I’m a novelist and it’s obviously in my interest to encourage people to read. But there’s increasing evidence that reading isn’t just for pleasure, or merely a way of improving literacy skills and factual knowledge. It might actually be good for our mental and physical health too.Firstly, reading helps to lengthen attention spans in children and improves their ability to think clearly. Stories have a structure that encourages their brains to think in sequence, to link cause, effect and significance. It is essential to learn this skill as a small child. The more they do it, the better they get at it. Also, reading can help people learn to empathize(产生共鸣). A recent study at the University of Michigan found that there had been a 48% decrease in empathy among college students. Encouraging reading could overcome this. In a computer game, you might have rescued a princess, but you don’t care about her, you just want to win. But a princess in a book has a past, present and future, she has connections and motivations. We can relate to her. We see the world through her eyes.As a matter of fact, reading is far from a passive activity. Reading exercises the whole brain. When we read and imagine the landscapes, sounds, smells and tastes described on the page, the various areas of the brain that are used to process these experiences in real life are activated, creating new neural(神经) pathways.In other words, our brains model real experiences, just as if we were living them ourselves. This doesn’t happen when we’re watching TV or playing a computer game.Getting sucked into a good novel appears to be beneficial to our mental health too. As the old saying goes, “ You’re never alone with a book.” Reading not only avoids feelings of loneliness, it helps us to wind down, de-stress and forget our own problems for a while. A. Stories have a structure that encourages their brains to think in sequence, to link cause, effect and significance.B. In other words, our brains model real experiences, just as if we were living them ourselves.C. When we read a good book, we’re trying to find out its main idea. D. It might actually be good for our mental and physical health too.E. But those who did not enjoy these activities had lots of loss.F. As the old saying goes, “ You’re never alone with a book.”G. Encouraging reading could overcome this.
I’m a novelist and it’s obviously in my interest to encourage people to read. But there’s increasing evidence that reading isn’t just for pleasure, or merely a way of improving literacy skills and factual knowledge. It might actually be good for our mental and physical health too.Firstly, reading helps to lengthen attention spans in children and improves their ability to think clearly. Stories have a structure that encourages their brains to think in sequence, to link cause, effect and significance. It is essential to learn this skill as a small child. The more they do it, the better they get at it. Also, reading can help people learn to empathize(产生共鸣). A recent study at the University of Michigan found that there had been a 48% decrease in empathy among college students. Encouraging reading could overcome this. In a computer game, you might have rescued a princess, but you don’t care about her, you just want to win. But a princess in a book has a past, present and future, she has connections and motivations. We can relate to her. We see the world through her eyes.As a matter of fact, reading is far from a passive activity. Reading exercises the whole brain. When we read and imagine the landscapes, sounds, smells and tastes described on the page, the various areas of the brain that are used to process these experiences in real life are activated, creating new neural(神经) pathways.In other words, our brains model real experiences, just as if we were living them ourselves. This doesn’t happen when we’re watching TV or playing a computer game.Getting sucked into a good novel appears to be beneficial to our mental health too. As the old saying goes, “ You’re never alone with a book.” Reading not only avoids feelings of loneliness, it helps us to wind down, de-stress and forget our own problems for a while. A. Stories have a structure that encourages their brains to think in sequence, to link cause, effect and significance.B. In other words, our brains model real experiences, just as if we were living them ourselves.C. When we read a good book, we’re trying to find out its main idea. D. It might actually be good for our mental and physical health too.E. But those who did not enjoy these activities had lots of loss.F. As the old saying goes, “ You’re never alone with a book.”G. Encouraging reading could overcome this.<br>
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