E
It is difficult in the modern world to do anything other than a basic job without being able to read. Reading as a skill is the key to an educated workforce, which in turn is the bedrock of economic advancement, particularly in the present technological age. Studies have shown that by increasing the literacy skill of primary school children in the UK, the benefit to economy generally is in billions of pounds. The skill of reading is now no mere just an intellectual （知识的） or leisure activity, but rather a completely developed economic force.
Part of the problem with reading is that it is a skill which is not appreciated in most developed societies. This is an attitude that has forced a large number of the population in most Western nations to illiteracy (文盲). It might surprise people in countries outside the West to learn that in the United Kingdom, and indeed in some other European countries, the literacy rate has fallen to below that of so-called less developed countries.
There are also forces against reading in our modern society. It is not seen as cool among a younger generation more at home with computer screens or e-libraries.
And reading is not very appealing. Students at school, college or university, who read a lot are called bookworms. The term indicates the contempt (轻蔑) in which reading and learning are held in certain circles or subcultures. It is a criticism, like all such attacks, driven by the insecurity of those who are not literate or are semiliterate. Criticism is also a means, like all bullying, of keeping peers（同辈） in place so that they do not step out of line. Peer pressure among young people is so powerful that it often kills any attempts to change attitudes towards habits like reading.
But the negative senses apart, is modern Western society standing Canute-like (自以为是地) against an uncontrollable drop? I think not.
57．What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?
A．Reading plays an important role in education.
B．People can't find a job without being able to read.
C．The skill of reading has become an economic power.
D．More intellectual activities are needed in the technological age.
58．What problem exists in most Western nations?
A． Younger generations are addicted to modern technology.
B．The literacy skills have weakened their financial benefit.
C．Literacy rate has decreased because of people' s attitude.
D．School children spend more money on leisure activities.
59．What does the underlined sentence probably mean?
A．Criticism may help the young make reading a habit.
B．The contempt makes peers refuse to change their reading habit.
C．Peer pressure stops bully boy from stepping out of line.
D．Criticism strongly influences the young' s behavior towards reading.
60．What is the author' s purpose in writing this passage?
A．To explain his own attitudes.
B．To describe the decrease in reading.
C．To draw people' s attention to reading.
D．To criticize negative attitudes towards reading
