Reading award-winning literature may improve your ability to read other people, too, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that when they had volunteers read works of well-known literary awards, it seemed to temporarily improve their ability to understand other people’s emotions. The same was not true of nonfiction or “popular” fiction — the mystery, romance and science-fiction books.
Experts said the findings suggest that literature might help people become more perceptive (有觉察力的).
“Reading literary fiction isn’t just for passing time. It’s not just an escape,” said Keith Oatley, a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto. “It also enables us to better understand others, and then take that into our daily lives.”
Oatley was not involved in the new research, but worked on some of the first studies to suggest that reading literature can boost people’s empathy (同感) for others. His team has found that those who read a lot of fiction tend to show greater empathy on standard tests, but the same is not true of non-fiction fans.
For the study, researchers at the New School for Social Research, in New York City, set up a series of five experiments in which participants read either literary fiction, popular fiction, non-fiction or nothing at all before taking some standard tests.
One test is known as “Reading the Mind in the Eyes”. People have to look at photos of actors’ eyes, and then guess what emotion is being expressed in each. The test is considered a measure of empathy.
“Literary” fiction has no clear definition. So Kidd and his colleague Emanuele Castano chose contemporary works that have won or been finalists for famous literary awards. They included “The Round House” by Louise Erdrich, “Salvage the Bones” by Jesmyn Ward and the short story “Corrie” by Alice Munro.
“Popular” fiction included best-sellers like “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn, and Danielle Steel’s “The Sins of the Mother”.
What’s so special about literary fiction? “For one, it’s usually more focused on characters than on plot,” Kidd noted. But beyond that, he said, there is usually no single “authoritative narrator” who takes us through the story. It demands that the reader almost become a writer and fill in the gaps. “You really have to think about the characters,” Kidd said.
Oatley agreed. “Alice Munro doesn’t tell you what to think,” he said. “You, yourself, have to make deduction about characters. And that’s often what we’re doing in our real-life conversations.”
Or at least that’s what people could do. Often, Kidd said, their daily interactions with other people are more automatic, and don’t involve deep consideration. Reading could offer a way to “practice” your social skills and use them more in real life, according to another researcher not involved in the study.
1. What does Oatley think of the new research?
A. It still lacks evidence.
B. It is only partly true.
C. It is meaningful and valuable.
D. It is based on his own study.
2. Which of the following cannot improve your ability to read other people?
A. Salvage the Bones. B. The Round House.
C. Corrie. D. Gone Girl.
3. We can learn from the last paragraph that reading literature fiction .
A. can help us control our emotions
B. can help improve our social skills
C. can make us understand the author better
D. can make us more interested in literature
4. The underlined word “deduction” in the last but one paragraph probably means “ ”.
A. inference B. reference
C. prediction D. inspection
5. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. Different kinds of fiction
B. Reading literature for fun
C. Reading is more than entertainment
D. Literature lovers read people better
CDBAD
政治经济类文章的概念:
要做好这类阅读,平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事,掌握一定背景知识,对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解,还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章,要抓住文章的核心,即文章整体和各段主要在说什么,也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题:
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁,语言鲜活,但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多,长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容,读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉,经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花,文章看完,一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨,同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章,我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式,我们可采取“顺读法”,以便抓关键语句,领会文章主旨;而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式,我们则可以采取“逆读法”,先读试题,再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急,因为你觉得难,其他人也一定是同感。在高考前,我们就要有这种心理准备,高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过,我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读,以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干:
根据英语中五种基本句型结构,把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来,其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干,句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句:
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句,在理解时,如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解,然后把大意拼凑起来,整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句:
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成,句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词,只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系,再把各层分句的意思加以连贯,整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词:
如果一个句子看完,一点句意的感觉也没有,下下策就是抓住句中的关键词,通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
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