"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 jeopardize the intellectual and emotional development of generations growing up online, as well as the preservation 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 understand them. Recent research in cognitive science and psychology has demonstrated that deep reading—slow, immersive, rich in sensory detail and emotional and moral complexity—is a distinctive experience, different in kind from the mere decoding of words. Although deep reading does not, strictly speaking, require a conventional book, the built-in limits of the printed page are uniquely helpful to the deep reading experience. A book's lack of hyperlinks(超链接) , for example, frees the reader from making decisions—Should I click on this link or not? —allowing her to remain fully immersed in the narrative. That immersion is supported by the way the brain handles language rich in detail, indirect reference and figures of speech: 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 (认同) . None of this is likely to happen when we're browsing through a website. 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" to whom it is so familiar. Last month, for example, Britain's National Literacy Trust 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.
单选题
What does the author say about "deep reading" ?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：细节题。题干问到作者对“deep reading”的看法，定位到文章第一段。第一句话说“深度阅读”是一种濒危技能，我们应该保护起来。后文更是提到这一实践如果消失的话会带来很大损失。选项B用“should”替换了“ought to”，“before it is too late”替换了“its disappearance would jeopardize...”。由此可知选项B是正确答案。
单选题
Why does the author advocate the reading of literature?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干关键词 the reading of literature 定位到第三段最后一句。作者认为文学作品中的情感状况和道德困境也对大脑产生剧烈作用，推动我们思考虚构人物的想法，研究甚至表明它们会增强我们在生活中的感同身受的能力。选项A中的“intellectual”替换了“the brain”，“promote”替换了“propelling”，所以A是正确答案。
单选题
In what way does printed-page reading differ from online reading?
单选题
What do we learn from the study released by Britain's National Literacy Trust?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干关键词Britain's National Literacy Trust 定位到最后一段。该段最后一句话说研究还发现与那些每天读印刷品或既读印刷品又看屏幕的年轻人相比，那些只进行屏幕阅读的年轻人高于平均阅读水平的人数要少一半。由此可知A选项是正确答案，其中的“less competent”是对“less likely to be above-average readers”的同义改写。