High schoolers prefer thrillers to classics

Chinanews, Hangzhou, July 17 - As many high school students plan to read books during the current summer holiday, a junior high school in Hangzhou conducted a survey on reading among its students, finding that many of them would rather read thrillers than literature classics.
In the survey, about 31.9% of boys and 39.7% of girls say they are crazy about thrillers and other horror fictions. Although it is generally believed that boys are more courageous than girls, there are more girls enjoying reading thrillers, for "they are exciting and attractive."
However, not many of them like literature classics, as only 22.3% of the respondents say they often read such books. Take A Dream of Red Mansions, a very famous Chinese classic, as an example. Only 10% of the respondents have read it from cover to cover. Many of them complain that the book is too dull and too complicated.
"I don't think the school should force students to read classics, but rather, it's our responsibility to cultivate students' interest in them," said Zhao Guangxiong, assitant principal of the high school.