評論
打印
Now listen to part of lecture on the topic you just read about.
現(xiàn)在來聽一段關于你剛剛讀到的話題的演講。
It is often said that people are reading less literature today than they used to.
人們常說，現(xiàn)在他們比以前讀的文學作品要少。
Watch we've make of this.
來看看我們對此的了解。
Well first, a book doesn't have to be literature to be intellectually stimulating.
首先，提升智力的書籍不一定要是文學作品。
Science writing, history, political analysis and so forth aren't literature perhaps,
科普寫作、歷史書籍、政治分析等等也許都不是文學，
but they are often of high quality and these kinds of books can be just as creative and well-written as a novel or a play.
但它們通常都是高質(zhì)量的，而且這些書籍也能跟小說或者喜劇一樣富于創(chuàng)造力，寫作上乘。
They can stimulate the imagination.
它們能刺激想象力。
So don't assume that someone who isn't reading literature isn't reading a good book.
所以別認為不在讀文學作品的人讀的不是好書。
But let's say that people aren't just spending less time with literature, they are also spending less time with books in general.
但是讓我們來說一說那些不僅僅是花更少時間在文學上，通常也花更少時間在書本上的人。
Does that mean that the cultures is in decline?
這是不是意味著文化在衰退？
No, there's plenty of culturally valuable material that isn't written — music and movies, for example.
不，寶貴的非書寫形式的文化材料還有很多——比如音樂和電影。
Are people wasting their time when they listen to a brilliant song or watch a good movie?
當人們在聽一首精彩的歌或者是看一部好電影的時候，他們是在浪費時間嗎？
Do these non-literary activities lower cultural standards?
這些非文學活動的文化標準是不是低一點？
Of course not. Culture has changed.
當然不是。文化已經(jīng)變了。
In today's culture, there are many forms of expression available other than novels and poems.
在今天的文化中，除了小說和詩歌還有很多可以利用的表達形式。
And some of these creative forms speak more directly to contemporary concerns than literature does.
一些有創(chuàng)意的形式比文學作品更能直接地表達當代問題。
Finally, it's probably true that there's less support for literature today than in earlier generations.
最后，比起早些年，今天對文學作品的支持也許是少了些。
But don't be too quick to blame the readers. Sometimes it's the author's faults.
但是，別太快責備讀者。有時候這是作者的錯。
Let's be honest. A lot of modern literature is intended to be difficult to understand.
坦白說，很多現(xiàn)代的文學作品旨在讓人難以理解。
Here is not much reason to suppose that earlier generations of readers would have read a lot of today's literature either.
沒有理由相信，早些年的讀者會讀很多今天的文學作品。
