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As we said at the beginning, we will be principally concerned in these pages with the development of skill in reading books; but the rules of reading that, if followed and practiced, develop such skill can be applied also to printed material in general, to any type of reading matter—to newspapers,magazines, pamphlets, articles, tracts, even advertisements.
vocabulary
1.principally adv. mainly
The money is principally invsted in stocks and shares
2.pamphlet [ˈpæmflɪt] n. 小册子
a political pamphlet
3.tract n. 短文 小册子 （尤指道德或宗教题材）
a tract on the dangers of drink
phrase
reading matter 读物 =reading material
Since reading of any sort is an activity, all reading must to some degree be active. Completely passive reading is impossible; we cannot read with our eyes immobilized and our minds asleep. Hence when we contrast active with passive reading, our purpose is, first, to call attention to the fact that reading can be more or less active, and second, to point out that the more active the reading the better. One reader is better than another in proportion as he is capable of a greater range of activity in reading and exerts more effort. He is better if he demands more of himself and of the text before him.
vocabulary
1.active adj.起作用的
The virus is active even at low temperatures.
2.immobilized v.使不动;使停止
To immobilize something or someone means to stop them from moving or operating.
3.hence adv. 因此 由此 所以
The cost of transport is a major expense for an industry.Hence factory location is an important cosideration
4.in proportion as adv. 按…比例，依…程度而变
And, in proportion as labor diminishes, needs increase.
5.excert [ɪgˈzɜ:rt] vt. 发挥 运用 使受影响 用力
He exerted considerable influence on the thinking of the scientific community on these issues
phrase
1.more or less 多多少少 差不多
Though, strictly speaking, there can be no absolutely passive reading, many people think that, as compared with writing and speaking, which are obviously active undertakings, reading and listening are entirely passive. The writer or speaker must put out some effort, but no work need be done by the reader or listener. Reading and listening are thought of as receiving communication from someone who is actively engaged in giving or sending it. The mistake here is to suppose that receiving communication is like receiving a* blow *or a legacy or a judgment from the court. On the contrary, the reader or listener is much more like the catcher in a game of baseball.
vocabulary
1.undertaking n.重要的任务 事业
Starting a new business can be a risky undertaking.
2.legacy [ˈlɛɡəsi] n.遗产; 遗赠
You could make a real difference to someone's life by leaving them a generous legacy.
3.court n. 法庭
4.blow n.重击
phrase
1.be engaged in 静心于
Catching the ball is just as much an activity as pitching or hitting it. The pitcher or batter is the sender in the sense that his activity initiates the motion of the ball. Both are active, though the activities are different. If anything is passive, it is the ball. It is the inert thing that is put in motion or stopped, whereas the players are active, moving to pitch, hit, or catch.The analogy with writing and reading is almost perfect. The thing that is written and read, like the ball, is the passive object common to the two activities that begin and terminate the process.
vocabulary
1.pitch v.扔
2.batter n. 击球手
3.initiate vt.开始，发起; 传授; 创始
They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics
4.inert [ɪˈnɜ:rt] adj. 迟钝的; 不活泼的
He covered the inert body with a blanket.
5.whereas [ˌwerˈæz] conj.然而; 鉴于; 反之;
Pensions are linked to inflation, whereas they should be linked to the cost of living
6.analogy [əˈnælədʒi] n. 类推; 类似
7.terminate [ˈtɜ:rmɪneɪt] vt.结束;
Her next remark abruptly terminated the conversation
phrase
in the sense that 就···意义而言
It is a closed society in the sense that they've not been exposed to many things.
put in motion 带动
We can take this analogy a step further. The art of catching is the skill of catching every kind of pitch—fast balls and curves, changeups and knucklers. Similarly, the art of reading is the skill of catching every sort of communication as well as possible.
vocabulary
1.curve [kɜ:rv] n.弯曲物
Her spine curved
2.changeup 变速球
3.knuckler ['nʌklə] 慢速变化球
It is noteworthy that the pitcher and catcher are successful only to the extent that they cooperate. The relation of writer and reader is similar. The writer isn’t trying not to be caught, although it sometimes seems so. Successful communication occurs in any case where what the writer wanted to have received finds its way into the reader’s possession. The writer’s skill and the reader’s skill converge upon a common end.
vocabulary
1.noteworthy adj. 值得注意的，显著的，重要的;
It is noteworthy that the programme has been shifted from its original August slot to July
2.converge v. 汇合 汇集
Their views are beginning to converge.
There is one respect in which the analogy breaks down. The ball is a simple unit. It is either completely caught or not. A piece of writing, however,is a complex object. It can be received more or less completely, all the way from very little of what the writer intended to the whole of it. The amount the reader “catches” will usually depend on the amount of activity he puts into the process, as well as upon the skill with which he executes the different mental acts involved.
vocabulary
1.unit n.个体
2.execute [ˈɛksɪˌkjut] vt. 执行; 完成
We are going to execute our campaign plan to the letter.
What does active reading entail? We will return to this question many times in this book. For the moment, it suffices to say that, given the samething to read, one person reads it better than another, first, by reading it more actively, and second, by performing each of the acts involved more skillfully. These two things are related. Reading is a complex activity, just as writing is. It consists of a large number of separate acts, all of which must be performed in a good reading. The person who can perform more of them is better able to read.
vocabulary
1.entail vt. 需要;牵涉 need involve
*Such a decision would entail a huge political risk *
2.perform （熟词生义） 表现的 好或差
perform well/badly
it suffices to say that 足可以说
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