Exercise 9

a) Read the text and try to focus on its essential facts. Choose the most suitable heading below for each paragraph:

1) Creative Reading 2) Why do we like to read? 3) Judging a Piece of Writing 4) What is Literature? 5) Main Divisions of Literature

b) Make a precis of the text, using the following phrases:

1. The title of the text is... 2. The text is about... The text deals with... 3. The text covers such points as... 4. It should be underlined that... 5. In conclusion, I may say that... 6. To my mind... In my opinion...

LITERATURE

The term “literature” is derived from the Latin word “littera” (“letter” of alphabet, litterae – “letters”). Literature, in its broadest sense, means everything that has ever been written. Literature is one of the fine arts.

Literature has two main divisions: fiction and non-fiction. An author creates fiction from imagination. Authors may include facts about real persons or events, but they combine these facts with imaginary situations. Most fiction is narrative writing, such as novels and short stories. Fiction also comprises drama and poetry. Non-fiction is factual writing about real-life situations. The chief forms of non-fiction include the essay, history, biography, autobiography, and diary.

A creative reader considers both what the writer wants to say and how it is said. Creative readers bring their own experiences of life and language to the experiences the writer presents in the page. Creative reading leads to the deepest enjoyment of literature.

Reading is such a personal activity that there are no rules for judging a piece of writing. Every reader is a critic. Our ability to judge literature intelligently develops as our reading broadens. Our critical skills, like our muscles, develop with use.

We are fond of reading for different reasons. We read literature mostly because we enjoy it. We also read for information and knowledge. And we also find pleasure in learning some interesting data. Sometimes we find possible solutions to our problems when we meet people in books whose problems are like our own.

EXERCISE 10. Read and give a summary of the text.