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大学英语四级分类模拟题262ReadingComprehensionReadingLiteratureMakesUsSmarterandNicerA.GregoryCurrie,aprofessorofphilosophyattheUniversityofNottingham,recentlyarguedintheNewYorkTimesthatweoughtnottoclaimthatliteratureimprovesusaspeople,becausethereisnoconvincingevidencethatsuggeststhatpeoplearemorallyorsociallybetterforreadingTolstoyorothergreatbooks.B.Actually,thereissuchevidence.RaymondMar,apsychologistatYorkUniversityinCanada,andKeithOatley,aretiredprofessorofcognitive(认知的)psychologyattheUniversityofToronto,reportedinstudiespublishedin2006and2009thatindividualswhooftenreadfictionappeartobebetterabletounderstandotherpeople,empathize(有同感)withthemandviewtheworldfromtheirperspective.Thislinkpersistedevenaftertheresearchersfactoredinthepossibilitythatmoreempatheticindividualsmightchoosetoreadmorenovels.A2010studybyMarfoundasimilarresultinyoungchildren:themorestoriestheyhadreadtothem,thekeenertheirtheoryofmind,ormentalmodelofotherpeople'sintentions.C.Deepreading—asopposedtotheoftensuperficialreadingwedoontheWeb—isanendangeredpractice,oneweoughttotakestepstopreserveaswewouldahistoricbuildingorasignificantworkofart.Itsdisappearancewouldcausedamagetotheintellectualandemotionaldevelopmentofgenerationsgrowinguponline,aswellastheperpetuationofacriticalpartofourculture:thenovels,poemsandotherkindsofliteraturethatcanbeappreciatedonlybyreaderswhosebrains,quiteliterally,havebeentrainedtounderstandthem.D.Recentresearchincognitivescience,psychologyandneurosciencehasdemonstratedthatdeepreading—slow,immersive,richinsensorydetailandemotionalandmoralcomplexity—isadistinctiveexperience,differentinkindfromthemereunderstandingofwords.Althoughdeepreadingdoesnot,strictlyspeaking,requireaconventionalbook,thebuilt-inlimitsoftheprintedpageareuniquelybeneficialtothedeepreadingexperience.Abook'slackofhyperlinks(超链接),forexample,freesthereaderfrommakingdecisions—ShouldIclickonthislinkornot?—allowinghertoremainfullyfocusonthenarrative.E.Thatimmersionissupportedbythewaythebrainhandleslanguagerichindetail,implicationandmetaphor(暗喻):bycreatingamentalrepresentationthatdrawsonthesamebrainregionsthatwouldbeactiveifthesceneweredisplayedinreallife.Theemotionalsituationsandmoraldilemmasthatarethestuffofliteraturearealsovigorousexerciseforthebrain,promptingusinsidetheheadsoffictionalcharactersandeven,studiessuggest,increasingourreal-lifecapacityforempathy.F.Noneofthisislikelytohappenwhenwe'revisitingTMZ(美国名人消息网).Althoughwecalltheactivitybythesamename,thedeepreadingofbooksandtheinformation-drivenreadingwedoontheWebareverydifferent,bothintheexperiencetheyproduceandinthecapacitiestheydevelop.Agrowingbodyofevidencesuggeststhatonlinereadingmaybelessengagingandlesssatisfying,evenforthedigitalnativesforwhomitissofamiliar.G.InMay2013,forexample,Britain'sNationalLiteracyTrustreleasedtheresultsofastudyof34,910youngpeopleaged8to16.Researchersreportedthat39%ofchildrenandteensreaddailyusingelectronicdevices,butonly28%readprintedmaterialseveryday.Thosewhoreadonlyonscreenwerethreetimeslesslikelytosaytheyenjoyreadingverymuchandathirdlesslikelytohaveafavoritebook.Thestudyalsofoundthatyoungpeoplewhoreaddailyonlyonscreenwerenearlytwotimeslesslikelytobeabove-averagereadersthanthosewhoreaddailyinprintorbothinprintandonscreen.H.Tounderstandwhyweshouldbeconcernedabouthowyoungpeopleread,andnotjustwhetherthey'rereadingatall,ithelpstoknowsomethingaboutthewaytheabilitytoreadevolved.Humanbeingswereneverborntoread,notesMaryanneWolf,directoroftheCenterforReadingandLanguageResearchatTuftsUniversityandauthorofProustandtheSquid:TheStoryandScienceoftheReadingBrain.Unliketheabilitytounderstandandproducespokenlanguage,whichundernormalcircumstanceswillshowupaccordingtoaprogramdictatedbyourgenes,theabilitytoreadmustbeacquiredbyeachindividualthrougheffort.Thereadingcircuitsweconstructarerecruitedfromstructuresinthebrainthatevolvedforotherpurposes—andthesecircuitscanbeweakortheycanbestrong,dependingonhowoftenandhowvigorouslyweusethem.I.Thedeepreader,protectedfromdistractionsandadaptedtothetinydifferencesoflanguage,entersastatethatpsychologistVictorNell,inastudyofthepsychologyofpleasurereading,likenstoahypnotictrance(催眠性迷睡).Nellfoundthatwhenreadersareenjoyingtheexperiencethemost,thepaceoftheirreadingactuallyslows.Thecombinationoffast,fluentdecodingofwordsandslow,unhurriedprogressonthepagegivesdeepreaderstimetoenrichtheirreadingwithreflection,analysis,andtheirownmemoriesandopinions.Itgivesthemtimetoestablishanintimaterelationshipwiththeauthor,thetwoofthemengagedinanextendedandpassionateconversationlikepeoplefallinginlove.J.Thisisnotreadingasmanyyoungpeoplearecomingtoknowit.Theirreadingispracticalandinstrumental:thedifferencebetweenwhatliterarycriticFrankKermodecallscarnal(肉体的)readingandspiritualreading.Ifweallowouroffspringtobelievecarnalreadingisallthereis—ifwedon'topenthedoortospiritualreading,throughanearlyinsistenceondisciplineandpractice—wewillhavecheatedthemofanenjoyable,evenextremelyexcitingexperiencetheywouldnototherwisehave.Andwewillhavedeprivedthemofanenlighteningexperiencethatwillenlargethe