Should libraries ban certain books?
图书馆应禁某些书籍吗？
Watch out! Harry Potter has some new enemies. Some people want the young wizard kicked out of public libraries. They say the Harry Potter series is not good for kids, because it mentions witchcraft[1] and has violent parts.
Harry isn’t the only character on trial. The American Library Association has received more than 9,600 requests to remove books from libraries since 1990. Other commonly targeted titles include Bridge to Terabithia, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and the Scary Stories series.
People in favor of banning certain books say kids need to be protected from reading material that is not appropriate[2]. But others say it’s important for kids to read about different ideas and points of view.
Should public libraries ban certain books? Student reporters Essence and Hannah each plotted out[3] a side.
NO! Books help kids learn more about the world.
I believe it is the people’s choice what they read. Everyone has different points of views, and people should respect those. If parents don’t approve of a certain book, they can forbid their children to read it. But they don’t have the right to make that decision for other families. Besides, removing one book could mean many other books end up being removed.
“These books should be left on the shelves.” says Martin, a school librarian from Mississippi. “They allow children to view different aspects of life... without being forced to change [their] own beliefs.”
Essence, Mississippi
[1] witchcraft [ ]n. 巫术
[2] appropriate [] adj. 合适的
[3] plot out 分配
当心！哈利·波特又有了新敌人。有人想将这位年轻的巫师赶出公共图书馆了！他们认为《哈利·波特》系列丛书涉及巫术、又有暴力场面，对孩子无益。
哈利并不是惟一受审查的角色。自1990年以来，美国图书馆协会已经收到9,600多份请求，希望能将部分图书撤出图书馆。除《哈利·波特》外，其它一些广受争议的书目还包括《仙境之桥》、《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》以及《恐怖故事》系列小说。
赞成禁止部分书籍的人们表示，孩子们应远离那些不适合他们年龄段阅读的书籍。其他人则认为，孩子在阅读中了解不同的想法和观点十分重要。
究竟公共图书馆应不应该对部分书籍颁发禁令呢？实习记者埃森斯和汉娜各就一方发表了观点。
反对！书籍能让孩子更多地了解这个世界。
我觉得读什么书是人们自己的选择。每个人都有自己的观点，并且这些观点都应该受到尊重。如果一些家长不赞成孩子读某本书，他们大可禁止自己的孩子读，但是他们没有权利为其他家庭做决定。而且，一本书被禁可能意味着许多其它书籍也会陆续遭禁。
“这些书应该留在书架上，”来自密西西比州的图书管理员马丁表示，“它们能让孩子了解生活不同的方面……而不必被迫改变自身的信仰。”
埃森斯，密西西比州
以上为文章摘要，更多精彩内容请见2009年6月《英语广场》杂志。