2016/02（追試）
(1) Did you know that reading good novels may improve your ability to handle social and business situations such as job interviews? Recent scientific research has shown that people who read novels are better able to read an interviewer’s body language and figure out what they are thinking or feeling. People who read literary works also have greater emotional awareness and superior social skills.
(2) Researchers have investigated the reasons why reading literature has this impact. They found that in literary fiction more work is left to the imagination. Therefore, the reader has to try harder to understand subtle points and complexities of the characters’ thoughts. More effort is required to understand each character’s behavior and be sensitive to small hints of emotion. Through reading literature readers learn to empathize with people and view the world from another person’s perspective. When observing people, they become more skilled at interpreting gestures and facial expressions.
(3) One research experiment, called “Reading the Mind in the Eyes, has provided strong evidence that reading novels, even for a few minutes, greatly affects our ability to detect emotion in other people. In this experiment, two groups of participants looked at 36 photographs of pairs of eyes and chose in each case one word from a set of four which, in their judgment, best fitted the emotion shown. Those who had read a novel beforehand scored significantly better than the other group which had not. The results of this experiment were exciting because they suggested a direct connection between reading novels, even for a short time, and the perception of other people’s feelings.
(4) Contemporary experiments have looked into the reasons for this direct connection. They have shown that the same brain networks used to understand stories are also used to figure out the thoughts and feelings of others; the brain treats conversations and actions among fictional characters as if they were actual social encounters. When we recognize an emotion in a character in a story, our brains generate the same emotion, so we are simulating the character’s emotional state. This working out of what fictional characters are thinking and feeling becomes a powerful rehearsal for living in the real world.
(6) Research done today has allowed us to reinterpret brain research done decades ago. That earlier research showed that reading detailed descriptions in literary works activates many areas of the brain besides the language regions. For example, in one experiment it was found that words like “lavender,” “cinnamon,” and “soap” excite not only the language- processing areas but also those connected to smells. Another experiment showed that metaphors involving the sense of touch, like “The singer had a velvet voice” and “He had leathery hands,” affect the part of the brain responsible for perceiving touch. Indeed, it appears that the brain makes almost no distinction between reading about an experience and actually experiencing it. This feeling by the reader of having a live experience is what makes literature so effective in “reading” others.
(7) Fiction, at its best, is more than just enjoyable. It seems to improve our capacity to understand and feel the emotions of other people, as well as connect with something larger than ourselves. The ability to interpret the signals given by other people, and to respond effectively, is clearly important for success in life. So, the next time you need to interact with others, whether it is being introduced to someone new or going for a job interview, you might like to first read from the pages of a great novel. Then, you may have a better experience.
- The word empathize in paragraph (2) is closest in meaning to
① copy a character’s behavior
② feel what others are feeling
③ question others’ thoughts
④ state your opinion strongly - What did the experiment described in paragraph (3) show?
① Fiction readers can identify emotions well.
② Participants’ emotions change over time.
③ The mind can influence how we see.
④ There are limits to reading literature. - According to paragraph (4), how is the brain affected by fictional
characters?
① It attempts to produce different networks.
② It predicts what should happen in an experiment.
③ It reacts as if the reader were directly involved.
④ It recognizes the outcome of the conversation. - According to paragraph (5), brain research has shown that reading
① allows us to create metaphors
② helps us to describe smells
③ makes our experiences enjoyable
④ stimulates areas linked to senses - What would be the best title for this passage?
① Impressive Interviews in Novels
② New Reasons for Reading Fiction
③ Problems with Brain Research
④ The Importance of Body Language
