閱讀帶來(lái)的好處不只是豐富一個(gè)人的涵養(yǎng)那么簡(jiǎn)單

　　When was the last time you read a book, or a substantial magazine article? Do your daily reading habits center around tweets or Facebook updates? If you’re one of countless people who don’t make a habit of reading regularly, you might be missing out: reading has a significant number of benefits, and just a few benefits of reading are listed below.

　　還記得上次看書(shū)或是閱讀雜志文章是什么時(shí)候嗎?你每天是不是總關(guān)注著推特或臉書(shū)的更新?如果你還沒(méi)有養(yǎng)成定期閱讀的習(xí)慣，那么就真的忽略了：閱讀會(huì)有很多的好處，下面先一起看看列舉出來(lái)的好處吧。

　　1. Mental Stimulation

　　刺激神經(jīng)

　　Studies have shown that staying mentally stimulated can slow the progress of (or possibly even prevent) Alzheimer’s and Dementia, since keeping your brain active and engaged prevents it from losing power. Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain requires exercise to keep it strong and healthy, so the phrase “use it or lose it” is particularly apt when it comes to your mind. Doing puzzles and playing games such as chess have also been found to be helpful with cognitive stimulation.

　　研究表明通過(guò)保持大腦活力和專(zhuān)注力，可有效防止大腦衰退，這樣的持續(xù)精神刺激能夠有效減緩(甚至可能防止)老年癡呆癥的發(fā)生。正如身體其他部位的肌肉，大腦也需要通過(guò)鍛煉來(lái)保持強(qiáng)壯和健康，所以有句話怎么說(shuō)來(lái)著“不用就失去”，這對(duì)腦力尤其適用。猜謎以及玩游戲如下國(guó)際象棋也能有效刺激認(rèn)知。

　　2. Stress Reduction

　　減緩壓力

　　No matter how much stress you have at work, in your personal relationships, or countless other issues faced in daily life, it all just slips away when you lose yourself in a great story. A well-written novel can transport you to other realms, while an engaging article will distract you and keep you in the present moment, letting tensions drain away and allowing you to relax.

　　無(wú)論工作、人際關(guān)系還是其他雜七雜八的日?，嵤轮杏龅蕉啻蟮膲毫Γ粋€(gè)好故事絕對(duì)能讓你把這些都拋在腦后。一本優(yōu)質(zhì)小說(shuō)絕對(duì)可以帶你進(jìn)入另一個(gè)世界，而一篇好的文章足以把你牢牢吸引無(wú)暇顧其他，幫你去除緊張讓你得以放松。

　　3. Knowledge

　　知識(shí)

　　Everything you read fills your head with new bits of information, and you never know when it might come in handy. The more knowledge you have, the better-equipped you are to tackle any challenge you’ll ever face.

　　你所閱讀的都會(huì)充斥大腦，讓其得到新的信息，你絕對(duì)不知道啥時(shí)候就會(huì)派上用場(chǎng)，知識(shí)越多，面對(duì)挑戰(zhàn)時(shí)你的底氣就越足。

　　Additionally, here’s a bit of food for thought: should you ever find yourself in dire circumstances, remember that although you might lose everything else—your job, your possessions, your money, even your health—knowledge can never be taken from you.

　　另外，這是你的精神食糧，哪怕發(fā)現(xiàn)自己處在這樣可悲的境地，即使你失去了一切——工作，財(cái)產(chǎn)，金錢(qián)甚健康——你絕不會(huì)失去知識(shí)。

　　4.Vocabulary Expansion

　　擴(kuò)大詞匯量

　　This goes with the above topic: the more you read, the more words you gain exposure to, and they’ll inevitably make their way into your everyday vocabulary. Being articulate and well-spoken is of great help in any profession, and knowing that you can speak to higher-ups with self-confidence can be an enormous boost to your self-esteem. It could even aid in your career, as those who are well-read, well-spoken, and knowledgeable on a variety of topics tend to get promotions more quickly (and more often) than those with smaller vocabularies and lack of awareness of literature, scientific breakthroughs, and global events.

　　這和上面的話題其實(shí)差不多：你讀的越多，獲得的詞匯就越多，這樣就不可避免的會(huì)增加你的日常詞匯量。語(yǔ)言表達(dá)流利對(duì)任何職業(yè)都大有好處，有自信的與上級(jí)交流可是對(duì)自尊的大大增加，甚至對(duì)職業(yè)都是個(gè)幫助。相比詞匯量小、文學(xué)素養(yǎng)匱乏、科技知識(shí)小白、不關(guān)心國(guó)家大事的人而言，那些讀書(shū)多、口才好、博學(xué)的人似乎升職更快(更頻繁)哦。

　　Reading books is also vital for learning new languages, as non-native speakers gain exposure to words used in context, which will ameliorate their own speaking and writing fluency.

　　學(xué)習(xí)新語(yǔ)言，閱讀也是個(gè)不可或缺的。這樣非母語(yǔ)的學(xué)生才能了解語(yǔ)境中單詞的使用，促使自己在口語(yǔ)和寫(xiě)作中更加自然流暢。

　　5. Memory Improvement

　　提高記憶力

　　When you read a book, you have to remember an assortment of characters, their backgrounds, ambitions, history, and nuances, as well as the various arcs and sub-plots that weave their way through every story. That’s a fair bit to remember, but brains are marvellous things and can remember these things with relative ease. Amazingly enough, every new memory you create forges new synapses (brain pathways)and strengthens existing ones, which assists in short-term memory recall as well as stabilizing moods. How cool is that?

　　看書(shū)的時(shí)候，你需要記住一堆人物，他們的背景、野心、歷史以及細(xì)微的差別，以及每個(gè)故事中他們的故事脈絡(luò)和發(fā)展進(jìn)程。這記起來(lái)可不那么容易，但我們大腦也十分強(qiáng)大，相對(duì)的放松就能記住這些哦。最驚奇的是，你在新突觸(腦部神經(jīng))刻入了新的記憶，舊記憶也得以加強(qiáng)，這樣能幫助短期記憶的回想以及穩(wěn)定情緒，是不是聽(tīng)起來(lái)很不錯(cuò)啊!

　　6. Stronger Analytical Thinking Skills

　　提高分析思考技巧

　　Have you ever read an amazing mystery novel, and solved the mystery yourself before finishing the book? If so, you were able to put critical and analytical thinking to work by taking note of all the details provided and sorting them out to determine “whodunnit”.

　　有沒(méi)有讀過(guò)一個(gè)超贊的懸疑小說(shuō)，在讀完之前就自己解出了謎底?如果是，那么你真的可以記下提供的所有細(xì)節(jié)，然后利用自己嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)姆治鏊季S設(shè)定一個(gè)謎底來(lái)寫(xiě)一本自己的“偵探小說(shuō)” 了哦。

　　That same ability to analyze details also comes in handy when it comes to critiquing the plot; determining whether it was a well-written piece, if the characters were properly developed, if the storyline ran smoothly, etc. Should you ever have an opportunity to discuss the book with others, you’ll be able to state your opinions clearly, as you’ve taken the time to really consider all the aspects involved.

　　需要批判某一場(chǎng)景，這種分析細(xì)節(jié)的能力也可以手到擒來(lái)，看看這個(gè)寫(xiě)得好不好，人物設(shè)立得怎么樣，故事脈絡(luò)是否連貫等等。當(dāng)花了時(shí)間來(lái)考慮這些方方面面，如果有機(jī)會(huì)和其他人討論這本書(shū)，你就可以清楚的闡述自己的觀點(diǎn)了。

　　7. Improved Focus and Concentration

　　提高注意力和集中力

　　In our internet-crazed world, attention is drawn in a million different directions at once as we multi-task through every day. In a single 5-minute span, the average person will divide their time between working on a task, checking email, chatting with a couple of people (via gchat, skype, etc.), keeping an eye on twitter, monitoring their smartphone, and interacting with co-workers. This type of ADD-like behaviour causes stress levels to rise, and lowers our productivity.

　　在這個(gè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)時(shí)代，每天紛雜的任務(wù)讓我們的注意力會(huì)被無(wú)數(shù)的事物所吸引。在短短的5分鐘時(shí)段里，一個(gè)人要把它劃分為完成任務(wù)、查看郵件、和一群人聊天(gchat, skype等等)、刷推特、設(shè)置手機(jī)、和同事交流等。這種疊加的行為模式提高了壓力水平，減少了我們的效率。

　　When you read a book, all of your attention is focused on the story—the rest of the world just falls away, and you can immerse yourself in every fine detail you’re absorbing. Try reading for 15-20 minutes before work (i.e. on your morning commute, if you take public transit), and you’ll be surprised at how much more focused you are once you get to the office.

　　看書(shū)的時(shí)候，所有的注意力都集中在故事上——周?chē)囊磺兴坪醵疾淮嬖诹?，你可以盡情的沉浸在任一細(xì)節(jié)里。試著在工作前閱讀15-20分鐘(如果你乘公共交通，那就在早班車(chē)上)，然后你就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)進(jìn)辦公室那一剎那會(huì)注意力更加集中。

　　8. Better Writing Skills

　　提升寫(xiě)作水平

　　This goes hand-in-hand with the expansion of your vocabulary: exposure to published, well-written work has a noted effect on one’s own writing, as observing the cadence, fluidity, and writing styles of other authors will invariably influence your own work. In the same way that musicians influence one another, and painters use techniques established by previous masters, so do writers learn how to craft prose by reading the works of others.

　　這和擴(kuò)大詞匯量有著異曲同工之效：多看那些出版的好作品能對(duì)一個(gè)人的寫(xiě)作產(chǎn)生重大影響，觀察韻律、流暢度以及其他作家的寫(xiě)作風(fēng)格都會(huì)深深的影響到你自己。這就和音樂(lè)家之間的影響一樣，畫(huà)家也會(huì)被各類(lèi)名家的繪畫(huà)技巧所感染，所以看別人的書(shū)也會(huì)影響到作家創(chuàng)作風(fēng)格。

　　9. Tranquility

　　平和

　　In addition to the relaxation that accompanies reading a good book, it’s possible that the subject you read about can bring about immense inner peace and tranquility. Reading spiritual texts can lower blood pressure and bring about an immense sense of calm, while reading self-help books has been shown to help people suffering from certain mood disorders and mild mental illnesses.

　　讀一本好書(shū)，不僅能放松自己，你所讀的主題也許還能帶來(lái)內(nèi)心的平靜和平和。讀那些精神類(lèi)文章能降低血壓，帶來(lái)巨大的平靜，而讀那些激勵(lì)型的書(shū)籍能有效防止讀者產(chǎn)生情緒失調(diào)以及精神疾病。

　　10. Free Entertainment

　　免費(fèi)娛樂(lè)

　　Though many of us like to buy books so we can annotate them and dog-ear pages for future reference, they can be quite pricey. For low-budget entertainment, you can visit your local library and bask in the glory of the countless tomes available there for free. Libraries have books on every subject imaginable, and since they rotate their stock and constantly get new books, you’ll never run out of reading materials.

　　很多人都樂(lè)于購(gòu)買(mǎi)書(shū)籍，做出注解，以便未來(lái)查閱之需，它們真的是無(wú)價(jià)的，而對(duì)于低預(yù)算的欣賞層面，你可以去當(dāng)?shù)氐膱D書(shū)館，那里放了無(wú)數(shù)本可以免費(fèi)閱讀的書(shū)籍。圖書(shū)館囊括了各類(lèi)主題的書(shū)，由于它們要保持庫(kù)存，會(huì)不斷地引進(jìn)新書(shū)，你永遠(yuǎn)不用擔(dān)心沒(méi)有書(shū)看啦。

　　If you happen to live in an area that doesn’t have a local library, or if you’re mobility-impaired and can’t get to one easily, most libraries have their books available in PDF or ePub format so you can read them on your e-reader, iPad, or your computer screen. There are also many sources online where you can download free e-books, so go hunting for something new to read!

　　如果你住的地方?jīng)]有圖書(shū)館，或者交通不便過(guò)去不方便，很多圖書(shū)館都提供PDF、ePUB格式的書(shū)籍，這樣你就可以在電子設(shè)備，ipad或是電腦上進(jìn)行閱讀了。你還可以在網(wǎng)上下載一些免費(fèi)的電子書(shū)，趕緊去找找新的書(shū)來(lái)看吧!

　　There’s a reading genre for every literate person on the planet, and whether your tastes lie in classical literature, poetry, fashion magazines, biographies, religious texts, young adult books, self-help guides, or romance novels, there’s something out there to capture your curiosity and imagination. Step away from your computer for a little while, crack open a book, and replenish your soul for a little while.

　　地球上的每個(gè)文化人都有自己的閱讀體裁偏好，無(wú)論你喜歡經(jīng)典文學(xué)、詩(shī)歌、流行雜志、傳紀(jì)，宗教讀物、青少年讀物、激勵(lì)類(lèi)書(shū)籍、或是愛(ài)情小說(shuō)，這些都能夠抓住你的好奇心和想象力。遠(yuǎn)離一會(huì)兒電腦吧，打開(kāi)書(shū)，凈化一下自己的靈魂吧。