If you look for a book as a present for a child, you will be spoiled for choice even in a year there is no new Harry Potter. J.K Rowling’s wizard is not alone. The past decade has been a harvest for good children’s books, which has set off a large quantity of films and an increased sales of classics such as The Lord of the Rings.
Yet despite that, reading is increasingly unpopular among children. According to statistics in 1997, 23% said they didn’t like reading at all. In 2003, 35% did. And around 6% of children leave primary school each year unable to read properly.
Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability of computer games. Maybe the books boom has affected only the top of the educational pile. Either way, Chancellor Cordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class. In his pre-budget report, he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most.
Reading Recovery aims at six year olds, who receive four months of individual daily half-hour classes with a specially trained teacher. An evaluation this year reported that children in the school made 20 months’ progress in just one year, whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months’ progress, and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age.
International research tends to find that when British children leave primary school they read well, but more often read texts instead of reading for fun than those elsewhere. Reading for fun matters because children who have been on reading can report lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator of future educational success. According to the OECD, being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage.
41. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 1?
A. Many children’s books have been adapted from films.
B. Many high-quality children’s books have been published.
C. The sales of classics have led to the popularity of films.
D. The sales of presents for children have increased.
42. Statistics suggested that .
A. the number of top students increased with the use of computers
B. a decreasing number of children showed interest in reading
C. a minority of primary school children read properly
D. a huge percentage of children read regularly
43. What do we know about Reading Recovery?
A. An evaluation of it will be made sometime this year.
B. Weak readers on the project were the most hardworking.
C. It aims to train special teachers to help children with reading.
D. Children on the project showed noticeable progress in reading.
44. Reading for fun is important because book-loving children _______.
A. take greater advantage of the project B. show the potential to enjoy a long life
C. are likely to succeed in their education. D. would make excellent future researchers
45. The purpose of this text would probably be _______.
A. to overcome primary school pupils reading difficulty
B. to encourage the publication of more children’s books
C. to remind children of the importance of reading for fun
D. to introduce a way to improve early children reading