首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
For a quarter of a century, surveys of reading habits by the National for the Arts(NEA), a federally-funded body, have been favo
For a quarter of a century, surveys of reading habits by the National for the Arts(NEA), a federally-funded body, have been favo
admin
2015-10-20
14
问题
For a quarter of a century, surveys of reading habits by the National for the Arts(NEA), a federally-funded body, have been favorite material for anyone who thinks America is
dumbing down
. Susan Jacoby, author of The Age of American Unreason, for example, cites the 2007 NEA report that "the proportion of 17-year-olds who read nothing(unless required to do so for school)more than doubled between 1984 and 2004."
So it is a surprise that this trend seems to have taken a turn for the better. This week the NEA reported that, for the first time since 1982 when its survey began, the number of adults who said they had read a novel, short story, poem or play in the past 12 months had gone up, rising from 47% of the population in 2002 to over 50% in 2008.
The increase, modest as it is, has thrown educationalists into excitement. "It’s just a blip," one professor told The New York Times. It is certainly a snapshot. But it is not statistically insignificant. As the NEA’s research director, Sunil Iyengar, points out, almost every demographic and ethnic group seems to be reading more. The increase has been most marked in groups whose reading had declined most in the past 25 years, African-Americans and Hispanics(up by 15% and 20% respectively since 2002). It has also been larger among people at lower levels of education: reading among college graduates was flat, but among those who dropped out of high school it rose from under a quarter to over a third.
Most remarkable of all has been the rebound among young men. The numbers of men aged 18-24 who say they are reading books(not just online)rose 24% in 2002-08. Teachers sometimes despair of young men, whose educational performance has lagged behind that of young women almost across the board. But the reading gap at least may be narrowing. Dana Gioia, the NEA’s outgoing chairman, thinks the reason for the turnaround is the public reaction to earlier reports which had sounded the alarm. "There has been a measurable change in society’s commitment to literacy," he says. "Reading has become a higher priority."
It may also be benefiting from the growing popularity of serious-minded leisure pursuits of many kinds. Museums, literary festivals and live opera transmissions into cinemas are all reporting larger audiences. Mr. Iyengar thinks the division between those who read a lot and those who don’t is eroding. What has not changed, though, is America’s "functional illiteracy" rate. Fully 21% of adult Americans did not read a book last year because they couldn’t, one of the worst rates in the rich world.
What does the author mean by "dumbing down"(Line 3, Paragraph 1)?
选项
A、Becoming illiterate.
B、Becoming noiseless.
C、Getting clumsy.
D、Getting inflexible.
答案
A
解析
语义理解题。根据题意直接定位到第一段。文中指出美国人越来越缺乏读书,头脑更简单。因此,A项“变得无知”为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/OAzZ777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Inthefollowingtext,somesentenceshavebeenremoved.ChoosethemostsuitableonefromthelistA—Gtofitintoeachofthe
Accordingtothepassage,whichorganizationsraisedtheproposaltostopthepracticeofliedetectionevidenceinmilitarycou
Thepassagemainlydiscusses______.Allthefollowingarementionedinthepassageasreasonswhychildrenshouldlearnscience
SupposeyoulivedattheRehabilitationCenterandwereundertendercare.Youwritealettertoextendyourthankstoyourstaf
Thispassagemainlytalksabout______.Thepassagesuggeststhat______.
Allgreatwritersexpresstheirideasinanindividualway:itisoftenpossibletodeterminetheauthorshipofaliterarypassa
Thesocialsciencesareflourishing.Asof2005,therewerealmosthalfamillionprofessionalsocialscientistsfromallfields
Nearlyeverybodycheats,butusuallyonlyalittle.ThatisoneofthethemesinDanAriely’snewbook"The(Honest)TruthAboutD
Nearlyeverybodycheats,butusuallyonlyalittle.ThatisoneofthethemesinDanAriely’snewbook"The(Honest)TruthAboutD
Sothat’swhatadigitalrevoltlookslike.Amillion-and-a-halfemailsandalmost90,000phonecallstoUSCongress.Publiccom
随机试题
以下部位中,氧分压由高到低排列的是()
女性,68岁。乏力、腹胀、厌食5年。查体:肝病面容,巩膜黄染,结膜苍白,胸前有8枚蜘蛛痣,有肝掌,腹膨隆,肝肋下未触及,脾肋下4cm,移动性浊音阳性,双下肢无水肿。该患者最可能的诱发因素是
久病患者,纳食减少,疲乏无力,腹部胀满,但时有缓减,腹痛而喜按,舌胖嫩而苔润,脉细弱而无力。其病机是
A.点刺法B.散刺法C.刺络法D.挑刺法E.围刺法使用三棱针治疗失眠时,多选用的针刺方法是
工程项目的风险因素有很多,可以从不同的角度进行分类。按照风险涉及的当事人划分时,不应包括()。
我国发展规划体系按范围可分为()。
下列经济活动中,引起资产和负债同时减少的是( )。
(2005年考试真题)企业现金清查中,经检查仍无法查明原因的现金短款,经批准后应计入()。
甲公司目前发行在外普通股1000万股(每股面值1元),已发行票面利率为10%的债券4000万元。该公司打算为一个新的投资项目融资5000万元,新项目投产后公司每年息税前利润增加到2000万元。现有两个筹资方案可供选择,公司适用的所得税率为25%。
关于坚持真理,正确的观念有()。
最新回复
(
0
)