There has been frequent discussion about what kinds of reading texts are suitable for English language students. The greatest controversy has centered on whether the texts should be authentic or not. That is because people have worried about more traditional language-teaching materials which tended to look artificial and to use over-simplified language which any native speaker would find comical and untypical. However, if you give low-level students a copy of The Times or The Guardian (which are certainly authentic for native-speakers), they will probably not be able to understand them at all. There will be far too many words they have never seen before, the grammar will be difficult and the style will finish them off. A balance has to be struck between real English on the one hand and the students' abilities and interests on the other. There is some authentic written material which beginner students can understand to some degree: menus, timetables, signs and basic instructions, for example, and where appropriate, we can use these. But for longer prose, we may want to offer our students texts which, while being like English, are nevertheless written or adapted especially for their level. The important thing is that such texts are as much like real English as possible. The topics and types of reading text are worth considering too. Should our students always read factual encyclopedia-type texts or should we expose them to novels and short stories? A lot will depend on who the students are. If they are all business people, the teacher may well want to concentrate on business texts. If they are science students, reading scientific texts may be a priority. But if, as is often the case, they are a mixed group with different interests and careers, a more varied diet is appropriate.

The phrase "authentic reading texts" refers to              

A.writings written by native English speakers

B.passages written by experts

C.copies of The Times or The Guardians

D.passages with difficult sentences