Picture yourself sitting at home in a quiet reading nook, ignoring the world around you, engrossed in a tale. You read the blurb, instantly became intrigued and now you’re in the middle of an absolute page-turner. But, there’s a hot debate – physical books vs. e-books vs. audiobooks. Does the device you’re using to read affect your reaction to the book?
Picture yourself sitting at home in a quiet reading nook, ignoring the world around you, engrossed in a tale. You read the blurb, instantly became intrigued and now you’re in the middle of an absolute page-turner. But, there’s a hot debate – physical books vs. e-books vs. audiobooks. Does the device you’re using to read affect your reaction to the book?
想象自己坐在家里一个安静的阅读角，无视周围的世界，全神贯注于一个故事。您阅读了简介，立即变得很感兴趣，现在您正处于绝对翻页的中间。但是，有一个激烈的争论——实体书、电子书和有声读物。您用来阅读的设备会影响您对这本书的反应吗？
Generally, reading uses several areas of the brain. There’s attention span, reasoning, reading fluency, memory and language comprehension. Reading is known to strengthen communicative ability, vocabulary and increase emotional intelligence and social perception. So, whichever way you’re reading, there are definitely benefits.
通常，阅读会使用大脑的多个区域。有注意力广度、推理能力、阅读流畅性、记忆力和语言理解能力。众所周知，阅读可以增强交际能力、词汇量并提高情商和社会感知力。因此，无论您以何种方式阅读，都绝对有好处。
But, let’s look at the pros to reading with your eyes – that’s physical books and e-books. They can help to retain information better. This is because when you can actually see the words, your attention is held more closely. Add to this the fact that with physical books you can go back and find any part you missed, especially if your mind wanders, which it likely will at some point or other.
但是，让我们看看用眼睛阅读的优点——即实体书和电子书。它们可以帮助更好地保留信息。这是因为当您真正看到文字时，您的注意力就会更加集中。除此之外，使用实体书，您可以返回并找到您错过的任何部分，尤其是当您走神时，它可能会在某个时候或其他时候出现。
On the other hand, there’s the audiobook. Headphones in, you’re switched off from life and the story really comes alive, almost like watching a film – in your head. From a scientific perspective, listening to an audiobook is likely to help you develop a greater sense of empathy as you hear the emotion of the narrator. We can more easily understand inflection and intonation. Hearing the story engages different parts of the brain, heightening the intensity and imagery, making you enjoy it more. Yet, going back to attention span, with an audiobook it’s true that it’s much harder to go back and listen again.
另一方面，有声读物。戴上耳机，你就从生活中解脱出来，故事在你的脑海中栩栩如生，几乎就像看电影一样。从科学的角度来看，听有声读物可能会帮助您在听到叙述者的情感时产生更大的同理心。我们可以更容易地理解变调和语调。听故事会调动大脑的不同部分，增强强度和意象，让您更喜欢它。然而，回到注意力跨度，对于有声读物，确实很难回头再听一遍。
All in all, it seems that there are advantages to both physical books and audiobooks. Perhaps, next time you find yourself browsing bookshop shelves, also consider the format. It may just change your whole literary experience.
总而言之，实体书和有声读物似乎各有优势。也许，下次您发现自己浏览书店书架时，也会考虑格式。它可能会改变你的整个文学体验。
词汇表
reading nook 读书角
engrossed 全神贯注的，专心致志的
tale 故事
blurb 简介
page-turner 令人爱不释手的书
e-book 电子书籍
audiobook 有声读物
attention span 注意力的持续时间，注意广度
fluency 流畅度
emotional intelligence 情商
social perception 社会知觉
retain 记住
attention is held 注意力集中
wander 走神，开小差
come alive 变得有趣，显得逼真
narrator 讲述者
inflection 音调变化
intonation 语调
imagery 意象，比喻
browse 随意看，浏览
bookshop shelves 书店的书架
literary 文学的
