In February, the publishing company Puffin released (发行) new editions of some books by Roald Dahl that had been edited to remove or replace rude language. Dahl’s original work included terms that were once considered acceptable but that many people today find upsetting, such as describing characters as “fat” and “ugly”. Puffin said it changed those words and others so the books “can continue to be enjoyed by all.” Many people argued against the move, however, saying it amounted to censorship (bans on people’s ideas or language). Others say it’s good to remove outdated and hurtful language. What do you think? Should publishers revise old books?

Yes — times and language change. Society’s values are always changing. What would have been acceptable to say or do 50 years ago might not be OK anymore. People are right to point out when somebody says something hurtful, so the same should apply to books with rude language. A careful editor is able to successfully remove words or terms that upset people without changing what originally created by the author. The most important thing is that children (and adults) read books — and lots of them. Any minor changes to the text that make Dahl’s — or another writer’s--stories more accessible and inclusive are a good thing.

No — books should be left as they are. Censorship is dangerous because it limits what a person can say or how they express themselves. If we allow people to censor one author’s work, what’s to stop them from doing the same to every author’s work in the future? If somebody disagrees with an opinion or is angered by an idea, it doesn’t mean no one else should hear it. A healthy society hugs many different beliefs and points of view. If some people find certain words or descriptions upsetting, the best approach isn’t to ban or change them but to discuss, debate, and make people aware of why the material is hurtful. It can help people learn and understand.

How to Improve Speed Reading Skills

Speed reading is one of many skills that can improve your reading comprehension and shorten your study time. 【小题1】

Look at groups of words, not single words.

【小题2】 However, if you can get into the habit of reading groups or chunks (大量) of words at one time, then you can read much faster. Start by trying to look at a group of three or four words at once, then work up to looking at an entire line of works. Focus on words that give the sentence meaning, such as the nouns and verbs and pay less attention to the filler words, such as a, the, and, etc.

Scan for keywords.

Scanning is a highly effective way of extracting answers from a text without really reading it. If you know exactly what you are looking for — a name, a date, a statistic, or a specific word — you can find it quickly by skipping over large chunks of the text. To scan, first visualize the word, number, or phrase you would like to find. 【小题3】 The information you are looking for should pop out at you.

【小题4】 You can train yourself to read faster by timing yourself as you go. Start by getting your base time. Set a timer (定时器) for fifteen minutes, and speed read as you normally do. 【小题5】 Do not count the words, just the pages or paragraphs. Record your figures: for instance, you might write “15 min/6.5 pages.”

One of the great benefits of being able to record sound is to make books available for listening. With the appearance of audio recordings, many people were able to hear literary classics read aloud. Audio books are, of course, books read aloud and recorded to be listened to on some kind of player. As sound technology has changed, audio books have changed, as well. 【小题1】 Now, books are also available on audio tape or CD.

Talking books are books created for people who have sight problems. Some of these talking books often need special players to be used. Many visually damaged people are able to receive players for free. 【小题2】

CD technology has caused great changes in the talking book industry, since more data can be written on a single disc. 【小题3】 So the visually damaged person has a multi-use machine.

【小题4】 Some are even read in the form of a play, in which different actors take the parts of the characters in the book. They may also have sound effects or music to help improve the listening experience.

Some book clubs have started offering audio books as part of their services. Libraries also have audio books available and they may also be purchased online or at any book store. 【小题5】 Those who feel they do not have time to enjoy the pleasure of a good book may find audio books to be the next best thing.