Review – 2023

Reading: Optimise test 9 standard

The beauty of books

You might have heard people saying that young people don’t read any more. They say we don’t appreciate good
literature and that we’re losing our language skills. Fortunately, research has shown that the younger generation still
enjoys reading. Nevertheless, we might not appreciate just how important it can be. So, in case you’re not sure why
it’s worth doing, I’m going to spell it out for you.

For me, the main reason is that books help you relax. Anyone who’s read a novel for pleasure must have had that
feeling of being in a different world. From the moment you turn the page, you switch off from the world around you
and your troubles melt away. In fact, recent research, where scientists studied the effects of reading on the body, has
shown that it really does have a relaxing effect. It was found that when people start reading, there is a drop in the
heart rate and the muscles start to relax. Not only that, but the research also showed that it can reduce stress more
quickly than walking or listening to music.

Interestingly, although we’re helping our bodies relax, reading is also a great way of providing stimulation for our
brains. This is important because our brains need to get exercise just like the rest of our bodies. Scientists have used
special machines called MRI scanners to analyse what’s going on inside your head and it seems that reading
exercises different parts of your brain at the same time. They have also discovered that the more difficult the read,
the more stimulation your brain gets. What’s more, this effect is said to last long after you’ve put the book down.

Another reason for getting into a good book is that it’s good for your emotional intelligence, which means you have a
better understanding of your own and other people’s feelings. This is because when you’re reading a novel, you’re
seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. In fact, psychologists think that you experience what’s happening in
the story as if you were experiencing it yourself. This helps us develop greater social awareness which we can use in
our day-to-day lives. A word of caution though; this only seems to work if you read novels rather than non-fiction
books.

My final reason might be of special interest to people studying a foreign language because reading is proven to be a
fantastic way of improving your language skills, no matter whether you’re studying Mandarin, Russian or Irish.
It’s not only a good way to learn new vocabulary but it also helps you see how grammatical structures are used in
different ways. We also know that you’re more likely to understand and remember new language if has some
personal meaning for you. This means that reading a book by your favourite author might make more sense than
working through a grammar text book.
I could go on telling you why you should read more but it’s quite clear that reading is an extremely worthwhile
activity. And the best thing is, you get all of these benefits but it will hardly cost you a penny.

 For questions 1–5, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

1 What do we learn about young people’s reading habits in the first paragraph?

A They don’t seem to like good literature.

B Reading is still a popular activity among them.

C They only read to improve their language skills.

D They seldom read.

2 What does the phrase ‘your troubles melt away’ in paragraph 2 mean?
 A You realise your troubles are less important than other people’s.

B You are able to forget your troubles for a while.

C Your troubles are solved.

D You choose to do nothing about your troubles.

3 According to the writer, what effect does reading have on the brain?

A It makes your brain more active.

B It increases the brain’s ability to analyse.

C It stops your brain from exercising.

D It has no clear effect.

4 What does the writer mean by ‘a word of caution’ in paragraph 4?

A be careful

B be afraid

C be sensible

D be clever

5 What does the writer suggest about language learning?

A Some languages are easier to acquire than others.

B It’s easier to learn vocabulary than grammar by reading.

C A grammar book is the best way to learn a language.

D Reading can help you get better at languages.