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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.
在互聯網時代，快速閱讀已成為一項不可或缺的技能。我們要能在匆匆瀏覽過文章、郵件、或是微博之后，迅速找到關鍵詞、抓住文章大意。因為我們的手機、電腦每天都會被海量信息所“轟炸”，逐字逐句的閱讀顯然是不可能的。
But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond intellectual stimulation.
但是，不插電、享受慢閱讀正在成為一個新趨勢，人們認為它有除了激發智力之外的諸多好處。
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.
《華爾街日報》最近的一篇文章就報道了新西蘭首都惠靈頓的一家讀書俱樂部，在那里，會員們會相約在咖啡館，關掉各自的手機，倚在舒服的椅子上，靜靜閱讀一個小時。
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.
不同于傳統的讀書俱樂部，這家慢閱讀俱樂部并不要求會員們就某一本書分享讀后感，而只是讓大家遠離電子設備，在安靜、放松的環境中閱讀。據《華爾街日報》報道，這僅僅是那些懷念早前沒有互聯網和智能手機的時代傳統閱讀的書迷們發起的一項活動。
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?凱利為代表的慢閱讀者們認為，良好的閱讀習慣能使心智更加敏銳，提高注意力，減緩壓力，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.
其中一些益處已有科學依據。比如，《神經病學》雜志去年發表的一項針對300名老人的研究顯示，閱讀等有規律的智力刺激能夠減緩老年人的記憶力衰退。
Mind reader
讀書也“讀心”
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.
《科學》雜志去年的另一項研究則顯示，閱讀小說能讓人更容易理解他人的心理和觀點，而這也是人際關系中最重要的能力。
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，科技卻讓我們在閱讀時無法集中精力。電子設備的屏幕讓我們由從左向右的線性閱讀習慣，變成尋找關鍵詞和重要信息的瘋狂略讀模式。而與閱讀純文本相比，閱讀帶插有各種鏈接的文章降低了我們的理解力。《衛報》記者帕特里克?金斯利就說，互聯網也許讓我們變笨了；因為互聯網，我們更擅長收集精華信息，卻很難坐下來一一品讀，并將其梳理和關聯起來。
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.”
慢閱讀意味著回到連貫的線性閱讀模式中，在安靜、免打擾的環境中享受閱讀。《大西洋月刊》的凱利就建議大家以“每天讀半小時”為目標，“從賦閑的時間里擠出這半個小時是十分容易的。把你為了消磨時光而不自覺打開筆記本上自己喜歡的網站或是刷推特的時間用來讀本有意義的書。如果你喜歡讀電子書，那么你可以捧起Kindle——它更節省空間，讓《戰爭與和平》變得更輕薄，內容卻不減少一絲一毫。
