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 theylack 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.
The lecture
drive.google.com/open?id=0B1PjU … FFTazJ6T1k
My essay
The reading and the lecture provide a heated debate surrounding the sharp decline in literature reading. While the reading states that this decline has several long-term problems as well as inflicts serious damages, the lecture disagrees with that perspective, taking the issue with the reading’s interpretation of the decline in literature reading.
First of all, the reading manifests that the decrease in literature reading can harm a variety of intellectual aspects. In fact, literature has been renowned for its pivotal role as a stimulus in the exercise of our imagination, our empathy with others as well as pushes back the boundary of knowledges and expands our horizons. However, the lecture opposes this argument, saying that the decline in literature reading cannot lead to the assumption that people do not exercise their intellectual curiosity. In fact, science books or political articles are of paramount importance in the development of human intellectual. In addition, reading these high quality information resources can successfully bolster human imagination. Therefore, the lecture rebuts the argument of the reading.
Secondly, the reading asserts that the alternatives proposed for literature books are of poor quality. In fact, poorly written books, televisions, music videos or Web pages are all a waste of time. As a result, the level of culture has been lowered due to the treacherous shift in human reading habits. The reading, on the other hand, casts doubt on this viewpoint, saying that music and movies are actually excellent alternatives for literature books. Music and movies offer people many approaches to express themselves. Moreover, many movies have challenged the primary concerns of human. Therefore, they can be great sources for self-development. This is another place where the lecture puts the reading under rigorous scrutiny.
Last but not least, the reading indicates that the pattern of reading less literature discourages the growth of literature. In fact, there are many talented writers these days. However, with the inadequacy of audience, the value of their works cannot be conveyed to the society. Nevertheless, the reading challenges this point and cites that the kind of literature existing today is too difficult to comprehend. The writers cannot claim the audience without revising their pieces of work. In fact, even those audiences from early generations find a great deal of difficulties in comprehending the beauty of today literature. Therefore, the lecture refutes the argument of the reading.
TOEFL listening discussions: A conversation between two students (2)
