Young People’s Reading Habits

曲永華

Reading is getting more popular among young Chinese. A new survey says that 85% of young people in China read at least 1 book last year. The number of young people who are reading has been rising in recent years， especially for teenagers， who read an average （平均） of 11.5 books.

The data （數據） shows that teenagers spend much more time reading from school textbooks to some other reading materials， such as novels， e-books， magazines and so on. But younger children （ages 2-8） are mainly reading for fun. Compared with the past， the time teenagers spend on pleasure reading has dropped.

When it comes to technology and reading， the survey suggests little. It does point out that many parents control the time of electronic reading， mainly because of worrying about increased screen time. However， most Chinese parents are helping their children to develop a reading habit. They are served as examples for their children. More than 70% of Chinese parents spend at least 20 minutes a day reading to their children aged 0-8 years old. And visit book stores with them. An average of three times a year. Data shows that kids and teens who do a lot of reading， compared to those who don’t like reading， have more books in the home， and more books bought for them. Their parents read more often， and would like to spare time to read with them.

When was the last time you read a book？ If you’re one of the countless people who don’t develop a habit of reading， you might be missing out. Everything you read fills your head with new bits of information， and you never know when it might be useful. The more knowledge you have， the better equipped you are to deal with any challenge you’ll face. Remember that although you might lose something else， knowledge can never be taken away from you.

Now open a book， and feed your soul.

精彩譯文

年輕人的閱讀習慣

閱讀在中國年輕人中越來越流行。一項新的調查顯示，去年中國85%的年輕人至少讀過一本書。近年來，正在讀書的年輕人人數不斷上升，尤其是青少年，他們一年平均閱讀11.5本書。

數據顯示，青少年把更多的時間花在閱讀課本和其他閱讀材料上，如小說、電子書、雜志等。但年齡較小的孩子（2～8歲）主要是為了好玩而讀書。與過去相比，青少年花在快樂閱讀上的時間減少了。

在科技閱讀方面，這項調查幾乎沒有什么啟示。報告切實指出，許多家長控制孩子電子閱讀的時間，主要是因為擔心孩子們看電子屏幕的時間過多。然而，大多數中國父母都在幫助孩子養成一種閱讀習慣。他們被當作孩子的榜樣。超過70%的中國父母每天至少花20分鐘給他們0～8歲的孩子讀書，并陪他們逛書店，平均每年逛三次。數據顯示，與不喜歡讀書的孩子相比，經常讀書的兒童和青少年家里的書更多，家長為他們買的書也更多。他們的父母比較愛讀書，也愿意抽出時間和他們一起讀書。

你上次看書是什么時候？如果你是無數沒有養成閱讀習慣的人中的一員，你可能會錯過機會。你讀到的每一篇文章都會讓你的頭腦充滿新的信息，你永遠不知道什么時候它可能有用。你擁有的知識越多，你就越有能力應對任何挑戰。記住，盡管你可能會失去一些東西，但知識永遠不會從你身上被奪走。

現在，打開書，熏陶你的靈魂。

小練習

1. Why do many parents control the time of their children’s electronic reading？

A. E-books are expensive.? ? ? ? ? ? ? B. It may harm children’s health.

C. It is very hard to order.? ? ? ? ? ? ? D. It could be a waste of time.

2. How should parents encourage their children to read more？

A. Talk with their teachers to encourage them in developing reading habits.

B. Buy more books for them in bookstores or borrow some from libraries.

C. Ask them to read more books every day through setting up reading groups.

D. Act as role models for them， read for their children and read for themselves.

3. What’s the survey mainly about？

A. Teenagers’ after-class activities.? ? ? ? B. Parent-child relationships.

C. Young people’s reading habits.? ? ? ? D. Read more often for fun.

4. Which one of the following is most probably to be discussed next？

A. Introduce some books for young people to read.

B. Encourage parents to read more after work.

C. List some different opinions about reading.

D. Develop children’s writing habits gradually.

【答案】1-4 BDCA