英语杂谈：21 The problem of vocabulary 2

Dasha (Reporter):

I am in the editorial building of a newspaper called “English” - it promotes the language, gives tips and helps students with difficulties they might have while learning English. I’m here to meet a group of young enthusiasts 1 who are members of the “Y.E.S Club” - which stands for Youth English Section.

They write their own page in the newspaper. For these young people it’s a chance to improve their language, read in English and to talk about the books they’ve been reading.

Today’s planning meeting is devoted 2 to some of the difficulties of reading in English - and how to inspire the subscribers of the newspaper to read in a foreign language.

Female: We should make our readers believe that it's much more interesting and much more really important to read English literature in original, because in Russian it's just a totally different thing.

Male: Last summer I read The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien for my pleasure because I like this book. Many years ago I read it first and I didn't have possibility or frankly 3 speaking the desire to read it in English. Last summer I decided 4 that if you like a book written by an English author you should read it in English. That's why I made this effort, I read it and I understood the meaning and the plot of the author much better than when I read it in Russian.

Dasha: The editorial team agrees that there are many benefits to be gained from reading an English book in the original language but one of the major problems that readers face concerns the choice of vocabulary.

Female: Slang and some peculiarities 5 of the country. For example, Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. It's full of such things. Fortunately I had a kind of vocabulary in the end of the book, some names of the streets and magazines and newspapers and shops which I didn't know.

Female2: It's the author's style of writing. For example Dickens's books are very difficult for me and I prefer reading them in translation because I think that there are certain things that escape from our understanding and that is the major difficulty that we can encounter when we read books in original.

Dasha: But whatever the problems, Aliona believes that it's important to discuss what you've just read with other readers. It might help you to understand the book's themes and it certainly makes the pleasure last longer.

Female: We do discuss it and I think it's an important thing for evaluating new ideas after reading the book you can think it over and over because for me the most important thing is to think after the book more really important to read English literature in original, because in Russian it's just a totally different thing.

Gary: Some comments there about the value of reading books in the original

language and also about taking the opportunity to discuss what you read with other keen readers. Jeremy.

Jeremy: I think that's very interesting and significant. I'm sure that's why reading groups have become so popular in Britain and a lot of other countries. Reading is a rather solitary 6 activity and I think the pleasures of reading are better shared and I'm sure that communicating your enthusiasm for something you've read means that you will inevitably 7 have a greater appreciation 8 of what you've read and perhaps greater motivation to read more.

Gary: Now, for every edition of The Reading Group, we’ve asked an author of books for students and teachers of English Literature to share their thoughts on the pains and pleasures presented by reading.

Gillian Lazar joins us today - she’s a Senior Lecturer at a British University and an enthusiastic member of a book group herself! In her talk, she considers why we read, and offers some suggestions on how to share our enjoyment 9 with each

other.