听力材料：

　　It is often said that people are reading less literature today than they used to. What should we make of this?

　　现在常有人说人们不像以前那样多的阅读文学作品了。我们应该如何应对呢?

　　Well first, a book doesn’t have to be literature to be intellectually stimulating. Science writing, history, political analysis and so forth aren’t literature perhaps, 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. They can stimulate the imagination. So don’t assume that someone who isn’t reading literature isn’t reading a good book.

　　首先，启迪人只会的不一定必须是文学作品。学科书籍、历史、政治分析等基本上都不是文学作品，但是它们的质量往往很高，而且它们也想小说和喜剧那样的充满创造力和文采。它们也可以启发人的想象力。所以不要认为不读文学作品的人就不读书。

　　But let’s say that people aren’t just spending less time with literature, they are also spending less time with books in general. Does that mean that the culture is in decline? No, there’s plenty of culturally valuable material that isn’t written – music and movies, for example. Are people wasting their time when they listen to a brilliant song or watch a good movie? Do these non-literary activities lower cultural standards? Of course not. Culture has changed. In today’s culture, there are many forms of expression available other than novels and poems. And some of these forms speak more directly to contemporary concerns than literature does.

　　我们假设那些很少读文学作品的人同时也很少读各种书。这就意味着文化水平下降吗?不是的，因为除了写作之外还有很多文化形式，比如音乐和电影。当人们聆听美妙的音乐或者看一部好电影的时候，我们能说这是在浪费时间吗?非文字类的行为会降低文化水平吗?显然不是。文化已经不同了。在今天，除了小说和诗歌之外，我们有了更多的形式表达文化。而且，它们中的很多比文学作品更直接地表达当代社会的关注点。

　　Finally, it’s probably true that there’s less support for literature today than in earlier generation. But don’t be too quick to blame the readers. Sometimes it’s the author’s faults. Let’s be honest. A lot of modern literature is intended to be difficult to understand. Here is not much reason to suppose that earlier generation of readers would have read a lot of today’s literature either.

　　最后，或许现在对于文学作品的支持不如以前的。但是不要过于草率地去责备读者。有时，这是作者的问题。说实话，很多当代的文学作品刻意地写得很难以理解。我们没理由相信以前的读者会青睐现在的文学作品。

　　听力笔记内容：

　　Main point: 阅读部分的说法不成立

　　Sub point one: 人们虽然读文学书少，但是可以在其他类型的书籍中获益

　　Sub point two: 除了文学作品之外，音乐和电影也是很好的文化传播方式

　　Sub point three: 文学作品的支持减少不是因为读者阅读减少，而是因为作者的问题。

　　提示：

　　- 这篇文章阅读部分的分论点集中于每段段尾。尽管在独立写作中我们不推荐这种写法，但是这是完全符合essay的写作要求的。选择分论点的时候不可以想当然地选择段首句，而是要仔细阅读，筛选分析。方法呢，看以前的解析吧。