Under these circumstances. the question of what future there is for the arts of reading is a realone. Ahead of us lie technical. psychic(心理的). and social transformations probably much moredramatic than thosebrought about by Gutenberg, the German inventor in printing. TheGutenberg revolution. as we now know it, took a long time; its effects are still being debated.The information revolution will touch every fact ofcomposition. publication. distribution. andreading. No one in the book industry can say with any confidence what will

　　happen to the book as we've known it.

　　[1]我幾乎用不著列舉所有那些例子來說明令人沮喪的讀寫狀況。單是教育部的這些數字就足夠了：2700萬美國人目不識丁，還有3500萬人的閱讀水平低得不足以讓他們在社會上立足。

　　[2]但是我現在擔憂的不是基本讀寫能力存在的嚴重問題，而是層次稍高一點的問題，即甚至在中產階級讀者中都存在的閱讀技能的滑坡問題，他們不愿意為閱讀營造安靜的空間，難以深居簡出騰出時間并專心致志地閱讀，而這些都是傳統閱讀方式中常見的景象。[3]據說，對大約80%受過教育、有閱讀能力的美國青少年而言，如果身邊沒有噪音(音樂)伴隨，或學習場所的某個角落沒有電視屏幕閃爍，他們就不能繼續閱讀。我們對大腦及其如何處理同時輸入的、相互沖突的信息了解甚少，但我們所有的常識和直覺都表明，我們應該警醒了。這種破壞了閱讀中所需要的專心致志、安靜環境、獨處的做法正是我們所指的讀寫能力的癥結所在。[3]/[4]這種在背景干擾中半閱讀、半理解的做法使集中注意力和理解這些最基本的行為都不可能完成，更不指望會有什么人對他或她真正喜歡的詩歌或散文還能奉上最崇高的敬意即熟誦于心了。不是用大腦記憶，而是用心記;這句話說到了點子上。

　　[5]在這樣的狀況下，閱讀藝術的前景如何確實成了問題。我們面臨的技術上的、精神上的及社會的改革，可能比古騰堡(德國活版印刷發明人)帶來的變革要深刻得多。我們現在熟悉的古騰堡變革經歷了很長時間，其影響仍在爭議中。信息革命會觸及寫作、出版、發行及閱讀的每一環節。[5]出版業無人能有把握地預言我們熟悉的書籍其前景將會如何。

　　1. The picture of the reading ability of theAmerican people, drawn by the author,is__________.

　　A) rather bleak

　　B) fairly bright

　　C) very impressive

　　D) quite encouraging

　　2. The author's biggest concern is____________________.

　　A) elementary school children’s disinterest in reading classics

　　B) the surprisingly low rate of literacy in the U.S.

　　C) the musical setting American readers require for reading

　　D) the reading ability and reading behavior of the middle class

　　3. A major problem with most adolescents who can read is________________.

　　A) their fondness of music and TV programs

　　B) their ignorance of various forms of art and literature

　　C) their lack of attentiveness and basic understanding

　　D) their inability to focus on conflicting input

　　4. The author claims that the best way a reader can show admiration for a piece ofpoetry or prose is ___________________.

　　A) to be able to appreciate it and memorize it

　　B) to analyze its essential features

　　C) to think it over conscientiously

　　D) to make a fair appraisal of its artistic value

　　5. About the future of the arts of reading the author feels___________.

　　A) upset

　　B) uncertain

　　C) alarmed

　　D) pessimistic