Reading to oneself is a modern activity which was almost unknown to the learned in the early days of the history, while during the fifteenth century the term “reading” undoubtedly meant reading aloud. Only during the nineteenth century did silent reading bee popular.
One should be careful, however, of supposing that silent reading came about simply because reading aloud is distraction（分散注意力）to others. Examination of reasons connected with the historical development of silent reading shows that it became the usual mode of reading for most adult reading tasks mainly because the tasks themselves changed in character.
The last century saw a gradual increase in literacy（读写能力）and thus in the number of readers. As readers increased, so the number of listeners dropped, and thus there was some reduction in the need to read aloud. As reading for the benefit of listeners grew less mon, so came the popularity of reading as a private activity in such public places as libraries, trains and offices, where reading aloud would disturb other readers in a way.
Towards the end of the century there was still heated argument over whether books should be used for information or treated respectfully, and over whether the reading of material such as newspapers was in some way mentally weakening. Indeed this argument remains with us still in education. However, whatever its advantages are, the old shared literacy culture had gone and was replaced by the printed mass media on the one hand and by books and magazines for a specialized readership on the other.
By the end of the century students were being advised to have some new ideas of books and to use skills in reading them which were not proper, if not impossible, for the oral reader. The social, cultural, and technological developments in the century had greatly changed what the term “reading” referred to.
【小题1】Why was reading aloud mon before the nineteenth century?A．Because silent reading had not been discovered.B．Because there were few places for private reading.C．Because few people could read for themselves.D．Because people depended on reading for enjoyment.【小题2】The development of silent reading during the nineteenth century showed .A．a change in the position of literate peopleB．a change in the nature of readingC．an increase in the number of booksD．an increase in the average age of readers【小题3】Educationalists are still arguing about .A．the importance of silent readingB．the amount of information provided by books and newspapersC．the effects of reading on healthD．the value of different types of reading materialC
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(答案→)C
解析：本文主要介绍了默读在历史上的发展演变过程，突出了它产生的原因和背景。第一段是总述，指出默读是一种几乎不为古代学者所知的现代行为。中世纪时期阅读是指大声朗读，一直到19世纪默读才比较流行。文中介绍了上个世纪阅读的发展，以及20世纪末期阅读发展成为默读。
【小题1】细节理解题。根据Reading to oneself is a modern activity which was almost unknown to the learned in the early days of the history, while during the fifteenth century the term “reading” undoubtedly meant reading aloud.因为很少的人是为自己而读的，故选C。
【小题2】细节理解题。根据development of silent reading shows that it became the usual mode of reading for most adult reading tasks mainly because the tasks themselves changed in character.表明了读的一个变化，故选B。
【小题3】细节理解题。根据Towards the end of the century there was still heated argument over whether books should be used for information or treated respectfully, and over whether the reading of material such as newspapers was in some way mentally weakening.不同的阅读材料的价值，故选D。