电子课文 Unit 4 How to Become a Successful Reader

Unit 4 Learning efficientlyPre-reading1 Before you read the passage, think about the techniques you use when you read different kinds of text in Chinese. The following questions will help you to focus. What is the first thing you do when you are given a text to read? Do you start at the beginning and continue reading to the end or do you do other things first, such as looking at the title and any headings, looking at any pictures or diagrams, reading the conclusion or introduction? Why do you read in the way you do? When you start reading the text in detail do you think about the content? For example, do you think about whether you agree with the text or not, whether the information is interesting, what further information you would like to know, etc. Suppose you were on holiday and you had a really good novel that you had been looking forward to reading. Would you read it quickly or slowly? Would you stop sometimes to think about what you have read? Would you talk to others about what you are reading? Suppose your teacher asked you to find out about the planet Mars, such as size, temperature and distance from the earth. You have found a book on the solar system. Would you read the whole book or just the part about Mars? Would you read every word or just skim it looking for key words like degrees Centigrade, kilometres and diameter? Do you read the newspaper in the same way as you read a novel? Do you read a recipe and a cookbook in the same way? Supposing you had just bought a new DVD player. Would you read the instruction booklet from beginning to end or would you look at the contents page and then read only what you needed to know?2 Read the first question in Comprehending and look at the title of the reading passage and the pictures. Discuss with a partner what you think the text will say about reading.ReadingHOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL READER1 _Most people agree that the best way to improve your skills in any endeavour is to practise, practise and then practise some more. This applies equally to playing sports or becoming a good musician, painter or doctor. Of course, natural talent also plays a part in high achievement, but learning the correct techniques and then practising them will improve anyones performance. 2 _The same principle applies to competent readers. There are certain techniques you can learn and then it is up to you to practise, practise and practise. The texts you choose to practise with should not be too difficult or you will soon get frustrated and bored. One way to test whether a text is at the right level is to read the first page. If the percentage of new words is higher than 3%, you will not be able to read the text easily and so will probably not enjoy it.Reading will also be more enjoyable if the subject interests you or you believe it is useful. For example, suppose in biology you were studying how plants reproduce, then you could find an English text about this on the Internet. That way you would be practising reading in English as well as studying biology.3 _If you wanted to become a champion high jumper but your jumping technique was all wrong, even if you practised for a long time, you would probably never become really good at it. It is the same with reading. Some methods of reading are more efficient than others, so it is a good idea to use the same techniques as good readers do. Some of the techniques of good readers are discussed below. a _It is much easier to understand a text if you already know something about the subject or the organization of the text before you start. This is why there are pre-reading activities before many of the reading texts in this book. Some pre-reading activities ask you to recall your knowledge about the subject, some teach you a few of the new words you will find in the text, some ask you to glance at the way the text is organized. When there are no pre-reading questions, a good reader asks himself or herself pre-reading questions such as: What is the title of this text? What do the sub-headings / pictures / diagrams / captions tell me about the text? What is the text going to be about? What do I already know about this topic?b _While reading, a good reader thinks about the content and asks questions or makes comments in his or her head. For example: Thats interesting / important! I didnt know that! What does that mean? I dont agree with that. Yes, I read the same thing in another book. I wonder what the author will say next.c _Think about the way you read different types of text in your own language. As Francis Bacon once said, “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” For some purposes you need to read every word of the text. For other tasks such as finding certain facts you can read much faster, slowing down to read more carefully only when you see a sentence that might be relevant to your task. You will read more efficiently if you keep in mind the purpose for your reading and then read in a way that will best help you to achieve this purpose.d _Read the sentences in the box below and then see how many of the questions beneath the sentences you can answer. At this stage, do not look up the unknown words or phrases. Tom picked a tamarillo from the tree, cut it in half and scooped out the pulp. He tasted it,and found it was delicious.1 Does Tom like tamarillos?2 Do you have to cook tamarillos before you eat them?3 What kind of food is a tamarill