Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer

By Annie Murphy Paul

Gregory Currie, a professor of philosophy at the University of Nottingham, recently argued that we ought not to claim that literature improves us as people, because there is no “compelling evidence that suggests that people are morally or socially better for reading Tolstoy” or other great books.1. compelling： 令人信服的；Tolstoy： 指列夫·托尔斯泰（1828—1910），是19世纪末20世纪初俄国最伟大的文学家。

Actually, there is such evidence. Raymond Mar, a psychologist at York University in Canada, and Keith Oatley, a professor emeritus of cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto, reported in studies published in 2006 and 2009 that individuals who often read fiction appear to be better able to understand other people, empathize with them and view the world from their perspective.2. professor emeritus： 荣誉教授；cognitive psychology： 认知心理学；empathize with： 感同身受。This link persisted even after the researchers factored in the possibility that more empathetic individuals might choose to read more novels.3. factor in： 将……因素包括进来；empathetic： 同感的，同情的。A 2010 study by Mar found a similar result in young children: the more stories they had read to them, the keener4. keen： 敏锐的，敏捷的，文中为比较级。their “theory of mind,” or mental model of other people’s intentions.

“Deep reading”—as opposed to the often superficial reading we do on the Web—is an endangered practice, one we ought to take steps to preserve as we would a historic building or a significant work of art. Its disappearance would imperil the intellectual and emotional development of generations growing up online, as well as the perpetuation of a critical part of our culture: the novels, poems and other kinds of literature that can be appreciated only by readers whose brains, quite literally, have been trained to apprehend them.5. 深度阅读的消失将损害上网一代的智力和情感发展，还会损害我们文化中关键部分的延续：小说，诗歌和其他种类的文学作品只有那些大脑受过训练、知道如何去欣赏的读者才能读懂。imperil： 危及，使陷于危险；perpetuation： 不朽，永存。

Recent research in cognitive science, psychology and neuroscience has demonstrated that deep reading—slow, immersed, rich in sensory detail and emotional and moral complexity—is a distinctive experience, different in kind from the mere decoding of words.6. neuroscience： 神经系统科学（指神经病学、神经化学等）；immersed： 专心的；sensory： 感觉的，感官的；distinctive： 与众不同的；decoding： 解读，解释。Although deep reading does not, strictly speaking, require a conventional book, the built-in limits of the printed page are uniquely conducive7. conducive： 有益的，有助于……的。to the deep reading experience. A book’s lack of hyperlinks, for example, frees the reader from making decisions—Should I click on this link or not?—allowing him to remain fully immersed in the narrative.8. hyperlink： 超链接；narrative： 叙述。

That immersion is supported by the way the brain handles language rich in detail, allusion and metaphor:9. allusion： 暗示；metaphor： 暗喻，隐喻。by creating a mental representation that draws on the same brain regions that would be active if the scene were unfolding in real life. The emotional situations and moral dilemmas that are the stuff of literature are also vigorous exercise for the brain, propelling us inside the heads of fictional characters and even, studies suggest, increasing our real-life capacity for empathy.10. 这种心境和道德两难是文学的原材料，也是对大脑的高强度练习，驱使我们进入这些小说角色的生命中去，而研究显示，这甚至还能增强我们在现实生活中的感同能力。vigorous： 充满力量的；propel： 推进，驱使。

在商品快餐化的网络时代，我们的阅读也被电子化和碎片化了。曾经的那份“书卷多情似故人，晨昏忧乐每相亲”，还有“赌书消得泼茶香，当时只道是寻常”，现在真的变得不寻常了。回归书卷，不仅仅是为了情怀，还为了让我们成为“更好的人”。

None of this is likely to happen when we’re reading online.Although we call the activity by the same name, the deep reading of books and the information-driven reading we do on the Web are very different, both in the experience they produce and in the capacities they develop. A growing body of evidence suggests that online reading may be less engaging and less satisfying, even for the “digital natives” for whom it is so familiar.11. engaging： 吸引人的；digital native： 数字原住民，指80后甚至更年轻的几代人，对于他们而言，网络就是他们的生活，数字化生存是他们从小就开始的生存方式。For example,Britain’s National Literacy Trust earlier released the results of a study of 34,910 young people aged 8 to 16. Researchers reported that 39% of children and teens read daily using electronic devices,but only 28% read printed materials every day. Those who read only onscreen were three times less likely to say they enjoy reading very much and a third less likely to have a favorite book. The study also found that young people who read daily only onscreen were nearly two times less likely to be above-average readers than those who read daily in print or both in print and onscreen.

To understand why we should be concerned about how young people read, and not just whether they’re reading at all, it helps to know something about the way the ability to read evolved.“Human beings were never born to read,” notes Maryanne Wolf,director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University and author of Proust and the Squid: the Story and Science of the Reading Brain.12. Proust and the Squid： the Story and Science of the Reading Brain： 《普鲁斯特与乌贼：阅读如何改变我们的思维》，由美国塔夫茨大学阅读与语言研究中心教授玛丽安娜·沃尔夫所著，该书以法国小说家马塞尔·普鲁斯特为象征性例子，将其与相对单纯的乌贼进行对照，从两个截然不同的层面探索阅读与大脑的关系。Unlike the ability to understand and produce spoken language, which under normal circumstances will unfold according to a program dictated by our genes, the ability to read must be painstakingly acquired by each individual.13. dictate： 命令，支配；painstakingly： 煞费苦心地，费力地。

The deep reader, protected from distractions and attuned to the nuances of language, enters a state that psychologist Victor Nell, in a study of the psychology of pleasure reading, likens to a hypnotic trance.14. be attuned to： 与……协调，与……合拍；nuance： 细微差别；liken to： 与……相比；hypnotic trance： 催眠状态。Nell found that when readers are enjoying the experience the most, the pace of their reading actually slows. The combination of fast, fluent decoding of words and slow, unhurried progress on the page gives deep readers time to enrich their reading with reflection, analysis, and their own memories and opinions.15. 快速流畅的文字解码与慢速从容的阅读进度相结合，让深度阅读的读者有时间通过沉思、分析和自身的记忆与观点来充实自己的阅读。It gives them time to establish an intimate relationship with the author, the two of them engaged in an extended and ardent conversation like people falling in love.16. 这能给予他们（读者）时间来与作者建立亲密的关系，两者进行一场长期而热烈的对话，就像坠入爱河一般。ardent： 激烈的，燃烧般的。

This is not reading as many young people are coming to know it. Their reading is pragmatic and instrumental: the difference between what literary critic Frank Kermode calls “carnal reading”and “spiritual reading.”17. pragmatic： 讲求实际的，务实的；instrumental： 起作用的，有帮助的；carnal： 肉体的。If we allow our offspring to believe carnal reading is all there is—if we don’t open the door to spiritual reading, through an early insistence on discipline and practice—we will have cheated them of an enjoyable, even ecstatic experience they would not otherwise encounter.18. offspring： 后代；cheat of： 剥夺；ecstatic：狂喜的，入迷的。And we will have deprived them of an elevating and enlightening experience that will enlarge them as people.19. deprive sb. of： 使某人失去；elevating：鼓舞人心的；enlarge： 扩展。Observing young people’s attachment to digital devices, some progressive educators and permissive parents talk about needing to “meet kids where they are,” molding instruction around their onscreen habits.20. 观察到年轻人对电子设备的着迷，一些先进的教育家和宽容的家长谈到需要“对孩子们因势利导”，围绕他们面对屏幕的习惯来进行教导。progressive： 进步的，先进的；permissive： 宽容的，放任的；mold： 塑造。This is mistaken. We need, rather, to show them someplace they’ve never been, a place only deep reading can take them.

《普鲁斯特与乌贼：阅读如何改变我们的思维》

玛丽安娜·沃尔夫