在家多放書有益健康

People who buy more books than they can possibly read can now use science to justify their spending sprees. As Pacific Standard reports, new research confirms that people who grow up with books at home tend to have higher reading comprehension and better mathematical and digital communication skills.

那些買的書太多可能讀不完的人，現(xiàn)在能用科學(xué)證據(jù)證明他們的瘋狂消費有道理了?！短窖髽藴省穲蟮婪Q，一項新研究證實那些成長于家里有很多書的人，通常閱讀理解能力更高，并且溝通能力更強。

But how many books is enough to make a difference? The magic number seems to be above 80, according to a team of researchers led by senior sociology lecturer Joanna Sikora of Australian National University. Those who had around 80 books at home tended to have average scores for literacy—defined as "the ability to read effectively to participate in society and achieve personal goals”—while owning fewer than 80 books was associated with below-average literacy. Literacy continued to improve as the number of books increased to about 350, at which point the literacy rates remained steady.

那么家里要有多少本書才足以帶來這樣的差距呢?這一神奇的數(shù)據(jù)似乎在80本以上，這是澳大利亞國立大學(xué)社會學(xué)高級講師Joanna Sikora的研究結(jié)果。那些家里有八十本左右書籍的人，通常讀寫能力的平均分數(shù)更高，這種能力被定義為“通過有效閱讀參與社交并達到個人目標”的能力。與此同時，那些擁有的書數(shù)目少于80本的人，通常讀寫能力平均分更低。當(dāng)一個人擁有的書數(shù)目增加至350本之前，他們的讀寫能力還會持續(xù)提升;350本之后，人們的讀寫能力會趨于穩(wěn)定。

Their findings are based on comprehensive surveys taken between 2011 and 2015 by the Programme for the International Assessment of Competencies. Respondents were between the ages of 25 and 65, and they came from 31 countries, including the U.S. and Canada. First, they were asked to estimate how many books they had at home when they were 16 years old. After racking their brains for a mental image of their childhood libraries, they were tested for reading comprehension, their understanding of common mathematical concepts, and their ability to use digital technology as a communication tool. The results showed a positive correlation between these skill sets and having books at home.

他們的發(fā)現(xiàn)基于2011年至2015年期間進行的國際人力評估項目的綜合調(diào)查結(jié)果。受訪者的年齡在25歲至65歲之間，他們來自31個國家，包括美國和加拿大。首先，他們被要求估計自己在16歲時家里有多少本書。受訪者在拷問了他們對童年的記憶之后，他們被要求測試他們的閱讀理解能力、他們對普通數(shù)學(xué)概念的理解以及他們利用數(shù)字技術(shù)作為交流工具的能力。結(jié)果顯示這些技能和家里有書之間存在著積極聯(lián)系。

"Growing up with home libraries boosts adult skills in these areas beyond the benefits accrued from parental education, or [one's] own educational or occupational attainment," the researchers wrote in their paper, published in the journal Social Science Research.

該研究被發(fā)表在《社交科學(xué)研究》期刊上。研究人員們在研究中寫道：“在成長過程中，家里的書能夠提升成年人在這些方面的能力，它們帶來的好處遠遠超過家庭教育或者一個人的自學(xué)又或者是職業(yè)成就帶來的好處。”

The greatest impact, not surprisingly, was seen in the area of reading comprehension. Likewise, a 20-year study from 2010 suggested that access to a home library impacts a child’s educational attainment just as much as their parents’ occupations and education levels. Researchers aren’t sure if digital books will have the same positive effects if they eventually outnumber printed materials, but the team behind this latest study did point out that “home library size is positively related to higher levels of digital literacy.”

毫不意外的是，書籍帶來的最大影響在閱讀理解方面。同樣的，一項來自2010年、歷時20年的研究認為家里的書籍影響著孩子的教育成就，這種影響同孩子父母的職業(yè)和受教育程度帶來的影響一樣深遠。研究人員們不確定電子書是否會有同樣積極的影響，不過研究團隊指出人們家中書籍的數(shù)量與更高的數(shù)位素養(yǎng)(是運用電腦及網(wǎng)絡(luò)資源的能力)之間存在著積極的聯(lián)系。