Why should we read literature? 为什么要读文学作品？

罗跃梅

在作家的笔下，古往今来、天南海北、奇人奇事、奇景奇境，无不充满了神奇瑰丽的色彩，异彩纷呈的艺术形式让读者张开了想象的翅膀，在文学天地流连忘返。

1 Never overlook the pleasure of reading a great work of fiction. Reading literature puts you ahead of the pack. Men who read develop their minds by not only educating themselves with new information but also learning how to think. Reading works of fiction makes a better man.

2 Fiction expands creativity. Our creative processes are fed by new ideas， narratives， and perspectives. Works of fiction expose everything in a new light through a new lens. Our minds open up to think how the main character of a narrative thinks， or how events could unfold under circumstances exempt from our real world rules， laws， and timeline. Fiction expands our creative process to influence how we think so that we may discover new ideas.

3 Fiction expands our vocabulary. Reading literary fiction develops our vocabulary， strengthens our speech， and makes us a better writer. Literary fiction， rather than easy to read fiction， has the potential to expand our vocabulary because while it exposes us to new thoughts and ideas， it does so through a plethora （过多） of grammatical styles， forms of diction， and undiscovered words.

4 Fiction is culture. Just as each painting tells a story， so does a novel—literally. Reading reveals different cultures and attitudes from a variety of people from various time periods and places. Each great work of fiction is beautiful and an important piece of culture that shapes the different cultures which treasure it.

5 Fiction develops our theory of mind. Theory of mind is the realization that other people have beliefs and desires that differ from their own. A developed theory of mind allows a person to interact socially and use their cognitive abilities to read thoughts， feelings， and emotions. Studies have found that works of literary fiction can impact our theory of mind so that we may guess motives and thoughts in social situations based on experiences gained from fiction.

6 When we read literature， we ll learn things about the world， others and ourselves. The power of a novel should not be underestimated.

Fill in each blank with only one word according to the text

Discover the useful structure in the text

so+助動词+主语，意为“……也是如此”，用于表示肯定意义的倒装。

Just as each painting tells a story， so does a novel—literally. 就像每幅画都讲述一个故事一样，小说也是如此——如果从字面上理解的话。