来自高考真题的智慧：Teenagers should be pulled off the sofa
Fiction Reading （读者朋友，您知道读虚构故事对人有什么好处吗？）
这篇文章源自上海2023年春季高考试题，是概要写作的原文！
Summary Writing
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
For many people, nothing is more enjoyable than spending a whole afternoon reading a good novel. But are novels simply a pleasant way to pass the time, or could it be true that reading fiction actually benefits our lives?
One of the joys of fiction is that it can take us to places that our lives won’t. It can transport us to 17th-century France, or to war-torn Germany. It can take us to a future world in which artificial intelligence takes over and books are banned, or a fantasy world where people battle it out for food.
Fiction can also introduce us to a whole range of people that we haven’t yet met. And this, according to Carrie Oates, a novelist and academic, is perhaps the real benefit of stories.
In one of her studies, participants were asked to read either a short story by Chekhov, or a version of the story in documentary form. Those who were given the fictionalized version were found to be more likely to sympathize with the characters, thus going through greater changes in personality. In another study, she showed participants photos of the eyes of people who were feeling and thinking different things. The people who read fiction were better able to interpret those thoughts and feelings than those who didn’t read.
Oates explains that when we read fiction, we enter into the minds of the characters. We think about why they behave in a certain way, and what they are likely to do next. Just as we might become more knowledgeable about psychology and astronomy if we read about psychology and astronomy, we get better at this kind of social thinking if we read fiction. This improves our understanding of the thoughts and feelings of those around us in real life.
读完之后意识到There are books and books!（记得这句还是40多年前上学时读到的某本教材的句子，当时感叹于句子的翻译：书有多种，有好有坏！当时还自以为是地衍生出各种句子，大家也可以脑补一下啊！）
没有读懂的朋友参考一下中文翻译吧！
对很多人而言，没有什么比花一整个下午品读一本好小说更惬意的事了。但小说仅仅是一种打发时间的愉悦方式吗？又或者，阅读小说其实真的能给我们的生活带来诸多益处？
小说的一大乐趣，在于它能带我们去往现实生活中无法抵达的地方。它可以将我们带回17世纪的法国，或是满目疮痍的战乱德国；也可以带我们走进一个人工智能掌控一切、书籍被全面封禁的未来世界，或是一个人们为了生存口粮奋力厮杀的奇幻世界。
小说还能让我们结识形形色色、现实中从未相遇的人。而小说家兼学者卡丽·奥茨认为，这或许正是故事带给我们的真正价值。
在她的一项研究中，研究人员让参与者分别阅读契诃夫的短篇小说原文，以及这篇故事的纪实改编版本。结果发现，阅读小说版本的参与者，更容易对故事角色产生共情，自身性格也随之发生了更明显的改变。在另一项研究里，她向参与者展示了不同情绪、不同思绪的人物眼部照片，相比不常读小说的人，经常阅读小说的人能更准确地解读照片中人物的内心想法与情绪。
奥茨解释道，我们阅读小说时，其实是走进了角色的内心世界。我们会思考他们做出某种行为的原因，也会预判他们接下来的举动。就像我们研读心理学、天文学相关书籍，就会对这两个领域越发了解一样，经常阅读小说，能让我们的社交思维能力不断提升。这种能力的提升，会让我们在现实生活中，更能理解身边人的所思所感。
