🌱A1 · Beginner 🌿A2 · Elementary 🌳B1 · Pre-Intermediate 🌲B2 · Intermediate
📚
Day 35 · Society & Culture · B2 Level

Why Reading Fiction Is Good for the Brain

Daily Reading Practice · Nonfiction passage

⏱ Time target: 5-6 minutes 📖 Reading + Vocabulary ✅ 10 True / False questions
How to use this page: Highlighted words are key vocabulary. On a computer, hover your mouse over a highlighted word — on phone or tablet, tap the word — to see its English definition, a synonym, and its Uzbek 🇺🇿 and Russian 🇷🇺 meaning. Tap 🇬🇧 UK or 🇺🇸 US to hear it pronounced in either accent.
🔎 Millat Dictionary

Curious about a word?

Any word, any time — right from this page.

Reading Passage

For centuries, people have turned to fictionfiction (noun)Literature describing imaginary events and people.Synonym: novels🇺🇿UZ: badiiy adabiyot🇷🇺RU: художественная литература for entertainmententertainment (noun)Activities providing amusement or enjoyment.Synonym: amusement🇺🇿UZ: ko'ngil ochish🇷🇺RU: развлечение, escapeescape (noun)A temporary distraction from reality.Synonym: diversion🇺🇿UZ: chalg'ish🇷🇺RU: уход от реальности, and emotional connectionconnection (noun)A relationship or link between things.Synonym: link🇺🇿UZ: aloqa🇷🇺RU: связь. But in recent years, researchersresearcher (noun)People who carry out academic study.Synonym: scientists🇺🇿UZ: tadqiqotchilar🇷🇺RU: исследователи have become increasingly interested in a different question: what does reading novelsnovel (noun)Long fictional stories in book form.Synonym: books🇺🇿UZ: romanlar🇷🇺RU: романы and short stories actually do to the brain?

One of the most consistent findingsfinding (noun)Information discovered as a result of research.Synonym: results🇺🇿UZ: topilmalar🇷🇺RU: результаты (исследования) is that reading fiction appears to improve empathyempathy (noun)The ability to understand another's feelings.Synonym: compassion🇺🇿UZ: hamdardlik🇷🇺RU: эмпатия — the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. When we follow a charactercharacter (noun)A person portrayed in a story.Synonym: figure🇺🇿UZ: personaj🇷🇺RU: персонаж through difficult decisions, joy, or loss, we are essentially practising how to imagineimagine (verb)To form a picture of something in the mind.Synonym: picture🇺🇿UZ: tasavvur qilmoq🇷🇺RU: представлять someone else's inner experienceexperience (noun)An event or feeling that is lived through.Synonym: encounter🇺🇿UZ: tajriba🇷🇺RU: переживание. Some studies suggest that people who read a lot of fiction score higher on tests measuring their ability to interpretinterpret (verb)To explain or understand the meaning of something.Synonym: understand🇺🇿UZ: izohlamoq🇷🇺RU: интерпретировать others' emotionsemotion (noun)Strong feelings such as anger or joy.Synonym: feelings🇺🇿UZ: hissiyotlar🇷🇺RU: эмоции and intentions.

Fiction also appears to strengthenstrengthen (verb)To make something stronger.Synonym: reinforce🇺🇿UZ: mustahkamlamoq🇷🇺RU: укреплять certain cognitivecognitive (adj)Relating to mental processes like thinking and learning.Synonym: mental🇺🇿UZ: kognitiv🇷🇺RU: когнитивный skills. Following a complex plot with multiple characters and storylinesstoryline (noun)The plots or sequences of events in a story.Synonym: plots🇺🇿UZ: syujet chiziqlari🇷🇺RU: сюжетные линии requires readers to hold a great deal of informationinformation (noun)Facts or details about something.Synonym: data🇺🇿UZ: ma'lumot🇷🇺RU: информация in mind at once, which may help improve working memoryworking memory (noun)The mental system for holding information temporarily.Synonym: short-term memory🇺🇿UZ: operativ xotira🇷🇺RU: рабочая память. Reading regularly has also been linked to a larger vocabularyvocabulary (noun)The body of words known by a person.Synonym: lexicon🇺🇿UZ: lug'at boyligi🇷🇺RU: словарный запас and stronger overall languagelanguage (noun)A system of communication used by people.Synonym: tongue🇺🇿UZ: til🇷🇺RU: язык skills, since fiction often exposes readers to more varied and complex sentencesentence (noun)A set of words forming a grammatical unit.Synonym: phrase🇺🇿UZ: gap🇷🇺RU: предложение structures than everyday speech.

Interestingly, brain-imaging studies have shown that reading a vivid description of an actionaction (noun)The process of doing something.Synonym: activity🇺🇿UZ: harakat🇷🇺RU: действие — such as a character running or grasping an object — can activate similar regionsregion (noun)Particular areas or parts of something.Synonym: areas🇺🇿UZ: hududlar (sohalar)🇷🇺RU: участки of the brain as actually performing that action. This suggests that when we read a well-written scene, our brains partly simulatesimulate (verb)To imitate the conditions of something.Synonym: imitate🇺🇿UZ: modellashtirmoq🇷🇺RU: имитировать the experience, which may explain why a gripping story can feel so immersiveimmersive (adj)Giving a feeling of deep involvement.Synonym: absorbing🇺🇿UZ: sho'ng'ib ketadigan🇷🇺RU: захватывающий.

Of course, fiction is not the only way to gain these benefitsbenefit (noun)Advantages gained from something.Synonym: advantages🇺🇿UZ: foydalar🇷🇺RU: преимущества, and reading habitshabit (noun)Regular practices or tendencies.Synonym: routines🇺🇿UZ: odatlar🇷🇺RU: привычки varyvary (verb)To differ or change.Synonym: differ🇺🇿UZ: farq qilmoq🇷🇺RU: варьироваться enormously between individuals. Still, the growing body of evidenceevidence (noun)Facts indicating whether something is true.Synonym: proof🇺🇿UZ: dalil🇷🇺RU: доказательства suggests that time spent with a good novel is not simply idle relaxation. It may genuinely be exercising the partspart (noun)Pieces or sections of something bigger.Synonym: sections🇺🇿UZ: qismlar🇷🇺RU: части of the brain responsible for understanding language, holding complex information, and connecting with other people.

◆ Micro-task Write what this text is mainly about.

Check Your Understanding — True / False