One can be hard-nosed about illiteracy but the hard-nosed fact is that the functionally illiterate are going to be part of our society for the rest of their lives.

• 人们可以对文盲抱着一种视而不见的顽固态度，但是铁一般的事实是：半辈子带着半文盲帽子的人将成为我们社会的一部分。