英语听力文摘 English Digest 714 读小说开阔视野（在线收听）

Eye-Opening Facts About Fiction

Literary Thinking

Reading literature doesn’t just flex your powers of imagination, it also expands your capacity for creative reasoning. A 2013 study at the University of Toronto has shown that reading literature is excellent mental “conditioning” for becoming more open?minded.

It turns out that reading fictional stories prompts a mental response that’s distinct from what happens when we read nonfiction texts like newspapers and essays. Literature releases you from the pressures of real?world decision?making, and lets you enter the mindset of characters who are often very different from yourself.

The Great Escape

You may not be as imaginative or impulsive as Anne of Green Gables, but reading helps you see the world through her eyes. And while reading about and thinking like Anne, you’re reducing what psychologists call your need for “cognitive closure.”

People who need a lot of cognitive closure get frustrated or anxious when they face confusing or complex situations. They often jump to conclusions before fully thinking through things.

This “closed” mental state can be damaging to rationality and creativity. Luckily, though, the simple act of cracking open a book and diving into its literary world opens the brain up to new ways of thinking.

读小说开阔视野

文学思维

阅读文学不仅能发挥你的想象力，还能拓展你的创造性推理能力。多伦多大学2013年的一项研究表明，阅读文学是变得更加开放的绝佳心理“条件”？头脑清醒。

事实证明，阅读虚构故事会引发一种不同于我们阅读报纸和散文等非虚构文本时的心理反应。文学让你摆脱现实的压力？世界决定？制作，并让你进入角色的思维模式，这些角色通常与你自己非常不同。

大逃亡

你可能不像《绿山墙》中的安妮那样富有想象力或冲动，但阅读可以帮助你通过她的眼睛看世界。当你像安妮一样阅读和思考时，你正在减少心理学家所说的“认知封闭”的需求

需要大量认知封闭的人在面对困惑或复杂的情况时会感到沮丧或焦虑。他们经常在充分思考问题之前就下结论。

这种“封闭”的精神状态可能会损害理性和创造力。不过，幸运的是，打开一本书，潜入它的文学世界，这一简单的行为让大脑打开了新的思维方式。