📘 Part 3: Reading

This episode's vocabulary

To open up (phrasal verb) - to show something that was hidden or not previously known.

Critical (adj.) - saying that someone or something is bad or wrong.

Attainment (noun) - the act of achieving something.

Astonishing (adj.) - very surprising.

Profound (adj.) - felt or experienced very strongly or in an extreme way.

Flexible (adj.) - able to change or be changed easily according to the situation.

Self-help (adj.) - intended to help you solve a problem, end a habit, learn a skill, etc. by yourself.

Autobiography (noun) - a book about a person's life, written by that person.

To sink something into something (phrasal verb) - tto spend money on something or invest money in something.

Crucial (adj.) - extremely important or necessary.

To evaluate (verb) - to judge or calculate the quality, importance, amount, or value of something.

To sucker someone into something (phrasal verb) - to persuade someone to do something by deceiving them.

Unsavoury (adj.) - unpleasant, or morally offensive.

Questions and Answers

M: Why are so many people keen on reading?

R: Oh, God, well, as many reasons as there are people I imagine. In the first place, being literally opens you up to reading the ideas of other people, and you can learn a lot from them and the mistakes they've made as well. And it's a very easy mode of entertainment and a key part of education, which opens up millions of possibilities for people who might not have otherwise had those opportunities. And I suppose in general, it's just a giant key to a better life. In many ways.

M: Should parents help their children to develop their reading habits at an early age?

R: Oh, absolutely yes. I mean, indeed, they're critical. I remember reading a study on the educational attainment of people whose parents read to them at least once a day compared to those who didn't, and the difference was astonishing. Like even between people in the same, what, socio-economic status. Like, this has a very profound effect, and it led to better outcomes on just about every measure.

M: Is reading for fun or for work?

R: I don't see why it can't be both, really. I often find people who have read much more flexible in terms of the ways of their approach to life and in solving problems and work in their personal lives. And they seem to find it much easier to relax by reading or coming up with things to talk about, because they've read about these things and they've thought about them.

M: What reading topics are popular in your country?

R: Oh, well, probably as many topics as there are people, really. The ones you most often see in the headlines are things like self-help stuff and autobiographies of famous people. I'm not sure why that is, to be honest, though, at I guess, I suppose it's because people are always in need of guidance and love a good gossip.

M: What are the differences between books and movies?

R: Well, it's tempting to say something like the visual and audio element, but I'm not so sure about that, since we often imagine these things in our heads even when we read. So I think the biggest difference is actually the time and thought sunk into them by the reader. With movies, we tend to have the vision of the director or the studio presented to us, with minimal need to think and create in our minds, whereas with reading like especially with experienced readers, we have more opportunity to digest and think about what we're doing.

M: Do you think people of all ages need to read?

R: Yeah, absolutely. That's a crucial skill for just getting by in the world. You need to be able to access and assess and evaluate ideas and text to avoid being, I don't know, like suckered in by unsavoury actors and propaganda and to be generally well informed, it's not the only element of that, but it's a big part of it.

M: Hey! Thank you, Rory for your answers!