Spoilers actually enhance your enjoyment
I am one of those people who can’t read a book without flicking to the end to check what’s going to happen. It turns out that, actually, I am very (1)___________ (WISDOM). Psychologists at the University of California in San Diego gave students 12 short stories, by authors (2)____________ (INCLUDE) Agatha Christie and Roald Dahl. Some stories were in their original form and others had spoiler paragraphs added at the beginning. And do you know what? The readers of ‘spoiled’ stories actually had more fun.
According to the psychologists who carried out the research, ‘students (3)_____________ (SIGNIFY) preferred the spoiled versions of the stories. For instance, knowing in advance in an Agatha Christie story that Poirot will discover that the ‘victim’ of the attempted murder is, in fact, the real murderer, not only didn’t hurt the (4)______________ (ENJOY) of the story, but actually improved it.’
As a huge reader of crime and thrillers, this (5)___________ (DEFINITE) rings true for me. When I’m reading horror novels, I need to check the hero or heroine is still alive at the end of the book. And I usually take a (6)___________ (SNEAK) look at the end of a romantic novel, just to make sure who is going to end up with whom. ‘It could be,’ says psychologist Jonathan Leavitt, ‘that once you know how the story turns out, you’re more comfortable processing the information and can focus on a deeper (7)_______________ (UNDERSTAND) of the story.’
I will also admit that, even when I know full well what is going to happen in a book, either because I’ve read it a million times before, or because I’ve read the end, I often find myself hoping that, this time, it’s going to be different, that the sad (8)__________ (END) will turn into a happy one! Adapted from The Guardian
KEY
1. wise
2. including
3. significantly
4. enjoyment
5. definitely
6. sneaky
7. understanding
8. ending
