn a lot from watching TV, but you should not watch too much or
you will hurt your eyes.

1
EAR 2009

Name:

_______________________

Date: ____________________

Television Comprehension Questions
Answer these questions in full sentences
1. What is another name for television? _______________________________________
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2. In which year was the first Australian TV broadcast? ___________________________
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3. List three types of television programmes: ___________________________________
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4. Where can you find out what time and channel your favourite TV show is on? ______
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5. How long do episodes on TV usually last for? _________________________________
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6. Why is it bad to watch too much TV? _______________________________________
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Extension Questions:
For these questions you must give your own opinion
7. Can you think of any other reasons why it is bad to watch too much TV?
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8. Can you think of any other ways that TV might have changed since 1956?

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2
EAR 2009