Changes in reading habits
The second article of the fourth set of topics in IELTS 16 is about the change of reading habits. The article consists of 9 paragraphs, which generally introduces the new reading media and their negative effects on our reading ability and brain circuits. This article is rather abstract and requires some background knowledge to understand. The following is the translation of each paragraph.
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The Change of Reading Habits of Cambridge IELTS 16 Test 4 Passage 2
Changes in reading habits
Cambridge IELTS 16 Test4 Passage2 Read the original translation
Paragraph 1
Look around on your next plane trip. The iPad is the new pacifier for babies and toddlers. Younger school-aged children read stories on smartphones; older kids don’t read at all, but hunch over video games. Parents and other passengers read on tablets or skim a flotilla of email and news feeds. Unbeknown to most of us, an invisible, game-changing transformation links everyone in this picture: the neuronal circuit that underlies the brain’s ability to read is subtly, rapidly changing and this has implications for everyone from the pre-reading toddler to the expert adult.
Next time you take a plane, remember to look around. The iPad has become a new comfort for infants and young children. Younger school-age children read stories on mobile phones; Older children do not read at all, but just bow their heads and play games. Parents and other passengers either read things on the tablet or browse email and news. What most of us don't know is that an invisible and earth shaking change connects everyone in this scene: the neural circuit that forms the basis of the brain's reading ability is undergoing subtle and rapid changes. It affects everyone from children who cannot read to adult experts.
Paragraph 2
As work in neurosciences indicates, the acquisition of literacy necessitated a new circuit in our species’ brain more than 6,000 years ago. That circuit evolved from a very simple mechanism for decoding basic information, like the number of goats in one’s herd, to the present, highly elaborated reading brain. My research depicts how the present reading brain enables the development of some of our most important intellectual and affective processes: internalized knowledge, analogical reasoning, and inference; perspective-taking and empathy; critical analysis and the generation of insight. Research surfacing in many parts of the world now cautions that each of these essential ‘deep reading’ processes may be under threat as we move into digital-based modes of reading.
Neuroscience research shows that more than 6000 years ago, the acquisition of literacy gave rise to new circuits in the brain of our race. From the very simple mechanism of decoding basic information (such as the number of goats in a flock), this circuit has evolved into a very sophisticated and reading brain. My research describes how the current brain with reading ability makes possible some of our most important intellectual and emotional development, such as the internalization of knowledge, analogical reasoning and intervention; Attitude and empathy; Critical analysis and insight generation. Research conducted in many parts of the world today warns us that these important in-depth reading processes may be threatened as we turn to digital reading habits.
Paragraph 3
This is not a simple, binary issue of print versus digital reading and technological innovation. As MIT scholar Sherry Turkle has written, we do not err as a society when we innovate but when we ignore what we disrupt or diminish while innovating. In this hinge moment between print and digital cultures, society needs to confront what is diminishing in the expert reading circuit, what our children and older students are not developing, and what we can do about it.
This is not a simple dualistic problem of paper against digital reading and technological innovation. As MIT scholar Sherry Turkle wrote, our society will not make mistakes when we innovate, but when we ignore what our innovation breaks or eliminates. In this period of paper and digital culture, society needs to solve what is disappearing in the professional reading circuit, what our children and older students have not improved, and what we can do about it.
Paragraph 4
We know from research that the reading circuit is not given to human beings through a genetic blueprint like vision or language; it needs an environment to develop. Further, it will adapt to that environment’s requirements – from different writing systems to the characteristics of whatever medium is used. If the dominant medium advantages processes that are fast, multi-task oriented and well-suited for large volumes of information, like the current digital medium, so will the reading circuit. As UCLA psychologist Patricia Greenfield writes, the result is that less attention and time will be allocated to slower, time-demanding deep reading processes.
We know from our research that, unlike vision or language, reading circuits are not given to humans through genetic blueprints. It needs corresponding environment to develop. In addition, it will adapt to the requirements of the environment - from different writing systems to the characteristics of the media used. If the mainstream media is conducive to fast, multi task oriented, and suitable for processing a large amount of information, such as the current digital media, then the reading circuit will also be like this. As Patricia Greenfield, a psychologist at UCLA, wrote, the result is that less attention and time will be allocated to the slow and time-consuming deep reading process.
Paragraph 5
Increasing reports from educators and from researchers in psychology and the humanities bear this out. English literature scholar and teacher Mark Edmundson describes how many college students actively avoid the classic literature of the 19th and 20th centuries in favour of something simpler as they no longer have the patience to read longer, denser, more difficult texts. We should be less concerned with students’ ‘cognitive impatience’, however, than by what may underlie it: the potential inability of large numbers of students to read with a level of critical analysis sufficient to comprehend the complexity of thought and argument found in more demanding texts.
More and more reports from educators and researchers in psychology and anthropology support this view. Mark Edmundson, a British literary scholar and teacher, described how many college students would take the initiative to avoid the classic literary works of the 19th and 20th centuries and instead choose some simpler works, because they no longer have the patience to read longer, denser and more difficult texts. We should pay more attention to the reasons behind students' cognitive impatience rather than this phenomenon: a large number of students are not able to make a certain degree of critical analysis in reading, so as to understand the complex ideas and arguments reflected in the more demanding text.
Paragraph 6
Multiple studies show that digital screen use may be causing a variety of troubling downstream effects on reading comprehension in older high school and college students. In Stavanger, Norway, psychologist Anne Mangen and her colleagues studied how high school students comprehend the same material in different mediums. This article is from Laokaoya website. Mangen’s group asked subjects questions about a short story whose plot had universal student appeal; half of the students read the story on a tablet, the other half in paperback. Results indicated that students who read on print were superior in their comprehension to screen-reading peers, particularly in their ability to sequence detail and reconstruct the plot in chronological order.
Many studies have shown that the use of digital screens may have a variety of disturbing negative effects on the reading comprehension ability of high school students and college students. In Stavanger, Norway, psychologist Anne Mangen and her colleagues studied how high school students understand the same material in different media. Mangen's team asked subjects about a short story. The plot of the story is popular among students. Half of the students read the story on the tablet, while the other half read it on paper. Research shows that compared with students reading on the screen, students reading on paper are better at understanding, especially in their ability to arrange details in order and reconstruct plots according to time development.
Paragraph 7
Ziming Liu from San Jose State University has conducted a series of studies which indicate that the ‘new norm’ in reading is skimming, involving word-spotting and browsing through the text. Many readers now use a pattern when reading in which they sample the first line and then word-spot through the rest of the text. When the reading brain skims like this, it reduces time allocated to deep reading processes. In other words, we don’t have time to grasp complexity, to understand another’s feelings, to perceive beauty, and to create thoughts of the reader’s own.
A series of studies conducted by Ziming Liu of San Jose State University show that skimming is the new normal in reading, including word recognition and text browsing. Nowadays, many readers' articles come from the old roast duck IELTS. When reading, they use the following mode: first look at the first line, then only look at individual words in the remaining text. When the reading brain skims like this, it will reduce the time allocated for in-depth reading. In other words, we don't have time to comprehend complex things, understand other people's feelings, appreciate beauty, or generate readers' own ideas.
Paragraph 8
The possibility that critical analysis, empathy and other deep reading processes could become the unintended ‘collateral damage’ of our digital culture is not a straightforward binary issue about print versus digital reading. It is about how we all have begun to read on various mediums and how that changes not only what we read, but also the purposes for which we read. Nor is it only about the young. The subtle atrophy of critical analysis and empathy affects us all equally. It affects our ability to navigate a constant bombardment of information. It incentivizes a retreat to the most familiar stores of unchecked information, which require and receive no analysis, leaving us susceptible to false information and irrational ideas.
Critical analysis, empathy and other in-depth reading processes may become unintentionally incidental victims of our digital culture. This possibility is not simply a dualistic problem of paper versus digital reading. It is more about how all of us begin to read on different media, and how this changes the content and purpose of our reading. It's not just about young people. Critical analysis and the imperceptible decline of empathy affect us all equally. It affects our ability to find a way out in the continuous information bombardment. It stimulates us to return to the most familiar information that has not been verified. This information is not needed or analyzed, making us vulnerable to misinformation and illogical views.
Paragraph 9
There’s an old rule in neuroscience that does not alter with age: use it or lose it. It is a very hopeful principle when applied to critical thought in the reading brain because it implies choice. The story of the changing reading brain is hardly finished. We possess both the science and the technology to identify and redress the changes in how we read before they become entrenched. If we work to understand exactly what we will lose, alongside the extraordinary new capacities that the digital world has brought us, there is as much reason for excitement as caution.
There is an old rule in neuroscience that does not change with time: use before use and discard after use. When applied to the critical thinking of the reading brain, it is a principle of hope, because it indicates choice. Reading about brain changes is far from over. We have the science and technology to define and correct the changes in reading styles before they solidify. If we try to understand what we have lost and the new capabilities brought to us by the digital world, then we have the same reason to be cautious and excited.
Cambridge IELTS 16Test4Passage1 Read the original translation Roman tunnels
ATTITUDES towards Artificial Intelligence
