做更好的讀者：五種方法培養你的閱讀能力
Language and literacy are among mankind’s greatest inventions. Evolving and even dying over the course of human history, languages are a reflection of our cultural and societal attitudes. Today, surrounded by social media, television, movies, billboards, and, of course, books, the ability to read and write is crucial to forming an identity and expressing one’s feelings.
語言和讀寫能力是人類最偉大的發明。人類歷史在演變甚至是滅絕的過程中，語言都是對我們的文化和社會態度的反應。時至今日，當我們被社會傳媒、電視、電影、廣告牌當然還有書本包圍時，讀寫能力對於我們形成一種特徵和表達自己的感受是至關重要的。
Most humans acquire language in early childhood and speak fluently when they are about three years old, but our continued relationship with language gives shape and meaning to our lives. Here are 5 ways to become a better reader.
大多數人都是在幼兒的時候學習語言然後在三歲的時候就能很流利地說話了，但我們對語言進一步的學習將會對我們的生活產生很大的影響，具有深遠的意義。下面五種方法可以教你成爲一名更好的讀者。
1. Take it slow.
放慢速度
Many readers feel that they read too slowly, especially compared with others, but the truth is that the faster you read, the less likely you are to comprehend fully what you’re reading. The best readers are flexible—slowing down when needed, especially if weighty concepts or unknown words are grouped closely together—and always have a dictionary at hand.
許多讀者覺得他們讀得太慢了，特別是相對於其他人而言，但是事實上你讀得越快，你就越可能不能完全理解你讀的內容。最好的讀者是靈活多變的——需要時他們就讀得慢，特別是當一些繁瑣的概念或者是不認識的字都混在一起時，他們往往都讀得慢——而且常常會帶一本字典在身邊。
If you get to the end of a paragraph and realize you haven’t absorbed any of the information, do not hesitate to re-read the passage. Reading is a lifelong process: learning to read closely and slowly will help you become faster over time without missing anything.
如果你快讀完一段話了卻不知道大概的意思，不要猶豫，再 去重新讀一遍。閱讀是一個終身的過程：嘗試着深入且慢速地閱讀將會幫助你理解得更快而且不會漏下任何的內容。
2. Read aloud.
大聲朗讀
When humans first began reading written words, it was unusual to read in silence. Though generally inappropriate for commuters or for late-night adventurers, reading out loud is one of the best ways to improve your reading ability.
當人類第一次閱讀書面文字時，默讀是不常見的。雖然這不適合上班族或者是夜貓子，但大聲朗讀確實是提高你閱讀能力最好的方法之一。
You may feel silly reading to your cat (or to no one at all), but once you get into the rhythm of the author’s voice, you will begin to read more accurately and with better vocal expression. Try listening to the author reading their own work—you’ll be surprised to find how clearly it comes through on the page.
你可能覺得對着你的貓閱讀有點傻（或者是一個人也沒有），但是一旦你進入了作者的聲音的韻律中去，你將會開始閱讀得更加準確，而且會有更好的聲音表現力。試着聽聽作者閱讀他們自己的文章——你會驚訝地發現，書上的文字被這樣讀出來是多麼地清晰。
3. Feel it.
感受它
Can you remember the first piece of writing that transported you to another world? One of the most powerful moments in a young, fluent reader’s life is learning to enter into the lives of imagined heroes and heroines.
你還記得你第一次寫字的情景嗎，那個將你帶到了另一個世界的情景。在一個青春洋溢、表達順暢的讀者的生命中，最重要的時刻之一就是學習進入想象中的主角的生活中。
Subtleties of language and perspective become potent clues to deeper underlying meanings, and are easy to miss for even the most seasoned readers. As you read, let the language inform your pace, give pause to important gestures and dialogue, and allow striking ideas to simmer. In no time, you’ll be appreciating novels like fine wine.
語言和視角之間微妙的關係，是具有更深意義內涵的強有力的線索，而且即使對於最有經驗的讀者來說都是很容易忽視的。當你閱讀時，讓語言支配你的步調，在重要的手勢和對話時停頓，對於那些難理解的想法要給予足夠的時間思考。過不了多久，你就會像品賞美酒那樣去喜歡小說了。4. Write.
寫作
Writing and reading go hand-in-hand: how and what you read affects how and what you write, and the best readers often make the best writers. But while much can be learned from close, repeated readings, there are many secretive pleasures to language that can only be experienced through the practice of writing.
寫作和閱讀是相輔相成的：你怎樣閱讀，閱讀什麼將會影響你寫作的方式和寫作的內容，而最好的讀者往往會是最好的作者。然而即使我們可以從深入和重複閱讀中學到很多東西，但仍然有許多不爲人知的快樂是隻有你通過寫作才能體會到的。
This is why certain authors are labeled “writer’s writers”; another level of meaning and intense appreciation exists for those who create rather than simply observe. Try writing every day for a month; you will never read the same again.
這就是爲什麼某些作者會被說成“作家的作家”，另一層意思和強烈的欣賞爲那些創造而不僅僅是觀察的人存在着。試着一個月每一天都寫作；你的閱讀習慣也再不會跟以前一樣。
5. Tell your friends.
講給朋友
All of literature is essentially communication from an individual’s inner voice to an audience. Though Franz Kafka’s dying wish was that all of his works—written in obscurity, often late at night, and mostly unpublished—be burned, aren’t we glad his friend, Max Brod, didn’t listen?
文學本質上是從一個人的內心的聲音與觀衆溝通。即使卡夫卡的遺願是他所有的作品都要被燒燬——他的作品都是在深夜默默寫的，而且幾乎都是沒有發表的——難道我們不應該爲他的朋友馬克西-布拉德沒有聽從他的遺願而高興嗎？
There is something magical about sharing books with friends or a book club. It’s a good way to see the world from someone else’s eyes and, in the process, critically examine your own reaction to what you’re reading.
與自己的朋友或是一個圖書俱樂部的人分享書是件很美妙的事情。這是一個很好的方式去了解別人眼中的世界，然後在此過程中，認真地審視自己對所閱讀的內容的反應。
