The works of Shakespeare and Wordsworth are “rocket-boosters” to the brain and better therapy than self-help books, researchers will say this week.
Scientists, psychologists and English academics at Liverpool University have found that reading the works of the Bard and other classical writers has a beneficial effect on the mind, catches the reader’s attention and cause moments of self-reflection.
Using scanners, they monitored the brain activity of volunteers as they read works by William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, T.S Eliot and others.
They then “translated” the texts into more “straightforward”, modern language and again monitored the readers’ brains as they read the words.
Scans showed that the more “challenging” prose （散文）and poetry set off far more electrical activity in the brain than the more pedestrian versions.
Scientists were able to study the brain activity as it responded to each word and record how it “lit up” as the readers encountered unusual words, surprising phrases or difficult sentence structure.
This “lighting up” of the mind lasts longer than the initial electrical spark, shifting the brain to a higher gear, encouraging further reading.
The research also found that reading poetry, in particular, increases activity in the right hemisphere （半球）of the brain, an area concerned with “autobiographical memory”, helping the reader to reflect on and reappraise their own experiences in light of what they have read. The academics said this meant the classics were more useful than self-help books.
Philip Davis, an English professor who has worked on the study with the university’s magnetic resonance centre, will tell a conference this week: “Serious literature acts like a rocket-booster to the brain.
"The research shows the power of literature to shift mental pathways, to create new thoughts, shapes and connections in the young and the elderly alike.”
小题1:How do classics such as Shakespeare and Wordsworth benefit the readers?
A．They set off far less electrical activity in the brain.
B．They light up the mind shorter than the initial electrical spark.
C．They shift physical pathways in the young and the elderly.
D．They draw readers’ attention and help make self-examination.小题2:Why does the author mention” They then” translated”… modern language“？
A．To prove that classics are more useful than ordinary versions.
B．To show self-help books act like rocket-boosters to the brain.
C．To tell serious literature sets off far less electrical activity.
D．To make known ordinary versions set off more electrical activity小题3:What can we conclude according to the researchers?
A．Self-help books are more valuable than classics.
B．Serious literature lights up the mind shorter than ordinary versions.
C．The right hemisphere of the brain is related to autobiographical memory.
D．Literature has a beneficial effect only on the mind of the young.小题4:Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A．Ordinary Versions Create New Thoughts
B．Modern Language Increases the Brain
C．Classics Help lmprove the Brain Activity
D．Self-help Books, Rocket-boosters