Introduction
English: Do you remember what it was like before you learnt to read? It’s hard to think back that far! Scientific research has shown that learning to read changes the way our brains work. Not only that, but depending on the language you are reading, your brain changes in different ways. Becca and Georgie discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary.
中文：你还记得学会阅读之前的感觉吗？很难回忆起来！科学研究表明，学习阅读会改变我们的大脑工作方式。不仅如此，阅读不同的语言对大脑的影响也不同。Becca和Georgie将讨论这一话题，并教你一些新词汇。
Key Vocabulary
| Word | English Definition | Chinese Definition |
|---|---|---|
| natural | Coming from nature; developed without special training | 天生的；自然的 |
| dedicated | Designed and used for one particular purpose | 专用的；专门的 |
| co-opt | Involve someone or something, sometimes against their will | 借用；征用 |
| circuit | A system of connections | 回路；电路 |
| inevitably | In a way that cannot be stopped or avoided | 不可避免地 |
| intricate | Having lots of detail | 复杂的；精细的 |
Transcript Highlights
Becca: Hello. Welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Becca.
Georgie: And I’m Georgie. Let’s start with a quiz question. The longest novel in the world is widely thought to be by French author Marcel Proust, a book which, when translated into English, means Remembrance of Things Past. But how many words does the book contain? Is it: a) 130,000, b) 1.3 million, or c) 13 million?
Maryanne Wolf: We think of language as natural, and reading is written language so it must be natural. But it isn’t.
Critical Thinking Questions
- How does learning to read change the brain’s structure, according to research?
- Why might different languages affect the brain in different ways?