路易斯·紹爾斯/Louis Shores
If you are an average reader you can read all average book at the ra te of 300 words a minute.You cannot maintain that average;however,unl ess you read regularly every day.Nor can you attain that speed with har d books in science,mathematics,agriculture,business,or any subject t hat is new or unfamiliar to you.The chances are you will never attempt that speed with poetry or want to race through some passages in fiction over which you wish to linger.But for most novels,biographies,and boo ks about travel,hobbies or personal interests,if you are an average re ader you should have no trouble at all absorbing meaning and pleasure ou t of 300 printed words every 60 seconds.
Statistics are not always practicable,but consider these:If the av erage reader can read 300 words a minute of average reading,then in 15 minutes he can read 4,500 words.Multiplied by 7,the days of the week,the product is 31,500.Another multiplication by 4,the weeks of the mon th,makes 126,000.And final multiplication by 12,the months of the tot al number of words of average reading an average reader can do in just 15 minutes a day for one year.
Books vary in length from 60,000 to 100,000 words.The average is ab out 75,000 words.In one year of average reading by an average reader fo r 15 minutes a day,20 books will be read.That's a lot of books.It is 4 times the number of books read by public-library borrowers in America.And yet it is easily possible.
One of the greatest of all modern physicians was Sir William Osler.He taught at the Johns Hopkins Medical School.He finished his teaching days at McGil University.Many of the outstanding physicians today were his students.Nearly all of the practicing doctors of today were brought up on his medical textbooks.Among his many remarkable contributions to medicine are his unpublished notes on how people die.
His greatness is attributed by his biographers and critics not alone to his profound medical knowledge and insight but to his broad general e ducation,for he was a very cultured man.He was interested in what men have done and thought throughout the ages.And he knew that the only way to find out what the best experiences of the race had been was to read w hat people had written.But Osler's problem was the same as everyone el se's,only more so.He was a busy physician,a teacher of physicians,a nd a medical-research specialist.There was no time in a 24-hour day tha t did not rightly belong to one of these three occupations,except the f ew hours for sleep,meals,and bodily functions.
Osler arrived at his solution early.He would read the last 15 minut es before he went to sleep.If bedtime was set for 11:00 P.M.,he read f rom 11:00 P.M.to 11:15 P.M.If research kept him up to 2:00 A.M.he rea d from 2:00 A.M.to 2:15 AM.Over a very long lifetime,Osler never brok e the rule once he had established it.We have evidence that after a whi le he simply could not fall asleep until he had done his 15 minutes of r eading.
In his lifetime,Osler read a significant library of books.Just do a mental calculation for half a century of 15-minute reading periods dai ly and see how many books you get.Consider what a range of interests an d variety of subjects are possible in one lifetime.Osler read widely ou tside of his medical specialty.Indeed,he developed from this 15-minute reading habit an avocational specialty to balance his vocational special ization.Among scholars in English literature,Osler is known as an auth ority on Sir Thomas Browne,seventeenth century English prose master and Osler's library on Sir Thomas is considered one of the best anywhere.A great many more things could be said about Osler's contribution to medi cal research,to the reform of medical teaching,to the introduction of modern clinical methods.But the important point for us here is that he answered supremely well for himself the question all of us who live a bu sy life must answer:How can I find time to read?
The answer may not be the last 15 minutes before I go to sleep.It m ay be 15 minutes a day at some other time.In the busiest of calendars t here is probably more than one 15-minute period tucked away somewhere st ill unassigned.I've seen some curious solutions to the problem of find ing time for reading.
During army days in the last year of the Second World War,I discove red a PFC in my squadron who seemed unusually well read.I found in his 201 file a remarkable civilian and military biography.His four years of service included two overseas,all meritorious but without heroics.Had all of his recommendations for promotion gone through he would have had not only his commission,but probably the rank of captain.But here he w as,still a private first-class-because despite the military emphasis o n education,efficiency,loyalty,and all other criteria for determining promotion,accident plays a most important part.Every time this PFC had been recommended for promotion,except once,he had been transferred or come up against tables of organization limitations,or a new change in r egulations,or a superior officer who had filled out the forms incorrect ly or forgotten them in his third right-hand drawer.And so he had remai ned a PFC,and had taken his reward in reading.The amount he did in the army was prodigious.
I was curious about his method.And one day,before I asked him.I f ound a partial answer.Every day the enlisted men put in an hour of dril l and formations.During that time at least one fairly long period of re st was called.Imagine my surprise on my first visit to the drill field when,at the command "rest!" I saw one man in the whole long line pull out a paper pocket book and begin to read,standing up.
When I talked with him,I found that from boyhood he had developed t he habit of carrying a little book in his pocket from which he read ever y minute he was not doing something else.He found a book especially use ful and relaxing during the periods of waiting which all of us experienc e daily-waiting for meals,buses,doctors,hair cuts,telephone calls,dates,performances to begin,or something to happen.There were his 15 minutes a day,or more.There were his 20 books a year-1,000 in a lifet ime.
No universal formula can be prescribed.Each of us must find our own 15-minute period each day.It is better if it is regular.Then all addit ional spare minutes are so many bonuses.And,believe me,the opportunit y for reading-bonuses are many and unexpected.Last night an uninvited g uest turned up to make five for bridge.I had the kind of paper book at hand to make being the fifth at bridge a joy.
The only requirement is the will to read.With it you can find the 15 minutes no matter how busy the day.And you must have the book at hand.Not even seconds of your 15 minutes must be wasted starting to read.S et that book out in advance.Put it into your pocket when you dress.Put another book beside your bed.Place one in your bathroom.Keep one near your dining table.
You can't escape reading 15 minutes a day,and that means you will read half a book a week,2 books a month,20 a year,and 1,000 or more i n a reading lifetime.It's an easy way to become well read.
如果你是一個中等水平的讀者，你可以以每分鍾300字的速度讀一本中等水平的書。但是，除非你每天這樣堅持下去，否則你是無法保持這個水平的。你也不可能以這個速度閱讀科學、數學、農業、商業方麵的書，或是對你來說主題生疏的書。你絕不會以這種速度閱讀詩歌，或是一目十行地閱讀小說中的精彩段落；然而，對於多數小說、傳記、遊記以及有關個人嗜好或你感興趣的書籍而言，如果你是一個中等水平的讀者，以這個速度閱讀，在意思的理解上就不會有什麽障礙，而且還可以享受其中的樂趣。
數學統計不是永遠可靠的，但也可以思考一下這些數據：如果一個中等水平的讀者以每分鍾300字的速度讀一本一般的書籍，那麽15分鍾可以讀4，500字，一個星期便能讀31，500字，一個月可以讀126，000字，一年12個月的閱讀量可以達到1，512，000字。這就是一個中等水平的讀者每天隻讀15分鍾的書，在一年內可以達到的閱讀量。
書籍的篇幅在60，000字到100，000字之間不等，平均值大約為75，000字。中等閱讀水平的人，讀一般書籍，每天讀15分鍾，一年就可以讀20本書，這真是很多本書啊！這個數字不僅是從美國公共圖書館借書的人們的閱讀量的三倍，而且這很容易實現。
威廉·奧斯羅爵士是現代最偉大的內科醫師之一。他曾在約翰·霍普金斯醫學院教書，最後在麥吉爾大學留教。如今，很多赫赫有名的醫師都曾是他的學生。幾乎所有正在工作的醫生們都曾從他的醫學教科書中獲益。他對醫學最突出的貢獻之一就是他尚未出版的一本記錄人們死亡情形的筆記。
為他寫傳記的作家和評論者們都認為，他不僅擁有淵博的醫學知識和深刻的洞察力，還具有豐富的基礎知識，並且他還是一個很有修養的人。他對曆代人類的行為和思想感興趣，而且他明白要了解人類最偉大成就的唯一途徑就是閱讀先人的著作。然而，奧斯羅麵臨著與許多人同樣的問題，而且難度更大。因為他是一名內科醫生，工作繁忙，還要在醫學院教書，同時他又是醫學研究專家。除了睡覺、吃飯、上衛生間的幾個小時外，他一天24個小時中的其他時間都理所當然地在做上述三種工作。
奧斯羅很早就摸索出了解決這個問題的辦法。他會在睡覺前花15分鍾來讀書。如果就寢時間在晚上11點，他的讀書時間就是11點到11點15分。如果研究工作到了2點，他的讀書時間就是2點到2點15分。他決定這樣做之後，就一直堅持。有證據表明，在這樣堅持了一段時間後，如果每晚不讀上15分鍾書，他就很難入睡。
縱觀奧斯羅的一生，他讀過的書籍真是不勝枚舉。每天閱讀15分鍾，算算看，半個世紀總共能讀多少本書。考慮一下，在一個人的一生中，這是多麽廣泛的興趣，可能涉及眾多學科。奧斯羅在醫學專業之外有非常廣泛的涉獵。因為他習慣了每天閱讀15分鍾的書籍，所以他的業餘特長也可以與專業知識相媲美。在研究英國文學的專家中，奧斯羅被公認為是研究17世紀英國散文大師托馬斯·布朗爵士的權威人士，而奧斯羅有關托馬斯·布朗的藏書也被認為是最棒的。有很多事例可以證明奧斯羅在醫學研究、醫學教學改革以及現代臨床方法的使用等方麵的傑出貢獻。然而，我們這裏要談的重點是什麽，他成功地回答了我們每一個工作忙碌的人一定要回答的問題——怎樣找到時間讀書？
回答不一定就是就寢前的15分鍾。這15分鍾可能是一天中的其他時間。在排得最滿的時間表中，也可能有超過15分鍾的空餘時間隱藏在某一個地方。我曾經看到一些人很奇特的“找時間”的方法。
“二戰”的最後一年，我發現我所服役的中隊裏有一個知識儲備異常淵博的一等兵。我在他的201號檔案中讀到了一段很特別的、有關他入伍前後經曆的描述：在四年的服役生涯中，有兩年的時間他是在海外，在這期間雖然沒有什麽豐功偉績，但卻一直受到獎勵。如果所有推薦信都能遞到上麵，他不僅可以獲得軍銜，估計早就成了上尉。可是，他還是個一等兵。盡管部隊中的晉升需要學曆、工作效率、忠誠，還有其他一些標準，與此同時機遇也起著非常重要的作用。除了有一次例外，他不是被調動，就是遇到有關組織機構的條文限製；不是規定有了新變動，就是上級填錯了表格，要麽就是將表格忘在了他右手的第三個抽屜裏。總之，在部隊中，他一直是個一等兵，可是，他在讀書中卻獲益頗深，在服役期間，他的讀書量太令人驚歎了。
我對他的讀書方法感到很好奇。有一天，在詢問他之前，我發現了問題的部分答案。每天，士兵們都要隊列操練一個小時。在這段時間中，至少會有一段很長的休息時間。我第一次去操練場的時候，就驚奇地發現在“稍息”令下達後，在長長的隊伍中，有一個人拿出了一本袖珍書，站著看了起來。
在與他的交談中，我發現他從小就養成了在口袋中放一本袖珍書的習慣，休息時就拿出來看。他發現特別是在等候的時候，有一本書特別有用，它可以讓人的心情得到放鬆。我們每天都要等吃飯、等坐車、等看病、等理發、等電話、等約會、等表演，或是等待其他事情的發生。在這些時間裏，他有了屬於自己的每天閱讀所需的15分鍾，甚至更多，一年他能讀20本書，一生就是一千本書。
沒有什麽通用公式。每天，我們都必須發現自己的15分鍾。最好是有規律的，這樣所有其他的額外時間就會有意外的收獲了。找到額外時間讀書的機會很多，也會有一些意外感。昨晚，一位朋友不請自到，人手多了，我便不能打橋牌，可是我的手邊剛好有一本簡裝書，因此，盡管沒有打成橋牌，可是我依然很愉快。
唯一所需的就是讀書的決心。這樣無論多忙，你都可以找到這15分鍾。而且，手邊一定要有一本書。既然這15分鍾已經開始，就不要浪費一秒。把書事先準備好，穿衣服的時候將它放進口袋，床頭放一本，浴室放一本，餐桌上也要放一本。
這樣你就不會丟失這15分鍾了，這意味著你一個星期就能讀半本書，一個月就能讀兩本，一年能讀20本，一生能讀一千本，或者更多。這可是一個博覽群書的簡便辦法。
1.____I talked with him,I found that from boyhood he____developed the habit of carrying a little____in his pocket from whi ch he read every____he was not doing something else.
2.The____requirement is the will to____.With it you can find the 15 minutes no matter how____the day.And you must have the book at hand.Not even seconds of____15 minutes must be wasted sta rting to read.
1.如果你是一個中等水平的讀者，以這個速度閱讀，在意思的理解上就不會有什麽障礙，而且還可以享受其中的樂趣。
2.為他寫傳記的作家和評論者們都認為，他不僅擁有淵博的醫學知識和深刻的洞察力，還具有豐富的基礎知識，並且他還是一個很有修養的人。
3.我曾經看到一些人很奇特的“找時間”的方法。
1.If you are an average reader you can read all average book at the rate of 300 words a minute.
at the rate of：以……速度或比率；按……價目
2....I've seen some curious solutions to the problem of finding ti me for reading.
solution to：解決方法