How to Raise a Reader

For some people, the warmest memories from childhood come from being read a great story. But reading to children does more than create warm memories. It develops children’s language skills and increases their ability to succeed in school and, later, work.

对很多人来说，儿时最温暖的记忆莫过于听过一个好故事。但是，给孩子读书的意义不仅仅在于留下美好回忆，还能培养孩子的语言技能，提高孩子的能力，以便孩子在之后的学习和工作中取得成功。

A new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics says reading aloud is so important that parents should start as soon as their children are born. And they should continue to read aloud even after their children can read by themselves.

美国儿科学会一项新的报道表示，大声朗读非常重要，孩子出生之后，父母需要尽早开始诵读。即使孩子自己可以阅读之后，父母们也要继续大声朗读。

Doctors say parents should read books that are not too long and on the right age level so children will not lose interest. They say parents should also point to and talk about pictures in books for infants. For young children, parents should ask questions about the book.

医生们表示，为了保证孩子们的兴趣，父母朗读的书籍不宜过长，并须根据孩子的年龄而定。此外，他们表示父母们还要为婴儿指出并解释书中的插画。并向幼儿提问与书相关的问题。

The company Scholastic is a major U.S. publisher of children’s books. Every two years, Scholastic publishes a report on American reading attitudes and habits. The 2015 report says only 31 percent of children in the U.S. read a book for fun almost every day.

学者出版社是美国著名的儿童读物出版商。该出版社每两年都会对美国人的读书态度和读书习惯进行报道。2015年的报道表明，美国只有31%的儿童每天读书怡情。

Scholastic also identifies some ways to develop a love of reading in a child. One is simply to have books in the home.

学者出版社还指出了培养孩子读书习惯的几点建议。其中之一就是保证家中有书。

Another way to develop a reading habit in children is to read to them. Researchers from the Scholastic company found that 80% of children surveyed say they love being read to. And children ages six to 11 whose parents do not read to them anymore say they miss it.

另外，要想培养孩子的读书习惯就要为孩子们读书。学者出版社表明，接受调查的孩子们中有80%表示他们喜欢听人读书。那些6至11岁，父母不再为其读书的孩子们表示，非常怀念父母给他们读书的时光。

The Scholastic report also suggests permitting children to choose their own books. Of all the six to 17-year-olds in the Scholastic study, more than 90% said their favorite books are the ones they chose for themselves.

此外，学者出版社还建议父母应允许孩子们选择要读的书。接受学者出版社调查的6至17岁的孩子们中有90%的孩子表示他们最喜欢的书都是自己挑选的书。

According to Scholastic, 70% of kids in the U.S. between ages six and 11 want to read books that are funny. The same study found that 54% of children want books that allow them to use their imaginations, and 41% want to read a book with a good mystery .

据学者出版社报道，美国6至11岁的孩子中有70%喜欢读些有趣的书籍。此项研究还表明54%的孩子喜欢那些可以自由发挥想象力的书籍，41%的孩子喜欢阅读涉及神秘事物的书籍。

Of course, adults can enjoy children’s books, too. And many adults find that the books they read as children taught them lessons they still remember

当然，成年人也可以阅读儿童读物。很多成年人表示至今仍然记得儿时读的书所讲的道理。

Did you have a favorite children’s book when you were little?

那么，你小时候有没有特别喜欢的儿童书籍呢？

完成阅读

来源:China Daily爱语吧作者:Monica