单选题 Why should we bother reading a book? All children say this occasionally. Many among our educated classes are also asking why, in a world of accelerating technology, increasing time poverty and diminishing attention spans, should they invest precious time sinking into a good book?
The beginnings of an answer lie in the same technology that has posed the question. Psychologists from Washington University used brain scans to see what happens inside our heads when we read stories. They found that "readers mentally simulate each new situation encountered in a narrative". The brain weaves these situations together with experiences from its own life to create a new mental synthesis. Reading a book leaves us with new neural pathways.
The discovery that our brains are physically changed by the experience of reading is something many of us will understand instinctively, as we think back to the way an extraordinary book had a transformative effect on the way we viewed the world. This transformation only takes place when we lose ourselves in a book, abandoning the emotional and mental chatter of the real world. That's why studies have found this kind of deep reading makes us more empathetic, or as Nicholas Carr puts it in his essay, The Dreams of Readers, "more alert to the inner lives of others".
This is significant because recent scientific research has also found a dramatic fall in empathy among teenagers in advanced western cultures. We can't yet be sure why this is happening, but the best hypothesis is that it is the result of their immersion in the internet. So technology reveals that our brains are being changed by technology, and then offers a potential solution—the book.
Rationally, we know that reading is the foundation stone of all education, and therefore an essential underpinning of the knowledge economy. So reading is—or should be—an aspect of public policy. But perhaps even more significant is its emotional role as the starting point for individual voyages of personal development and pleasure. Books can open up emotional and imaginative landscapes that extend the corridors of the web. They can help create and reinforce our sense of self.
If reading were to decline significantly, it would change the very nature of our species. If we, in the future, are no longer wired for solitary reflection and creative thought, we will be diminished. But as a reader and a publisher, I am optimistic. Technology throws up as many solutions as it does challenges: for every door it closes, another opens. So the ability, offered by devices like e-readers, smartphones and tablets, to carry an entire library in your hand is an amazing opportunity. As publishers, we need to use every new piece of technology to embed long-form reading within our culture. We should concentrate on the message, not agonize over the medium.

单选题 According to the psychologists from Washington University, reading a book will ______.
A. create new mental experience that is totally different from real-life experience
B. make readers simulate what they have read in real life
C. bring tangible changes to the readers' brain
D. enhance the thinking capability of readers

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】细节事实题
[解析] 根据题干中的psychologists from Washington university锁定文章第二段的内容。华盛顿大学的心理学家通过使用脑部扫描仪探究人们阅读故事时的脑部活动。他们发现readers mentally simulate each new situation encountered in a narrative，读者在读书的时候会在心里模拟故事中遇到的每个场景。说得通俗一点，就是读书的时候读者会发挥自己的想象力。[B]利用simulate一词设置干扰，这里读者并不是模拟他们现实生活中发生的事情，而是对故事中的情景在大脑中进行模拟。因此，该选项错误。The brain weayes these situations together with experiences from its own life...，读书的时候，大脑将这些场景(从书中模拟出的场景)与自己的生活经历交织在一起……可见读书并不能够脱离现实生活，人们总是在读书的时候一边想象一边联想自己的生活，[A]错误。这样联想的结果是创造出了a new mental synthesis，“一种全新的心理化合物”，而且读书能够在“人的大脑中留下更多的神经通路”。可见，读书确实给人的大脑带来了实质性的变化，[C]正确。[D]偷换概念，读书能够使人们大脑中的神经通路更多，但这并不意味着能够提升读者的思维能力。

单选题 For a teenager who is not sensitive to others' inner feelings, the author may suggest him to ______.
A. stay far away from modern technology
B. immerse himself in reading books
C. abandon his old way of viewing the world
D. listen more to the emotional chatter of the real world

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】推理题
[解析] 紧接文章第二段的内容，作者在第三段中继续探讨读书对人脑的益处。读书能够重塑人们的世界观，使我们变得更加善解人意。当然这种转变只有在我们忘我地沉浸于某一本书，也就是进入深度阅读状态，摒弃真实世界中情感和精神的喧嚣时才可能发生。This transformation only takes place when we lose ourselves in a book, abandoning the emotional and mental chatter of the real world．作者在第四段中提到了读书能够使人们的同情心增强这个发现的现实意义。因为近期的科学研究发现，西方青少年的同情心急剧减弱。虽然这一现象的原因尚无定论，但很有可能是由于青少年沉迷网络造成的。因此，如果想要提升他们的同情心，让他们对他人的内在生命更加敏感，一个好的办法就是阅读，当然是进行深度的阅读。本题的正确答案应该选[B]。immerse oneself in books是原文lost oneself in books的同义改写。[A]说得过于笼统，作者也许希望青少年能够尽量少使用互联网，但是不见得希望他们远离所有的现代科技。[C]错误，改变世界观和题干中的“使……变得更有同情心”有同意反复之嫌。[D]利用原文中的listen more to the emotional chatter of the real world设置原文干扰，在弄清楚这个短语表示“更多倾听现实世界的喧嚣”之后，不难判断这个是一个明显的干扰项。

单选题 In the author's opinion, the most important function of reading is to ______.
A. lay solid foundation for all kinds of formal education
B. equip teenagers with basic skills to survive in knowledge economy
C. enrich the emotional experiences of children's inner world
D. provide a pastime for children in stressful competition

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】细节事实题
[解析] 本段考查对文章第五段内容的理解。作者在第五段中指出了在他心目中阅读的最重要的功能。首先，作者提到了reading is the foundation stone of all education，“阅读是一切教育的基础”，这是[A]的内容；以及...an essential underpinning of the knowledge economy，“也是知识经济不可或缺的支柱”，这是[B]的内容。但是这些功能在作者眼中都不是最重要的。But perhaps even more significant is its emotional role as the starting point for individual voyages of personal development and pleasure．“但或许书籍在个人人格发展和追寻愉悦的旅程中所扮演的情感角色更为显著。”Books can open up emotional and imaginative landscapes that extend the corridors of the web．“书籍能够打开情感丰沛、充满奇思妙想的大千世界，拓宽网络狭隘的通路。”因此，作者更为认同的是书籍在强化人的感情、丰富人的内心方面的作用，正确答案应该选[C]。而[D]说读书只是一种消遣，明显是弱化了读书的功能。

单选题 The author of this article views technology as ______.
A. a replacement for books
B. the root of degradation
C. a hotbed for innovation
D. a double-edge sword

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】作者观点题
[解析] 作者在文中的绝大部分篇幅中都讨论了读书的好处，以及科技尤其是互联网可能给人的大脑带来的负面影响，很多人可能会根据这一点选择[B]。但是作者在最后一段中，又提到了一个观点，那就是作者认为，Technology throws up as many solutions as it does challenges, for every door it closes, another opens．“技术是一柄双刃剑，它解决了多少问题就带来了多少挑战：每关上一扇门，就同时打开了另一扇门。”作者认为，电子书、智能手机和平板电脑等诸如此类的设备所具有的将整个图书馆浓缩到掌中的功能是天赐良机，人们应该合理利用技术带来的种种便捷，来推广传统图书的效用。因此，正确答案应该选[D]。