As online learning becomes more common and more and more resources become digital form, some people have suggested that public libraries should be shut down and, in their place, everyone should be given an iPad.
Supporters of this idea state that it will save local cities and towns money because libraries are expensive to maintain. They also believe it will encourage more people to read because they won’t have to travel to a library to get a book; they can simply click on what they want to read and read it from wherever they are. They could also access more materials because libraries won’t have to buy physical copies of books.
However, it would be a serious mistake to replace libraries with iPads. First, digital books and resources are associated with less learning and more problems than print resources. A study done on tablet and book reading found that people read 20-30% slower on iPads, remember 20% less information, and understand 10% less of what they read compared to people who read the same information in print. Additionally, staring too long at a screen has been shown to cause some health problems, including dizziness, dry eyes, headaches, shoulder and back pain and so on. We should not add to these problems by giving people, especially young people, more reasons to look at screens.
Second, it is incredibly narrow-minded to assume that the only service libraries offer is book lending. Libraries have more benefits, and many are only available if the library has a physical location. Some of these benefits include acting as a quiet study space, giving people a way to communicate with their neighbors, holding classes on a variety of topics, providing jobs and keeping the community connected. One neighborhood found that, after a local library instituted community events such as play times for kids and parents, job fairs for teenagers, and meeting spaces for senior citizens, over a third of residents reported feeling more connected to their community. Similarly, a survey conducted in 2015 found that nearly two-thirds of American adults feel that closing their local library would have a major impact on their community. People see libraries as a way to connect with others and get their questions answered and benefits iPads can’t offer nearly as well or as easily.
While replacing libraries with iPads may seem like a simple solution, it would encourage people to spend even more time looking at digital screens, despite the issues surrounding them. It would also end access to many of the benefits of libraries that people have come to rely on. In many areas, libraries are such an important part of the community network that they could never be replaced by a simple object.
12. Digital reading supporters may agree that ________.
A.the price is too high to maintain libraries |
B.iPads make people’s learning less convenient |
C.printed books are more efficient than digital ones |
D.iPads encourage people to spend more time on line |
13. The author supports his idea in Paragraph 3 by________.
A.listing figures and showing studying results |
B.highlighting the differences between the two media |
C.comparing reading efficiency through different media |
D.showing advantages and disadvantages of reading with iPads |
14. What is the author’s attitude towards the functions of public libraries?
A.Unconcerned. | B.Confused. | C.Positive. | D.Negative. |
15. What is the best title of the passage?
A.Why IPads Encourage People to Read? | B.Should Public Libraries Be Shut Down? |
C.Will IPads Take the Place of Public Libraries? | D.How Are IPads And Public Libraries Different? |