Words&Phrases

1.Pigeonhole

A pigeonhole is one of the sections in a frame on a wall where letters and messages can be left for someone, or one of the sections in a writing desk where you can keep documents.

E.g.What pigeonhole that already contains other books does this one belong in?

2.Thumb through

If you thumb through something such as a book or magazine, you turn the pages quickly rather than reading each page carefully.

E.g. he had the drawer open and was thumbing through the files.

3.Provocative

If you describe something as provocative, you mean that it is intended to make people react angrily or argue against it.

E.g. he has made a string of outspoken and sometimes provocative speeches in recent years.

4.astounding

If something is astounding, you are shocked or amazed that it could exist or happen.

E.g. the mind, that astounding instrument, can grasp a sentence or even a paragraph at a “glance”—if only the eyes will provide it with the information it needs. 

5.dubious

If you describe something as dubious, you mean that you do not consider it to be completely honest, safe, or reliable.

E.g. Great speed in reading is a dubious achievement; it is of value only if what you have to read is not really worth reading.（To be honest, I am so amazed by this sentence!）

Summary

1. Inspectional Reading I: Systematic Skimming or Pre-reading

-LOOK AT THE TITLE PAGE AND, IF THE BOOK HAS ONE, AT ITS PREFACE.

-STUDY THE TABLE OF CONTENTS to obtain a general sense of the book’s structure; use it as you would a road map before taking a trip. 

-CHECK THE INDEX if the book has one—most expository works do. 

-If the book is a new one with a dust jacket, READ THE PUBLISHER’S BLURB. 

-From your general and still rather vague knowledge of the book’s contents, LOOK NOW AT THE CHAPTERS THAT SEEM TO BE PIVOTAL TO ITS ARGUMENT. If these chapters have summary statements in their opening or closing pages, as they often do, read these statements carefully.

-Finally, TURN THE PAGES, DIPPING IN HERE AND THERE, READING A PARAGRAPH OR TWO, SOMETIMES SEVERAL PAGES IN SEQUENCE, NEVER MORE THAN THAT.

2.Inspectional Reading II: Superficial Reading

-In tackling a difficult book for the first time, read it through without ever stopping to look-up or ponder the things you do not understand right away.

-A good speed reading course should therefore teach you to read at many different speeds, not just one speed that is faster than anything you can manage now.

-With regard to rates of reading, then, the ideal is not merely to be able to read faster, but to be able to read at different speeds— and to know when the different speeds are appropriate.

-Place your thumb and first two fingers together. Sweep this “pointer” across a line of type, a little faster than it is comfortable for your eyes to move. 

Reflection

This chapter covers two important skills of inspectional reading: pre-reading and superficial reading. However, the author uses so many words talking about reading speed, which, I believe, are the real key words of this chapter. Reading speed has always been a perplexing issue for me. On one hand, I want to make the most out of my time; on the other, I easily get lost in the word jungle when I speed up. As the author clearly claimed in this chapter, a good speed reading is to read at many different speeds, which means readers should always be alert of the necessity of slowing down to process key information. Once they get the clue, they speed up looking for the next one. I like the analogy of detective because it vividly demonstrates the relationship between readers and books. Apparently, this is what the author means by active reading. When I look back, I realize that the mistake I made on speed reading was that I only tried to read as fast as possible, and seldom slowed down for the crucial clues.