Books are to mankind what memory is to the individual. Precious and priceless are the blessings which the books scatter around our daily paths. We walk, in imagination, with the sublime and enchanting regions.

Why should we read a book?

   Why should we bother reading a book? All children say this occasionally. Many of the 12 million adults in Britain with reading difficulties repeat it to themselves daily. But for the first time in the 500 years, in a world of accelerating technology(铅活字印刷), increasing time poverty and diminishing attention spans, should they invest precious time sinking into a good book?

   我们为什么要费神去读书呢？

   在这样一个技术不断加速发展的世界，人们感觉时间越来越少，能集中注意力的时间也越来越短，为什么还要把宝贵的时间投入到一本好书上呢？

   The discovery that our brains are physically changed by the experience of reading is something many of us will understand instinctively, as we think back to the way an extraordinary book had a transformative(转变) effect on the way we viewed the world. This transformation only takes place when we lose ourselves in a book, abandoning（忽视） the emotional and mental chatter of the real world. That's why studies have found this kind of deep reading makes us more empathetic.

   研究发现阅读会从生理上改变我们的大脑，当我们回想一下一本特别的书是如何转变我们的世界观的时候，就会立刻地理解这种变化。只有当我们在情感上和精神上忽视现实世界的琐碎生活、完全沉迷于书中的时候，这种转变才会发生。

   Rationally, we know that reading is the foundation stone of all education, and therefore an essential underpinning（支撑） of the knowledge economy. So reading is–or should be – an aspect of public policy. But perhaps even more significant is its emotional role as the starting point for individual voyages of personal development and pleasure. Books can open up emotional, imaginative and historical landscapes that equal and extend the corridors of the web. They can help create and reinforce（增强） our sense of self.

   从理性角度来说，我们理解阅读是所有教育的基石，因而也是知识经济必要的支撑。它作为通向个人发展和幸福旅程的起点时扮演的感性角色。与网络相比，书籍在提升我们的情感、想象力和历史观方面更胜一筹。书籍也有助于创建和增强我们的自我感。

   We must also get better at harnessing the ability of the internet to inform readers, and potential（潜在）readers, about all the extraordinary new books that are published every year, and to renew their acquaintance with the best of rich literary tradition. The research shows that if we stop reading, we will be different people: less intricate（精细）, less empathetic(善解人意), less interesting. There can hardly be a better reason for fighting to protect the future of the book.

   我们也要更好地利用互联网，让大家重新熟识丰富多彩的传统文学精粹。研究表明，如果我们停止阅读，我们会变得不同：没那么精细、没那么善解人意，没那么有趣。再也没有比这更好的理由来努力保护图书的未来了。