Effective Reading Strategies for Better Comprehension

大学英语 阅读技巧苏永刚等

Basic Reading Skill One ---How to Read a Text It is advisable to read a comprehension passage at least twice: the first time , to obtain a general impression of the text, and then a second time to concentrate on the important details. Sometimes a third reading is necessary --- to check items that caused difficulty.

Basic Reading Skill Two ---Reading in Thought Groups Comprehension – understanding what you are reading – is important; but the speed with which you read is important, too. While making constant efforts to improve your reading comprehension, you should try consciously to increase your reading speed. And to read in thought groups is an easy, yet effective, way of picking up speed and fluency.

Take these two sentences: 1.The little boy Johnnie had been up with a packet of mints and said he would’t go out to play until the post had come. 2. From the second floor flat she could see the postman when he came down the street and the little boy from the ground floor brought up her letters on the rare occasions when anything came.

How to read them? A poor reader is apt to move his eyes from word to word while an efficient reader will move his eyes from words to words --- that is, from thought group to thought group:

Task 1 1.The little boy Johnnie— had been up — with a packet of mints — and said he would’t go out to play — until the post had come.

2. From the second floor flat — she could see the postman — when he came down the street — and the little boy from the ground floor — brought up her letters — on the rare occasions — when anything came. Task 2

Keep on practicing this skill until you can apply it automatically. Then you will be able to acquire sufficient speed to read fluently with good comprehension.

Basic Reading Skill Three---Using Context Clues for Word Meanings When you read a comprehension text, you will inevitably find some words you don’t know. Sometimes you take time out to look up a new word in the dictionary, but doing that too many times slows down your reading. In fact, you can often figure out meanings for new words or expressions without using the dictionary. Look at the context of each word or expression --- the sentence that the word or expression is in and the sentences that come before and after. It is usually possible to find hints or clues about its definition from the context.

For example: • All other birthdays are called sing li (born day). The sixty-first birthday is called huan gup (beginning of new life). • The harbor is protected by a jetty --- a wall built out into the water. • Jane is indecisive, that is, she can’t make up her mind.

Context Clue 2: Restatement More often, you may find a restatement, which tells you almost as much as a definition. Look at these examples:

He had a wan look. He was so pale and weak that we thought he was ill. • Carbon monoxide (CO)is noxious gas which can cause death. • I am a resolute man. Once I set up a goal, I won’t give it up easily.

Context Clue 3: General knowledge More often than not, the meaning of many words can be readily guessed if you use your own experience or general knowledge of the subject. Look at these examples:

a. The door was so low that I hit my head on the lintel. b. Mark got on the motorbike, I sat behind him on the pillion, and we roared off into the night. c. “We have found that no one in the freshman class can add, multiply, subtract or divide simple sums. … Therefore, we are setting up a special remedial arithmetic course, …

Context Clue 4: Related information Sometimes you can make an intelligent guess of the meaning of some new words or expressions if you put together related information from the surrounding text. Look at these examples:

“She went to school for 12 years and she cannot write a sentence?” Timken said. ”They made an illiterate out of my daughter!” • Timken was now angry … Once again he flew into a rage. • Just before the exam Carl’s hands shook and sweated so much that he could not hold a pen. His heart beat fast and his stomach ached, even though he knew the subject very well. He really had a strange phobia about taking tests.

Context Clue 5: Examples Examples can also give you some clues or hints to the meaning of unfamiliar words. Study the following sentences:

Select any of these periodicals: Time, Newsweek, Reader’s Digest or The New Yorker.(From the examples, you can easily figure out the meaning of the word “periodicals”) • She is studying glaucoma and other diseases of the eye.(This sentence does not tell you exactly what “Glaucoma” means, but it does tell you that it is a kind of eye disease.)

c. They had been putting in place the tools of my new business:currycomb, brush, pitchfork --- everything… (Using the clue “my new business” as well as the word part “-comb” you might figure out that “currycomb” most probably means “a tool used to comb a horse”.)

Context Clue 6: Comparison When compare things, we see how they are like each other. So comparisons in writing can give you clues to the meanings of unfamiliar words. Look at the following examples to see if you can get an idea of the meaning of each word.

The snow was falling. Big flakes drifted with the wind like feathers. • The hot-air balloon took off. It was as buoyant in the air as a cork (软木塞) in the water.

Context Clue 7: Contrast The use of a contrast can give you a hint to the meaning of an unfamiliar word. Sometimes a sentence tells you the opposite of what a new word means. Look at the following examples to see if you can get an idea of the meanings of the italicized words.

Jane was talking with others while Eliza remained reticent all the time . • Most of us agreed; however, Bill dissented. • Peter was not frugal since he spent money so freely.

Reading Comprehension By “reading comprehension”, we mean how well one can read. If a student is “good at reading comprehension,” then, he or she is able to read with a high degree of efficiency and obtain maximum information from a text with minimum misunderstanding. We are going to suggest ways you can improve your reading comprehension.

Skill: Reading Comprehension Skill I ---Reading for the Main Idea What is the most important element in any paragraph or passage? Without a doubt, it is the main idea or the central idea, which gives the paragraph or passage a purpose and direction. Naturally, the first step to improve your comprehension is to practice reading a bit faster for the main idea.

One hundred years ago, school teachers were expected to provide a variety of services in addition to their teaching duties and to behave themselves in an exemplary manner. They cared for the oil lamps, tended the fire, and supplied their students with sharp pencils. After a long day in the classroom, they were expected to spend some time every evening reading the Bible. Women teachers could not marry, and barber shops were off limits to men teacher. Of course, alcohol and tobacco were forbidden.

Which statement best expresses he main idea? • Teachers performed domestic tasks. • The teaching profession demanded total dedication • Teachers needed the guidance of religion • Teachers set good examples by not using tobacco and alcohol.

When you are reading paragraphs for the main idea, try to force yourself to read a bit faster than usual. By doing so, you will find it easier to concentrate on ideas and the relationships between ideas. The slow reader usually cares too much about individual words and thus may actually comprehend less than the quicker reader.

In reading paragraphs, you will inevitably come across some words you don’t understand. Don’t waste too much time worrying about them. Just continue your reading . The most important thing is to understand the material as a whole and one or two unknown words won’t make much difference.

Generally, in one-paragraph selection you read all the sentences to find the main idea, while in a longer passage you put together the main ideas of the various paragraphs to determine the overall main ideas.

To understand the main idea thoroughly, however, you must recognize the important facts or details which help develop or support it. These facts and details give you a deeper understanding of the main ideas. They may prove a point, show a relationship between ideas, or serve as examples to help you understand the main idea more fully.

Skill: Reading Comprehension Skill II ---Recognizing Important Facts or Details Here are some ways to help you recognize important facts or details. • Read for the main idea. If you identified the main idea, you can more easily recognize the important facts that support it. 2. Keep it in mind that not all facts or details are equally important. Look only for the facts related to the main idea.

3. To check on your understanding of the material you have read, review the facts or details which you have decided are the most important. Then consider if they support what you have identified as the main idea. If adding up the facts or details does not lead logically to the main idea, you have failed either to identify the main idea or to recognize the important supporting details.

Skill: Looking for the Topic Sentence More often than not, one sentence in a paragraph tells the reader exactly what the subject of the paragraph is and thus gives the main idea. The topic sentence states briefly an idea whose full meaning and significance are developed by the supporting details. It may appear at the beginning, or in the middle, or at the end of a paragraph.

Sample 1: London’s weather is very strange. It can rain several times a day; each time the rain may come suddenly after the sun is shining brightly. The air is damp and chill right through July. On one March afternoon on Hampton Health Heath last year it rained three times, there was one hail storm, and the sun shone brilliantly--- all this within two hours’ time. It is not unusual to see men and women rushing down the street on a sunny morning with umbrellas on their arms. No one knows what the next few moments will bring.

Sample 1: At the beginning The topic sentence in this paragraph is London’s weather is very strange. All the other sentences illustrate the main idea with supporting details.

Sample 2: Just as I settle down to read or watch television, he demands that I play with him. If I get a telephone call, he screams in the background or knocks something over. I always have to hang up to find out what’s wrong with him. Baby-sitting with my little brother is no fun. He refuses to let me eat a snack in peace. Usually he wants half of whatever I have to eat. Then, when he finally grows tired, it takes about an hour for him to fall asleep.

Sample 2: In the middle All the details in the paragraph are cited to support the main idea: Baby-sitting with my little brother is no fun.

Sample 3: Doctors are of the opinion that most people cannot live beyond 100 years, but a growing number of scientists believe that the aging process can be controlled. There are more than 12,000 Americans over 100 years old, and their numbers are increasing each year. Dr. James Langley of Chicago claims that, theoretically and under ideal conditions, animals, including man, can live six times longer than their normal period of growth. A person’s period of growth lasts about 25 years. If Dr. Langley’s theory is accurate, future generations can expect a life span of 150 years.

Sample 3: At the end Sometimes a writer wants to give strong emphasis to a topic sentence. He may place a topic sentence at both the beginning and end of a paragraph. This can tell a reader that the idea in this paragraph is more important than other ideas found in other paragraphs.

Sample 4: Good manners are important in all countries, but ways of expressing good manners are different from country to country. Americans eat with knives and forks; Japanese eat with chopsticks. Americans say “Hi” when they meet. Japanese bow. Many American men open doors for women; Japanese men do not. On the surface, it appears that good manners in America are not good manners in Japan, and in a way this is true.

Sample 4: But in any country, the only manners that are important are those involving one person’s behavior toward another person. In all countries it is good manners to behavior considerately toward others and bad manners not to. It is only the way of behaving politely that differs from country to country.

Sample 4: At both the beginning and end This paragraph begins with a topic sentence and ends with a restatement of the same topic sentence.

Skill: Reading Attack Skill IUsing Word Part Clues for Word Meanings 1. Dividing Compound Words An unknown word may be a compound word, that is, a word made up of two or more words. By dividing the word into small units, you may get a clue to its meaning. For example: Background, babysitter, runaway, skyscraper , newspaper, southwest

2. Recognizing Prefixes A prefix a word or syllable put at the beginning of a word to change its meaning or add to its meaning. By recognizing prefixes, you will be able to learn many new words. Here are some of the prefixes you already know:

/ PrefixMeaning Example in- not indirect inaccurate inability im-(b,m,p前)not immoral impatient im-(b,m,p前)in towards imbed:embed immigrate --- emigrate immigrant---emigrant il- (l前) not illiterate illegal illogic ir- (r前) not irrational irregular irreflexive irreal un- not unreasonable undo: untie dis- not dishonest dislike disability non- not non-cooperation, non-alcoholic mis- bad(ly) wrong(ly) misunderstand, mistake mal- bad(ly) maladapt, maladminister

PrefixMeaning Example over- to an excessive degree overflow under- not enough underdeveloped sub- 1.under or beneath subway submarine 2.subordinate, secondary subplot subtitle 3.subdivision subregion subbranch pre- before preschool preview post- after postwar post-paid post-modern co- with or together cooperate co-owner ex- former ex-convict ex-president bi- two or twice biweekly bilingual bicentennial

Suffixes 1. Verb suffixes: -fy pure-purify -ize modernize realize nationalize -en shorten widen broaden blacken -ate accumulate formulate -ute calculate attribute distribute contribute

2. Noun suffixes -hood neighborhood -ship friendship -dom freedom -al removal -age postage -ance assistance -ence difference 名词后缀还有：-er，-ar，-or，-ent，-an，-ist，-tion，-ment，-ing，-ness，-ity，-ocracy，-ty -ful……

3. Adjective Suffixes -ish girlish childish -like catlike childlike -some tiresome -worthy praiseworthy -ive active -ly weekly yearly 形容词后缀还有：-ful，-y，-al，-ic，-ous……

Effective Reading Strategies for Better Comprehension

Effective Reading Strategies for Better Comprehension

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