Books that Win Minds

The decision by the Whitbread judges to award its big prize to a children’s fiction, The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, will have delighted parents and teachers. For Pullman is an author credited, like J.K. Rowling, with the magical power of getting children to read, creating a fictional world so fascinating that even the most stubbornly reluctant readers fall under his page-turning spell (魔力) and discover the joy of books.

The following are some of his viewpoints on reading：

²      We read for many reasons. But what all of us get from engaging with a story is what you don’t quite get with television or film. On screen the pictures do your imagining for you. When you read you have to put more into it — and what you have to put in, you get out.

²      In engaging with a book, something more active is going on in your mind because you are imagining for yourself. This is the thing that parents wish their children were doing.

²      The sense of joy and power and freedom when you can do that— that’s been lost in the national curriculum and the reading strategy. They don’t mention the fun.

²      There is a wonderful range of popular science books which are fascinating for children, who will follow a grown-up book as far as it will take them if they are fascinated by the subject.

²      I read a lot of trash, too—everybody ought to read trash. That way you don’t rely on others to develop your taste.

1. The author of the book, The Amber Spyglass is ________.

A. Whitbread       B. Philip Pullman     C. J.K. Rowling     D. We don’t know

2. According to the author, the main advantage of reading books over watching TV or film is that________.

A. reading can make people imagine something more actively

   B. reading provides more fun

   C. there are more interesting books than TV plays or films

   D. reading can make you more concentrated on your work

3. It is implied that the national curriculum and reading strategy are ________.

   A. important        B. interesting         C. terrible          D. not fascinating

4. In the last paragraph the underlined word trash most probably means________.

   A. science books     B. novels     C. books of poor quality    D. interesting books

Books that Win Minds

The decision by the Whitbread judges to award its big prize to a children’s fiction, The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, will have delighted parents and teachers. For Pullman is an author credited, like J.K. Rowling, with the magical power of getting children to read, creating a fictional world so fascinating that even the most stubbornly reluctant readers fall under his page-turning spell (魔力) and discover the joy of books.

The following are some of his viewpoints on reading：

²      We read for many reasons. But what all of us get from engaging with a story is what you don’t quite get with television or film. On screen the pictures do your imagining for you. When you read you have to put more into it — and what you have to put in, you get out.

²      In engaging with a book, something more active is going on in your mind because you are imagining for yourself. This is the thing that parents wish their children were doing.

²      The sense of joy and power and freedom when you can do that— that’s been lost in the national curriculum and the reading strategy. They don’t mention the fun.

²      There is a wonderful range of popular science books which are fascinating for children, who will follow a grown-up book as far as it will take them if they are fascinated by the subject.

²      I read a lot of trash, too—everybody ought to read trash. That way you don’t rely on others to develop your taste.

1. The author of the book, The Amber Spyglass is ________.

A. Whitbread       B. Philip Pullman     C. J.K. Rowling     D. We don’t know

2. According to the author, the main advantage of reading books over watching TV or film is that________.

A. reading can make people imagine something more actively

   B. reading provides more fun

   C. there are more interesting books than TV plays or films

   D. reading can make you more concentrated on your work

3. It is implied that the national curriculum and reading strategy are ________.

   A. important        B. interesting         C. terrible          D. not fascinating

4. In the last paragraph the underlined word trash most probably means________.

   A. science books     B. novels     C. books of poor quality    D. interesting books