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Now listen to part of lecture on the topic you just read about.
现在来听一段关于你刚刚读到的话题的演讲。
It is often said that people are reading less literature today than they used to.
人们常说，现在他们比以前读的文学作品要少。
Watch we've make of this.
来看看我们对此的了解。
Well first, a book doesn't have to be literature to be intellectually stimulating.
首先，提升智力的书籍不一定要是文学作品。
Science writing, history, political analysis and so forth aren't literature perhaps,
科普写作、历史书籍、政治分析等等也许都不是文学，
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.
但它们通常都是高质量的，而且这些书籍也能跟小说或者喜剧一样富于创造力，写作上乘。
They can stimulate the imagination.
它们能刺激想象力。
So don't assume that someone who isn't reading literature isn't reading a good book.
所以别认为不在读文学作品的人读的不是好书。
But let's say that people aren't just spending less time with literature, they are also spending less time with books in general.
但是让我们来说一说那些不仅仅是花更少时间在文学上，通常也花更少时间在书本上的人。
Does that mean that the cultures is in decline?
这是不是意味着文化在衰退？
No, there's plenty of culturally valuable material that isn't written — music and movies, for example.
不，宝贵的非书写形式的文化材料还有很多——比如音乐和电影。
Are people wasting their time when they listen to a brilliant song or watch a good movie?
当人们在听一首精彩的歌或者是看一部好电影的时候，他们是在浪费时间吗？
Do these non-literary activities lower cultural standards?
这些非文学活动的文化标准是不是低一点？
Of course not. Culture has changed.
当然不是。文化已经变了。
In today's culture, there are many forms of expression available other than novels and poems.
在今天的文化中，除了小说和诗歌还有很多可以利用的表达形式。
And some of these creative forms speak more directly to contemporary concerns than literature does.
一些有创意的形式比文学作品更能直接地表达当代问题。
Finally, it's probably true that there's less support for literature today than in earlier generations.
最后，比起早些年，今天对文学作品的支持也许是少了些。
But don't be too quick to blame the readers. Sometimes it's the author's faults.
但是，别太快责备读者。有时候这是作者的错。
Let's be honest. A lot of modern literature is intended to be difficult to understand.
坦白说，很多现代的文学作品旨在让人难以理解。
Here is not much reason to suppose that earlier generations of readers would have read a lot of today's literature either.
没有理由相信，早些年的读者会读很多今天的文学作品。
