Question

【題目】 Is It Better to Read Books or Listen to Them?

We often think how fast we learn something depends on how smart we are. If your brain is taking in material quickly, you’re clever; if not, well, that doesn’t say great things about your IQ. But science shows context (上下文) and technique (技術(shù)) actually play a big role in how fast we learn, and even small changes – like the way you use to read – can make a big difference.

Audio (音頻的) books have plenty of advantages: you can enjoy them anywhere, even in the car, and not printing books saves trees. Poor readers also often find them more interesting. But according to the latest research, if your goal isn’t to pass the time in traffic, but instead to learn something difficult, you should choose a physical book.

In a recent opinion piece in the New York Times, psychology (心理學(xué)) professor Daniel T.Willingham mentioned a 2010 study where 48 students either read or listened to an article about child psychology. Although the students spent the same amount of time with their material and did about the same number of distracting (分散注意力) activities while they absorbed the information, they scored very differently on a 10-item quiz later. Generally, the readers scored 81 percent but while the listeners scored 59 percent. Why does listening vs reading material have such a great effect on learning?

Willingham explains that first, most of us read more slowly than we listen (especially when pausing and rereading), and when you’re trying to absorb new information, slower seems to be better. “About 10 to 15 percent of eye movements during reading are actually regressive – meaning the eyes are going back and re-checking,” he explains to TIME. “This happens very quickly…”

Second, books offer visual cues (可視線索) that help our brains organize and understand new information. Things like chapter breaks, subheadings, and lists help us in making sense of the material and understanding how it fits together. You lose all that when you go the audio way.

The bottom line is simple: Don’t feel shame about passing your time in traffic with an audio book. However, be aware of audio’s limitations when it comes to studying, and seriously consider choosing good old-fashioned reading instead.

【1】According to the writer, you should choose to read a book to ______.

A.take in the informationB.pass the time in traffic

C.learn something difficultD.organize new information

【2】A “physical book” in Paragraph 2 probably means “______”.

A.an audio bookB.a book about physics

C.a book about computerD.a book made of paper or cloth

【3】What can we learn from the passage?

A.To read a book is better than to listen to it.

B.Readers are cleverer than listeners.

C.Reading books is a good way to pass time.

D.How fast we learn depends on how smart we are.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】D

【3】A

【解析】

本文主要講述的是老式的閱讀方式與聽(tīng)音頻閱讀的對(duì)比，從而得出要論情況而定閱讀方式，不要因?yàn)樵诮煌ㄖ袔е�有聲�?shū)消磨時(shí)間而感到羞愧。然而，當(dāng)涉及到學(xué)習(xí)時(shí)，要意識(shí)到音頻的局限性，并認(rèn)真考慮選擇好的老式閱讀。

【1】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。A. 得到一些信息；B. 在交通中消磨時(shí)間；C. 學(xué)習(xí)一些難的知識(shí)；D. 組織新的信息；根據(jù)文中if your goal isn’t to pass the time in traffic, but instead to learn something difficult, you should choose a physical book.可知，選擇C。

【2】詞義推測(cè)題。A. 一本音頻書(shū)；B. 有關(guān)物理的書(shū)；C. 一本計(jì)算機(jī)書(shū)；D. 一本用紙或者布料做的書(shū)；根據(jù)文中Audio (音頻的) books have plenty of advantages: you can enjoy them anywhere, even in the car, and not printing books saves trees.可知，這里指的是印刷來(lái)的書(shū)，所以選擇D。

【3】推理題。A. 讀一本書(shū)比聽(tīng)一本書(shū)好；B. 讀者比聽(tīng)眾聰明；C. 讀書(shū)是打發(fā)時(shí)間的好方法；D. 我們學(xué)習(xí)的速度取決于我們有多聰明；根據(jù)整篇文章的理解可知，主要講述的是音頻閱讀和書(shū)本閱讀，所以本題選擇A更合適。