英国大人们为孩子阅读习惯头疼_BEC初级作文

英国大人们为孩子阅读习惯头疼

英国教育大臣一直担心本国孩子“阅读不足”。出版商以及扫盲慈善机构同样也有此隐忧，它们担心电脑游戏、网络视频以及网络社交等新的干扰物正一步步“鸠占鹊巢”。据慈善团体Booktrus调查研究，如今超过60%的18-30岁年轻人把看电视及DVD置于阅读之前。类似比例的年轻人认为因特网与电脑会在20年后取代纸质书籍。

The literacy debate received fresh impetus last October when a study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development suggested that vast numbers of young people were leaving school without the ability to read well. Of the 24 industrialised countries covered by the research, England was the only one that went backwards, with literacy and numeracy skills lower among the young – those aged 16 to 24 – than the old. (The results were little better in Northern Ireland; Scotland and Wales were not included in the study.)

去年10月，经合组织(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)发布的研究报告表明大量年轻人毕业后的阅读能力差强人意，读写能力的争论获得了强有力的新依据。该研究报告涵盖了24个工业化国家，其中英国是唯一排名下滑的国家，其16-24岁年轻人的读写与计算能力逊于成年人。（北爱尔兰的研究结果也大同小异，研究报告并未涉及苏格兰与威尔士两个地区）。

The OECD’s hard-nosed economic concern with skills leads logically to reading for pleasure, which is closely associated with educational success. An analysis of the 1970 British cohort, tracking about 6,000 young people born in April of that year, found children’s test scores correlated more with how often they read than with how educated their parents were. “Being able to read a book mechanically is vital, but reading for pleasure shouldn’t be optional,” says Joanna Prior, managing director of Penguin UK. “The benefits will be reaped throughout a child’s life.”