In the reading material, the author lists three negative effects the decline in literary readership brings to us. But the professor in the listening material doesn't think they are convincing.
First, it is said in the text when fewer people read literature, society's ability to think as a whole will decline. The speaker argues that although there are good books in literature, there also are numerous good books in the genres of science fiction, historical reports and so on. They improve people's imagination and stimulate creation. So there are different ways to develop people's ability to think besides reading literature.
Second, the writer says that the lack of interest in reading literature cause the cultural level of the nation to decline, which the lecturer also disagrees with. In the listening material, the cultural has been shifting. Nowadays, people have more choices as the development of electronic media such as TV and radio. So as a whole, our cultural blooms as it is diversified and expanded.
Third, the author points out the decline would cause English literature to be marginal. The professor admits that it is a problem but the readers are not to blame. On the contrary, it is the writers who should take the responsibilities. Nowadays, writers tend to create articles which are not understandable to the general readers. As a result, more and more people choose not to read.