You are what you read

 They say: “You are what you read.” And there may be some truth in this.
人们说：“你读故你在”。这句话或许有着必定的道理。

A report by the US’ Open Syllabus Project found that the most read books among US college students in the past year were the likes of The Republic by ancient Greek philosopher (哲学家) Plato and The Clash of Civilizations by US political scientist Samuel Huntington. And according to reports released by Chinese college libraries, the most popular books among Chinese students are novels like Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Japanese writer Keigo Higashino and Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (《天龙八部》) by Chinese author Louis Cha.
美国“敞开课程项目”发布的一份陈述发现，美国大学生上一年读的最多的书是古希腊哲学家柏拉图的《理想国》以及美国政治科学家塞缪尔·亨廷顿的《文明的抵触》之类的书本。而我国大学图书馆发布的陈述显现，最受我国学生欢迎的的书是东野圭吾的《白夜行》以及我国作家金庸的《天龙八部》等小说。

This is considered by many to be one of the reasons why Chinese students are sometimes not as good at critical thinking or observing global perspectives (视界) as US students – they read too many bestseller novels.
这一点被许多人认为是我国学生有时在批判性思维或许调查全球视界方面不如美国学生的原因之一——他们读了太多畅销书。

“By reading texts in history/social studies, science, and other disciplines (学科), students build a foundation (根底) of knowledge in these fields that will also give them the background to be better readers in all areas,” Robert Pondiscio, vice president of the Core Knowledge Foundation in the US told The Washington Post.
“经过阅览前史/社会学以及其他学科的文本，学生们把握了这些学科范畴的根底常识，这也为他们在各范畴成为更好的读者供给了布景，”美国中心常识基金会副主席罗伯特·邦迪思修在承受《华盛顿邮报》采访时表明。

According to China Youth Daily, there are usually five stages when it comes to reading, with popular novels at the bottom. More advanced readers normally go on to read classic fictional literature, history and philosophy (哲学), or books with critical ideas. The fifth stage involves students making their own reading lists based on the ideological (意识形态的) systems they have built throughout the years.
据《我国青年报》报导，阅览一般分为五个阶段，最底层是通俗小说。更进阶的读者一般会去读一些经典小说、史哲书本或许批判性思维典籍。在第五个阶段，学生们可以根据自己曩昔这些年中刻画的思维体系，构成自己的书单。

We spend hours, days or even weeks on a book, so it’s only natural that we want to learn something useful in return for our efforts. Many see reading as an investment (出资) in themselves.
咱们花费数小时、数天乃至数周来读一本书，所以很自然地，咱们想学点有用的东西，令自己的尽力有所报答。许多人将阅览视为对自己的一种出资。

But this practical view of literature and the thought that history and philosophy books are superior to novels is not agreed by everyone. After all, what they offer are two different kinds of satisfaction. While the former provides knowledge, the latter brings sentimental (情感的) experiences.
但并非所有人都认同实用性阅览这一观念和史哲类书本要比小说高档的主意。究竟，这两类书本所供给的是两种彻底不同的满足感。前者供给了常识，而后者则带来了情感体会。

“Fiction and poetry are medicines,” UK writer Jeanette Winterson once wrote. “What they heal is the rupture (裂缝) reality makes on the imagination.”
“小说和诗篇是良药，”英国作家珍妮特•温特森从前写道。“它们可以治好实际给幻想形成的裂缝。”