A quarter of US adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos survey. The typical person said that he / she read four books in the last year and, excluding those who had not read any books at all, the usual number of books read was seven.
Of those who did read, women and pensioners (领养老金者) were the most eager readers, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices. The number of books read was nine books for women and five for men. The number also showed that those with college degrees read the most, and people aged 50 and over read more than those who are younger.
People from the West and Midwest are more likely to have read at least one book in the past year. Southerners who do read tend to read more books — mostly religious books and romance novels — than people from other regions.
Those who said they never attend religious services read nearly twice as many books as those who attend frequently, but the Bible and religious works were read by two thirds of the people in the survey, more than all the other categories. Popular fiction, histories, biographies and mysteries took up about half, while one in five read romance novels. Politics, poetry and classical literature were named by fewer than 5% of readers. More women than men read every major category of books except for history and biography books. Men tend to prefer non-fiction.
Book sales in the US have been flat in recent years and are expected to stay that way, which, experts think, results from petition from the Internet and other media, and the unsteady economy.
【小题1】The passage mainly tells us .A．the number of Americans who read books last year droppedB．the book sales in the US have been dropping in recent yearsC．the reasons why one in four Americans read no books last yearD．about region differences in the number and kind of books read last year【小题2】Which kind of Americans read the most last year according to the survey?A．Older men with college degrees from the South.B．Older women with college degrees from the South.C．Younger educated men from the Midwest.D．Younger educated women from the West.【小题3】What kind of books was read most according to the passage?A．Religious works.B．Popular fiction.C．Poetry.D．History.【小题4】Which of the following reasons why people read fewer books is true?
①. Competition from the Internet.
②. Competition from other media.
③. The unsteady economy.
④. People attend religious services
⑤. No time for reading.A．①②③B．②③⑤C．①③⑤D．②③④A
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(答案→)A
解析：一项调查显示，美国成年人读书量在下降，有四分之一的美国人根本不读书。造成读书量下降的原因主要是来自互联网的竞争，其它媒介的竞争和经济波动。
【小题1】根据第一段“A quarter of US adults say they read no books at all in the past year ...he / she read four books in the last year ...the usual number of books read was seven”可知，调查结果显示，去年每人的读书量是4本，低于常规读书量6本。故选A。
【小题2】根据第二段“Of those who did read, women and pensioners (领养老金者) were the most eager readers
The number also showed that those with college degrees read the most”和第三段“Southerners who do read tend to read more books”可知，南部地区拥有大学学历的女性读的书最多，故选B。
【小题3】根据第四段“but the Bible and religious works were read by two thirds of the people in the survey, more than all the other categories”可知，读的最多的书籍是宗教书籍，故选A。
【小题4】根据最后一段“which, experts think, results from petition from the Internet and other media, and the unsteady economy.”可知，读书量的下降是由互联网的竞争，其它媒介的竞争和不稳定的经济造成的，故选A。