IMPROVING READING SKILLS UNIT 1

Young people don’t read newspapers

A Recently released figures have revealed another slight rise in the numbers of
broadsheets sold annually in the UK. At first glance, 1this is enough to bring a
smile to the face of any newspaper proprietor. However, these figures only serve
to hide a much deeper and more worrying trend 2which, sooner or later, will
have a huge impact on the newspaper industry. The average age of readers has
been climbing steadily, from fifty-one years old a few years ago to fifty-four
now, and there is little doubt that this trend will continue. Put simply, young
people don’t read papers, and if the press fails to address the problem, one day
there may be no one left who buys their product.

B Some cynical editors have argued that the problem isn’t as much of a concern as
3
it first appears, that young people will start reading papers when they’re older,
and that, as people are living longer, appealing to an older readership is no bad
thing. However, this misses the point. What other industry would fail to address
the fact that young people dislike its product?

C The truth is that newspapers are run by a generation of people who started work
in an age when there were no computers, and 4they have largely failed to
embrace the new technologies that are a daily part of the lives of teenagers.
Young people are used to researching and finding what they want to know
online, so the idea of flicking through the dense print of a newspaper is alien.
Not only 5that, but newspapers don’t reflect the interests of young people. Until
these issues are addressed, teenagers are likely to stay away from broadsheets
and find out about what’s happening in the world from other sources.

Exam strategy
Read the text in detail to understand what the pronouns refer to. They may refer to a
person, a place or an idea previously mentioned in the text.

Text Initiative TRB2 © Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2015

1 Read the text and note the underlined pronouns.
What do they refer to in the text?

1 __________________________________________________________
2 __________________________________________________________
3 __________________________________________________________
4 __________________________________________________________
5 __________________________________________________________

2 Are the statements true or false? Quote words from the text to support your
answers.

1 There has been an increase in sales of serious British newspapers in recent

years.
__________________________________________________________
2 The writer of the article is fairly certain that the average age of newspaper
readers will continue to go up gradually.
__________________________________________________________
3 Some people in the newspaper industry claim that their product is attractive
to young people.
__________________________________________________________
4 Reading a newspaper seems strange to young people who are used to using
modern technology.
__________________________________________________________

3 Find words and phrases in the text that mean …

1 small. ______________________________
2 very big. ______________________________
3 deal with. ______________________________
4 a worry. ______________________________
5 haven’t understood or accepted. ______________________________

Text Initiative TRB2 © Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2015

4 Answer the questions in your own words.

1 What is the worrying trend that the writer talks about?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
2 What two arguments do cynical editors make to say that it isn’t a big
problem?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
3 In what way are editors and journalists not in touch with young people
today?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
4 What are the two issues that need to be addressed before young people start
buying newspapers?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

Text Initiative TRB2 © Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2015