1 Pre-reading 1 How old are you? Are you a teenager? (between 13 and 19) Do you like reading? What kind of thing do you read? If you are older, what do you think teenagers like reading best? 2 Pre-reading 2: Key words Find words in the box to match the definitions below. celebrity scandal favourite gossip cheats blog fan fiction literature skinny current affairs : a web log, like a diary on the Internet, that anyone can read : untrue stories about popular stars and famous people : unfair ways to win a game or pass a test : somebody who is often in the news or on TV, like a pop star or actor : the one you like best : important things happening now : a situation that everybody thinks is terrible or wrong : talking about other people s private lives : very, very thin : books, plays and poems that people think are very well written Now read the article and check.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Celebrity scandal and Anne Frank: the reading diary of British teenagers Shakespeare and homework lose out as Internet competes with books and magazines for attention of young readers Mark Brown, arts correspondent March 27, 2008 Many parents won t like it, but a report published today shows young teenagers favourite reading is Heat magazine. Parents may be happier to see that Anne Frank s diary, books by Anthony Horowitz and CS Lewis The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe are also in the top ten. The celebrity gossip and news magazine comes top when 11 to 14-year-olds are asked to name their favourite read. This is followed by teenage girls magazine Bliss, which comes joint second with reading song lyrics online. They are followed by reading computer game cheats advice online, and then reading your own blog or fan fiction. The first books in the list are the Harry Potter series at number five. But not all teenagers agree, because Harry Potter is also number eight in the most hated reading material top ten. The results are in a report called Read Up, Fed Up: Exploring Teenage Reading Habits in the UK Today, as part of the National Year of Reading, which Gordon Brown set up in January. Other books on the favourites list are Anne Frank s diary at number six, Anthony Horowitz novels at eight, the CS Lewis classic at number nine and books by Louise Rennison author of the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series in joint tenth place with BBC Online. Honor Wilson-Fletcher, director of the National Year of Reading, said she was more interested in the variety of the list than the order. She said that adults read different kinds of things too and not many read serious literature. Predictably, the most hated read is homework. It is followed by Shakespeare, books of over 100 8 9 10 11 12 pages and stories about skinny celebrities in magazines although the cover and pages six to 12 of this week s favourite read Heat are all about that. Perhaps the amazing success of Facebook may be over, because it is the ninth most hated read, although the report shows a big rise in online reading. Wilson-Fletcher says we should be glad that they read so much online, which earlier generations didn t have the chance to do. The report also shows that 45% of young teenagers parents criticize them for reading something they think is bad for them. But Wilson- Fletcher thinks that parents are too critical, and reading is not just about reading books. The schools minister, Jim Knight, said: It is vital that young people have the opportunity to read widely. It is wonderful that 80% of the teenagers surveyed write their own stories and keep up-to-date with current affairs by using sites like BBC Online. The report also shows a big difference between boys and girls. 41% of boys put online computer game cheats as their favourite read, and put online song lyrics second. Nearly a third of boys said they loved reading because it helped them get better at hobbies. 39% of girls said they loved reading because it provided an escape, or quiet time to enjoy on their own. Young people were surveyed to find the 20 most loved and 20 most loathed reads. Then teenagers logged on to the teen website Pizco to vote on the lists. Guardian News & Media 2008 First published in The Guardian, 27/03/08
The lists: Most loved reads Heat magazine Bliss magazine / online song lyrics Online computer game cheats My own blog or fan fiction The Harry Potter series Anne Frank s diary Film scripts Books by Anthony Horowitz The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by CS Lewis BBC Online / the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson books by Louise Rennison Most hated reads Homework Shakespeare Books of over 100 pages Magazine articles about skinny celebrities Books set by school/teachers Encyclopedias and dictionaries The Beano Music (scores) / the Harry Potter series / maps/directions Facebook Financial Times / anything in another language 3 Quiz What do you know about the teenagers favourites? Match the words on the left with their explanations on the right. Anthony Horowitz a. Born in 1898; serious writer of imaginative books for children Bliss b. Stories written like a modern teenage girl s diary Georgia Nicolson books c. Writer of books about Alex Rider, a 14-year-old spy Heat d. Real teenage girl who wrote a diary about hiding from the Nazis in World War Two CS Lewis e. A magazine with lots of stories about famous people Anne Frank f. A magazine about pop music, television, and stories about famous people
4 Language and understanding: Comparatives Look at the list of most loved reads, and mark the sentences (T) or False (F). Teenagers like Harry Potter more than Georgia Nicolson. They like Anne Frank s diary less than Georgia s. They don t like CS Lewis as much as Anthony Horowitz. They like fan fiction as much as their own blogs. They like online computer game cheats more than film scripts. They don t like Bliss magazine as much as online song lyrics. Now write true sentences about the list of most hated reads. Example: Teenagers hate homework more than Shakespeare. The Financial Times / The Beano encyclopedias / dictionaries maps and directions / homework Music (scores) / the Harry Potter series 1 Anything in another language / books set by schoolteachers 5 Pronunciation: Key sounds The title of the report was Read Up, Fed Up. The word read can be pronounced /riːd/, in the infinitive, or /red/ like the past tense. Which do you think it is here? Here are some more words from the article. Put them in the columns for their vowel sound. make eight cheat fed name heat many say said set teenagers helped web teens media any Shakespeare pleased
KEY 2 Pre-reading 2: Key words blog fan fiction cheats celebrity favourite current affairs scandal gossip skinny literature 3 Quiz c e b f a d 4 Language and understanding: Comparatives 1 False False They hate the Financial Times less than the Beano (or: They don t hate the Financial Times as much as the Beano). They hate encyclopedias as much as dictionaries. They don t hate maps and directions as much as homework (or: They hate maps and directions less than homework). They hate Music (scores) as much as the Harry Potter series. They don t hate anything in another language as much as books set by schoolteachers (or: They hate anything in another language less than books set by schoolteachers). 5 Pronunciation: Key sounds The word read is probably pronounced /red/ so that it means finished reading and rhymes with fed, in fed up meaning bored or not interested. make eight name say Shakespeare cheat heat teenagers teens media pleased fed many said set helped web any