Question

Speed-reading is a necessary skill in the Internet age. We skim over articles, e-mails and We Chat to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text. Surrounded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line. But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond the intelligent stimulation.

A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smart phones. They sink into comfortable chairs and read in silence for an hour. Unlike traditional book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn't exchanging ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment. According to the Journal, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smart phones.

Slow readers, such as The Atlantic's Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to sympathize(共鸣，同感). Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand other's mental states and beliefs, a fundamental skill in building relationships. Yet technology has made us less attentive readers. Screens have changed our reading patterns from the staight and information left-to-right sequence to a wild skimming and skipping pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text punctuated(加标点符号)with links leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says Patrick Kingsley from The Guardian. Because of the Internet, he says, we have become very good at collecting a wide range of interesting news, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, reflect, and relate all these facts to each other.

Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted, straight pattern, in a quiet environment free of distractions. Aim for 30 minutes a day, advises Kelly from The Atlantic. “You can squeeze in that half hour pretty easily if only during your free moments, you pick up a meaningful work of literature,” Kelly said. “Reach for your e-reader, if you like．Kindles make books like War and Peace less heavy, not less substantive, and also ensure you'll never lose your place.”

1.The book club in Wellington mentioned in Paragraph 2 shows____________.

A. the new trend of slow reading

B. the decline of electronic devices

C. the importance of exchanging ideas

D. the increasing number of club readers

2.According to Patrick Kingsley, people are stupider partly because of_____________.

A. a non-stop reading pattern

B. the straight, left-to-right screen

C. wide range of interesting news

D. the lack of reflection

3.According to the passage, slow reading___________.

A. contributes to understanding among people

B. promotes the current technology advances

C. provides people with a quiet environment

D. cures the memory loss of elderly people

4.What's the best title for the passage?

A. Benefit of Reading Clubs

B. Return of Slow Reading

C. Reading of the Internet Age

D. Influence of Speed Reading

Answer 1