Topic
Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they support/contradict specific points made in the reading passage.
The Reading
A recent study reveals that people especially young people are reading far less literature—novels, plays, and poems—than they used to. This is troubling because the trend has unfortunate effects for the reading public, for culture in general, and for the future of literature itself.
While there has been a decline in book reading generally, the decline has been especially sharp for literature. This is unfortunate because nothing else provides the intellectual stimulation that literature does. Literature encourages us to exercise our imaginations, empathize with others, and expand our understanding of language. So by reading less literature, the reading public is missing out on important benefits.
Unfortunately, missing out on the benefits of literature is not the only problem. What are people reading instead? Consider the prevalence of self-help books on lists of best sellers. These are usually superficial poorly written, and intellectually undemanding. Additionally, instead of sitting down with a challenging novel, many persons are now more likely to turn on the television, watch a music video, or read a Web page. Clearly, diverting time previously spent in reading literature to trivial forms of entertainment has lowered the level of culture in general.
The trend of reading less literature is all the more regrettable because it is taking place during a period when good literature is being written. There are many talented writers today, but they lack an audience. This fact is bound to lead publishers to invest less in literature and so support fewer serious writers. Thus, the writing as well as the reading of literature is likely to decline because of the poor standards of today's readers.
Response.
1. Reading points：
Main point: A recent study reveals that people especially young people are reading far less literature – novels, plays, and poems – than they used to.
Sub point 1: By reading less literature, the reading public is missing out on important benefits.
Sub point 2: Diverting time previously spent in reading literature to trivial forms of entertainment has lowered the level of culture in general.
Sub point 3: The writing as well as the reading of literature is likely to decline because of the poor standards of today's readers.
2. Listening points：
Main point:
We don't have the necessity to read as much literature as people used to.
Point 1: A book doesn't have to be literature to be intellectually stimulating.
Point 2: In today's culture, there are many forms of expression available other than novels and poems, which can also inspire people and teach culture.
Point 3: Don't be too quick to blame the readers. Sometimes it's the author's faults.
TEST TAKER'S RESPONSE.
The reading and the lecture have contradictory opinion on whether decline in reading literature is a significant problem. The author holds that this decline has caused bad effects and is regrettable, while the professor refutes this statement by using three specific points
First off, the writer argues that decline in reading literature is a big loss since it can provide us imaginary exercise and intellectual stimulation. In contrast, the lecturer contends that many other kinds of books can provide the same the function. For instance, scientific books are also high-quality books and can stimulate people's creativity as literature does. So we should not focus too much on literature reading.
In addition, as stated in the reading, it is a big loss that nowadays many people buy and read prevalent books and watch television in their spare time rather than sitting down with a challenging novel, in which case the level of culture will be lowered down. Nevertheless, the professor explains that the recreation forms always change over time. Reading popular books does not harm so much. Besides, there are some valuable new forms like concerts and movies. No one can say that people's culture level will be decreased through watching a good movie or listening to a wonderful piece of music.
Finally, the author believes that decrease in literature reading is regrettable given that a lot of good literature has been created without readers' attention. On the contrary, the lecturer says that it is unfair to blame just readers for this circumstance. Literature writers also have some sort of accountability. The professor points out that many authors write their books in an implicit way, which increases the difficulties of reading. In this case, readers need to spend much time and efforts on it and thus they might not get what the authors want to express.