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  3. Why should we bother reading a book? All children say this occasionally. Many among our educated classes are also asking why, in

Why should we bother reading a book? All children say this occasionally. Many among our educated classes are also asking why, in

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问题     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.
The author of this article views technology as______.
选项 A、a replacement for books
B、the root of degradation
C、a hotbed for innovation
D、a double-edge sword
答案D
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]。
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