Can you stick with me to the end of this essay about National Read Across America Day?

你能陪我讀完這篇關於 "全美閱讀日 "的文章嗎？

Oh, no.

哦，不。

There goes some of you already.

你們有些人已經走了。

Deciding this topic can't be interesting enough to stick with, especially when there are videos on your phone of cute dachshunds that you can watch.

尤其是當你的手機上有可愛臘腸狗的影片可以觀看時，決定這個話題就不會有趣到讓你堅持下去。

For those of you who've stayed, I'm guessing you are readers.

對於那些留下來的人，我猜你們都是讀者。

Not because that's the topic, but because reading has conditioned you to tolerate moments that are not constantly filled with stimulus.

並不是因為這就是主題，而是因為閱讀已經讓你習慣於容忍那些並非時刻充滿刺激的時刻。

Developing focus is one reason we dedicate a day to promote reading for young people.

培養專注力是我們專門設立青少年閱讀推廣日的原因之一。

Beyond building concentration, reading excites the imagination and teaches us to manage complex ideas.

除了培養專注力，閱讀還能激發想象力，教會我們處理複雜的想法。

One study found that reading about experiences activates the same brain regions as actually having those experiences.

一項研究發現，閱讀有關經歷的文章會激活與實際經歷相同的大腦區域。

Another another study showed that imagining fictional characters journeys improves your ability to understand real people's emotions and perspectives.

另一項研究表明，想象虛構人物的旅程能提高你理解真人情感和觀點的能力。

But fewer of us are reading these days.

但是，現在讀書的人越來越少了。

A majority of the country does not read a single book in a year.

全國大多數人一年都讀不完一本書。

Reading and the quality of the experience has been in decline for a while because smartphones steal our attention.

由於智慧型手機搶走了我們的注意力，閱讀和閱讀體驗的品質已經下降了一段時間。

This means reading is now a defiant act.

這意味著閱讀現在是一種挑釁行為。

Reading is a revolt against the forces from commerce to politics who thrive on keeping us in a partial state of attention.

閱讀是對從商業到政治的各種力量的反抗，這些力量以保持我們的部分注意力為樂。

A revolt against the forces who install that itchy feeling that makes you open an app, look at it, close it, and then open it again seconds later without thinking.

這是對那些製造癢癢感的勢力的反抗，這種癢癢感會讓你不假思索地打開一個應用程式，看看它，關閉它，幾秒鐘後又打開它。

We used to only do that with refrigerators.

我們以前只對冰箱這樣做。

Read Across America Day coincides with Dr. Seuss's birthday, though designed for children, the day does what most of Zeus's works do, remind adults of what is important in their lives of constant distraction.

全美閱讀日 "恰逢蘇斯博士的生日，雖然是為兒童設計的，但這一天也像宙斯的大多數作品一樣，提醒成年人在不斷分心的生活中，什麼才是最重要的。