Transcript

NARRATOR

Words are all around us, filling book after book on shelves everywhere. And though printing is no longer the only way to read things, modern technology means that reading is just as important as ever. You can read for many reasons: for pleasure, to find out important information and even for your own safety.

A lot of what we read every day is short – often just single words or phrases – in tweets, text messages or other notes. But being able to read, understand and use longer texts is just as important.

But it's also important to engage with what you're reading, to tell the difference between things you should believe and things you probably shouldn't, between facts and fake news; also to work out whether you need to just skim-read something to get the general idea or to go into a bit more detail. Reading is a skill that needs practice. So it's important to take a bit of time out to read something you enjoy. It doesn't have to be fiction.