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Speed-reading is an indispensable skill in the Internet age. We skim over articles, e-mails and tweets to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text. Bombarded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line.
在互联网时代，快速阅读已成为一项不可或缺的技能。我们要能在匆匆浏览过文章、邮件、或是微博之后，迅速找到关键词、抓住文章大意。因为我们的手机、电脑每天都会被海量信息所“轰炸”，逐字逐句的阅读显然是不可能的。
But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond intellectual stimulation.
但是，不插电、享受慢阅读正在成为一个新趋势，人们认为它有除了激发智力之外的诸多好处。
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 smartphones. They sink into cozy chairs and read in silence for an hour.
《华尔街日报》最近的一篇文章就报道了新西兰首都惠灵顿的一家读书俱乐部，在那里，会员们会相约在咖啡馆，关掉各自的手机，倚在舒服的椅子上，静静阅读一个小时。
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 initiated by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smartphones.
不同于传统的读书俱乐部，这家慢阅读俱乐部并不要求会员们就某一本书分享读后感，而只是让大家远离电子设备，在安静、放松的环境中阅读。据《华尔街日报》报道，这仅仅是那些怀念早前没有互联网和智能手机的时代传统阅读的书迷们发起的一项活动。
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 empathize.
以《大西洋月刊》莫拉?凯利为代表的慢阅读者们认为，良好的阅读习惯能使心智更加敏锐，提高注意力，减缓压力，并且使人更富同情心。
Some of these benefits have been backed up by science. For example, a study of 300 elderly people published by the journal Neurology last year showed that regular engagement in intellectually strenuous activities like reading slowed the rate of memory loss later in life.
其中一些益处已有科学依据。比如，《神经病学》杂志去年发表的一项针对300名老人的研究显示，阅读等有规律的智力刺激能够减缓老年人的记忆力衰退。
Mind reader
读书也“读心”
Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand others’ mental states and beliefs, a crucial skill in building relationships.
《科学》杂志去年的另一项研究则显示，阅读小说能让人更容易理解他人的心理和观点，而这也是人际关系中最重要的能力。
Yet technology has made us less attentive readers. Screens have changed our reading patterns from the linear, left-to-right sequence to a wild skimming and skipping pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text punctuated 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 factual tidbits, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, contemplate, and relate all these facts to each other.
但是，科技却让我们在阅读时无法集中精力。电子设备的屏幕让我们由从左向右的线性阅读习惯，变成寻找关键词和重要信息的疯狂略读模式。而与阅读纯文本相比，阅读带插有各种链接的文章降低了我们的理解力。《卫报》记者帕特里克?金斯利就说，互联网也许让我们变笨了；因为互联网，我们更擅长收集精华信息，却很难坐下来一一品读，并将其梳理和关联起来。
Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted, linear 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 – whenever you find yourself automatically firing up your laptop to check your favorite site, or scanning Twitter for something to pass the time–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.”
慢阅读意味着回到连贯的线性阅读模式中，在安静、免打扰的环境中享受阅读。《大西洋月刊》的凯利就建议大家以“每天读半小时”为目标，“从赋闲的时间里挤出这半个小时是十分容易的。把你为了消磨时光而不自觉打开笔记本上自己喜欢的网站或是刷推特的时间用来读本有意义的书。如果你喜欢读电子书，那么你可以捧起Kindle——它更节省空间，让《战争与和平》变得更轻薄，内容却不减少一丝一毫。
