单选题 It is hardly necessary for me to cite all the evidence of the depressing state of literacy. These figures from the Department of Education are sufficient: 27 million Americans cannot read at all, and a further 35 million read at a level that is less than sufficient to survive in our society.
But my own worry today is less that of the overwhelming problem of elemental literacy than it is of the slightly more luxurious problem of the decline in the skill even of the middle-class reader, of his unwillingness to afford those spaces of silence, those luxuries of domesticity and time and concentration, that surround the image of the classic act of reading. It has been suggested that almost 80 percent of America"s literate, educated teenagers can no longer read without an accompanying noise music in the background or a television screen flickering at the corner of their field of perception. We know very little about the brain and how it deals with simultaneous conflicting input, but every common-sense intuition suggests we should be profoundly alarmed. This violation of concentration, silence, solitude goes to the very heart of our notion of literacy; this new form of part-reading, of part-perception against background distraction, renders impossible certain essential acts of apprehension and concentration, let alone that most important tribute any human being can pay to a poem or a piece of prose he or she really loves, which is to learn it by heart. Not by brain, by heart; the expression is vital.
Under these circumstances, the question of what future there is for the arts of reading is a real one. Ahead of us lie technical, psychic, and social transformations probably much more dramatic than those brought about by Gutenberg, the German inventor in printing. The Gutenberg revolution, as we now know it, took a long time; its effects are still being debated. The information revolution will touch every fact of composition, publication, distribution, and reading. No one in the book industry can say with any confidence what will happen to the book as we"ve known it.

单选题 The picture of the reading ability of the American people, drawn by the author, is ______.

单选题 The author"s biggest concern is ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】细节题。文章第二段第一句指出：But my own worry today is...the slightly more luxurious problem of the decline in the skill even of the middle-class reader, ...of his unwillingness to afford those spaces of silence, ...that surround the image of the classic act of reading.作者最担忧的是中产阶级读者读书能力的降低以及他们在阅读中所表现出来的种种不良习惯。所以D项符合题意。

单选题 A major problem with most adolescents who can read is ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】细节题。文章第二段第二句指出：几乎80%受过教育的年轻人阅读时必须伴有背景音乐和电视。接下来作者对这种新的阅读方式进行了评论：this new form of part-reading, ...renders impossible certain essential acts of apprehension and concentration.这种阅读方法不可能使人完全理解和专注。所以C项符合题意。

单选题 The author claims that the best way a reader can show admiration for a piece of poetry or prose is ______.

单选题 About the future of the arts of reading the author feels ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】态度题。文章第三段指出：Under these circumstances, the question of what future there is for the arts of reading is a real one...No one in the book industry can say with any confidence what will happen to the book as we"ve known it.阅读艺术的未来令人担忧，图书界中没有人能确定将来会发生什么。这些表明作者对阅读艺术的前途并不乐观，所以D项符合题意。