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July 22, 2015 Advice on Reading 閱讀的忠告
by 王瓊玉 2015-07-23 21:32:08, 回應(0), 人氣(1090)

July 22, 2015

A Treasury of English Famous Essays

英美散文菁華

陳榮吉 編譯

 

6.   Advice on Reading 閱讀的忠告

   Frank Luther Mott, 1886 – 1964, American author and professor of journalism.

      

       And now let me give six pieces of specific advice upon your reading:

       First, read with full sympathy, casting out prejudices and giving yourselves up wholly to the will of the writer. You must feel him, know him. “When I am reading a book,” said Dean Swift, “whether wise or silly, it seems to be alive and talking to me.” There was a man who had the art of reading.

      

       Second, do not worry too much about allusions you do not understand, or pay too much attention to notes and the commentary of scholars. This writing is for you: do not let some pedant step between you and your friend, the writer.

      

       Third, read aloud as much as possible. Your roommate, your wife, your sweetheart, your best friend will probably be glad to listen to you. You will be surprised to find how much more pleasure you get from reading by sharing it. Moreover, reading aloud is a valuable aid to interpretation. Hardress O’Grady, an English teacher of speech, in a little book called Reading Aloud, after pointing out how much attention writers give to the sound of their words and phrases, urges the reader to do his part as thoroughly. First by taking in with his eyes the written word, next by saying aloud the sound that compose the words and the rhythms of the sentences, he will in reverse order, put himself on the same place as the author: he will be imitating those mechanical actions which were the concrete translation of the author’s innermost being.

      

       Fourth, re-read the parts you like best. You will discover new meanings, new beauties, each time you go over a great book, and it will become more and more your own.

      

       Fifth, if the volume you are reading is your own, do not hesitate to mark in the margin the passages that appeal to you. My reason for giving this counsel may be briefly stated thus: You are collaborating with the writer when you read his book. Your experiences, ides, and feelings join with his in producing the total effect of the book. Now if you mark the book, you are leaving an actual physical record of that collaboration; you have stamped the book as your own in a visible way. I hope you will own many of the books you read, and that you will stamp them with evidence of your ownership of them.

      

       Sixth, and last, think back. Consider what you have read in the light of the whole. Discuss it with your reading partner, or with whomever you can get to listen. As to notes on your reading, do not make them if they seem onerous to you. Some people, however, find making a few notes enlightening and helpful. The flyleaves of the book are a good place. There is nothing sacred about the physical book: it is for use.