Real Madrid footballer David Beckham holds up his autobiography "My Side" in Madrid, September 2006.

　　Bestsellers by Bill Clinton, J.K. Rowling and David Beckham are among the books Britons find hardest to finish reading, according to a survey published Monday.

　　Although the average reader spends more than 4,000 pounds (5,890 euros, 7,760 dollars) on books in their lifetime, 55 percent admit they buy them for decoration and have no intention of reading them.

　　Topping the list of unfinishable fiction is "Vernon God Little" by DBC Pierre, which 35 percent said they could not plough through, followed by Rowling's "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" at two (32 percent).

　　"Ulysses" by James Joyce (28 percent) was at three and Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" -- which prompted Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa, or death sentence, against him in 1989 -- is at number six (21 percent).

　　The non-fiction list was led by the memoirs of former British Cabinet minister David Blunkett (35 percent), followed by ex United States president Clinton's 1024-page autobiography "My Life" (30 percent).

　　Real Madrid star Beckham's "My Side", the fastest-selling autobiography of all time in Britain, comes in third (27 percent).

　　The survey also found that only 24 percent of people find time to read every day, with 48 percent saying that they were too tired to do so.

　　Researchers commissioned by television news service Teletext interviewed 4,000 people.

　　英国本周一公布的一项调查显示，比尔·克林顿、JK.罗琳和大卫·贝克汉姆的畅销书名列“最难读完书籍”排行榜。

　　尽管英国普通读者一生中花在买书上的钱超过4000英镑，但其中55%的人承认，他们买书的目的是为了装饰，并不是为了读书。

　　名列小说类“最难读完书籍”排行榜之首的是DBC 皮埃尔创作的小说《Vernon God Little》，35%的受访者说他们无法读完这本书；位居其后的是罗琳的《哈利·波特和火焰杯》（32%）。

　　詹姆斯·乔伊斯的《尤利西斯》位居第三，萨尔曼·拉什迪的《撒旦诗篇》名列第六（21%），1989年，拉什迪因此书遭到伊朗精神领袖阿亚图拉·鲁和拉·赫梅尼的追杀。

　　英国前内阁大臣大卫·布兰奇特的回忆录名列非小说类“难读”排行榜之首（35%），美国前总统克林顿长达1024页的自传《我的人生》位居其后（30%）。

　　皇马俱乐部球星贝克汉姆的《我的立场》排行第三（27%），此书曾创下英国传记类图书有史以来的最快畅销纪录。

　　此外，调查发现，只有24%的受访者每天会挤点时间看书，而48%的人说他们太累了，根本不想看书。

　　这项由电视新闻服务中心Teletext委托调查人员所开展的调查共对4000人进行了访问。

　　Vocabulary:

　　plough through : 读完

　　fatwa : 追杀令；死刑

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