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Indians
'world's biggest readers'
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Indians are the world's biggest bookworms, reading on average 10.7
hours a week, twice as long as Americans, according to a new survey.
The NOP World Culture Score index surveyed 30,000 people in 30
countries from December 2004 to February 2005.
Analysts said self-help and aspirational reading could explain India's
high figures.
Time spent on reading meant fewer hours watching TV and listening to
the radio - India came fourth last in both.
The NOP survey of 30,000 consumers aged over 13 saw China and the
Philippines take second and third place respectively in average hours a
week spent reading books, newspapers and magazines.
Britons and Americans scored about half the Indians' hours and Japanese
and Koreans were even lower - at 4.1 and 3.1 hours respectively.
R Sriram, chief executive officer of Crosswords Bookstores, a chain of
26 book shops around India, says Indians are extremely entrepreneurial and reading "is a
fundamental part of their being".
"They place a great deal of emphasis on reading. That's the reason why
they do well in education and universities abroad," he said.
"People educate themselves and deal with change throughout their lives.
And the way to do that is to update themselves with books."
Mr Sriram says social changes have also made a difference: "Earlier
people could turn to their parents and grandparents for advice. Now they
turn to books."
(Agencies) |
最新一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示,全世界最愛讀書的是印度人,他們每周花在讀書上的時(shí)間平均達(dá)到10.7小時(shí),是美國人的兩倍。
NOP世界文化評分指數(shù)在2004年12月至2005年2月期間對30個(gè)國家的三萬人進(jìn)行了調(diào)查。
分析師們指出,自助讀書、熱愛讀書是印度人均讀書時(shí)間超過別的國家的主要原因。
把時(shí)間用于讀書意味著看電視和聽廣播的時(shí)間就相對減少,印度人用在看電視和聽廣播的時(shí)間都排在倒數(shù)第四位。
NOP調(diào)查的三萬名消費(fèi)者的平均年齡超過13歲。中國人和菲律賓人每周用在讀書、讀報(bào)及看雜志上的時(shí)間分列第二和第三名。
英國人和美國人的每周讀報(bào)時(shí)間僅為印度人的一半,而日本和韓國則更低,分別為4.1小時(shí)和3.1小時(shí)。
在印度擁有26家圖書連鎖店的克勞斯沃茲書店執(zhí)行總裁斯利拉姆表示,印度人非常具有開創(chuàng)精神,讀書是他們生活中不可缺少的一部分。
他說:“他們非常注重讀書。這就是為什么他們的學(xué)習(xí)都很棒,在國外大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)時(shí)表現(xiàn)也很出色。”
“人們進(jìn)行自我教育,應(yīng)對生活中出現(xiàn)的變化。要做到這點(diǎn)就必須通過讀書來充實(shí)自己?!?
斯利拉姆先生表示,社會變革也起到一定影響,“以前人們會從父母或祖父母那里尋求幫助,而現(xiàn)在他們求助于書本?!?BR> (中國日報(bào)網(wǎng)站譯) |