Reading is a good habit, but the problem is, there's too much to read these days, and too little time to read every word of it. There are hundreds of skills to help you read more in less time. Here are two skills that I think are especially good.
Preview--if it's long and hard. Previewing is especially useful for getting a general idea of heavy reading like long magazine articles and business reports.
Here's how to preview.
●Read the first two paragraphs and the last two paragraphs carefully.
●Then read only the first sentence of the other paragraphs.
Previewing doesn't give you all the details. It keeps you from spending time on things you don't really want--or need--to read.
Skim--if it's short and simple. Skimming is a good way to get a general idea of light reading --like popular magazines or the sports and entertainment of your daily paper.
Here's how to skim.
●Get your eyes to move fast. Sweep them across each line.
●Pick up only a few key words in each line.
Everybody skims differently. You and I may not pick up the same words when we skim the same piece, but we'll get a similar idea of what it's all about.
【小题1】How many skills are recommended in this passage?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

【小题2】What does the underlined word "preview" mean in Chinese?

A．精读

B．默读

C．朗读

D．略读

【小题3】What should we NOT do when we read sports news in a daily paper according to the passage?

A．Read the last two paragraphs carefully.	B．Get our eyes to move fast.
C．Sweep our eyes across each line.	D．Pick up only a few key words in each line.

【小题4】 What is the best title for this passage?

A．How to read faster

B．What to read

C．When to read

D．Why we should read

Born into a farmer’s family, life was not easy when I was a kid. We were so poor that we often did not know where our next meal was coming from. I had to sell cabbages at the marketplace to support my family.

A storyteller once came to the marketplace, and I went to listen to him. My mother was unhappy with me for forgetting my job. But that night, while she was making clothes for us under the weak light of an oil lamp, I couldn't help retelling stories I'd heard that day. She listened impatiently at first, since in her eyes professional（职业的） storytellers were smooth-talking men—nothing good ever came out of their mouths. But slowly she was attracted by my retold stories, and from that day on, she never gave me any task on market days, unspoken agreement to enjoy new stories. As a repayment（回报）for Mother's kindness and a way to show off my memory, I'd retell the stories for her in lively detail. Soon, she wasn't the only member of my audience, which later included my elder sisters, my aunts, even my stubborn grandmother.

I knew she was worried about me. Talkative kids are not well thought of in our village, for they can bring trouble to themselves and to their families when they talk too much. Mother often reminded me not to talk so much, wanting me to be a silent and modest teenager. However, my natural desire（渴望）to talk never went away, and that is what makes my name – Mo Yan, which means ‘no speaking’. This strong wish to talk also improved my ability to express myself, which is important for writers who are also considered as storytellers.

1.Mo Yan lived a/an ________ life when he was young.

A．hard             B．colourful          C．easy             D．rich

2.From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.

A．little Mo Yan was interested in selling vegetables

B．his mother was attracted by the retold story at first

C．his mother didn’t let him listen to the new stories again

D．little Mo Yan had quite a good memory

3.Why did his mother dislike the professional storytellers?

A．Because she thought they never said anything good.

B．Because she thought they couldn’t make much money.

C．Because she thought they would affect Mo Yan’s schoolwork.

D．Because she thought most people didn’t like listening to stories.

4.In Mo Yan’s opinion, a writer should be a ________ child when they were young.

A．silent             B．modest           C．talkative          D．trouble-making

5.Which is the best title（标题）of the passage?

A．My Unlucky Childhood                   B．A Storyteller’s Childhood

C．My Kind Grandmother                    D．More talking leads to success

 

 
Born into a farmer’s family, life was not easy when I was a kid. We were so poor that we often did not know where our next meal was coming from. I had to sell cabbages at the marketplace to support my family.
A storyteller once came to the marketplace, and I went to listen to him. My mother was unhappy with me for forgetting my job. But that night, while she was making clothes for us under the weak light of an oil lamp, I couldn't help retelling stories I'd heard that day. She listened impatiently at first, since in her eyes professional（职业的） storytellers were smooth-talking men—nothing good ever came out of their mouths. But slowly she was attracted by my retold stories, and from that day on, she never gave me any task on market days, unspoken agreement to enjoy new stories. As a repayment（回报）for Mother's kindness and a way to show off my memory, I'd retell the stories for her in lively detail. Soon, she wasn't the only member of my audience, which later included my elder sisters, my aunts, even my stubborn grandmother.
I knew she was worried about me. Talkative kids are not well thought of in our village, for they can bring trouble to themselves and to their families when they talk too much. Mother often reminded me not to talk so much, wanting me to be a silent and modest teenager. However, my natural desire（渴望）to talk never went away, and that is what makes my name – Mo Yan, which means ‘no speaking’. This strong wish to talk also improved my ability to express myself, which is important for writers who are also considered as storytellers.
【小题1】Mo Yan lived a/an ________ life when he was young.

A．hard

B．colourful

C．easy

D．rich

【小题2】From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________

A．little Mo Yan was interested in selling vegetables

B．his mother was attracted by the retold story at first

C．his mother didn’t let him listen to the new stories again

D．little Mo Yan had quite a good memory

【小题3】Why did his mother dislike the professional storytellers?

A．Because she thought they never said anything good.

B．Because she thought they couldn’t make much money.

C．Because she thought they would affect Mo Yan’s schoolwork.

D．Because she thought most people didn’t like listening to stories.

【小题4】In Mo Yan’s opinion, a writer should be a ________ child when they were young.

A．silent

B．modest

C．talkative

D．trouble-making

【小题5】Which is the best title（标题）of the passage?

A．My Unlucky Childhood	B．A Storyteller’s Childhood
C．My Kind Grandmother	D．More talking leads to success

Born into a farmer’s family, life was not easy when I was a kid. We were so poor that we often did not know where our next meal was coming from. I had to sell cabbages at the marketplace to support my family.
A storyteller once came to the marketplace, and I went to listen to him. My mother was unhappy with me for forgetting my job. But that night, while she was making clothes for us under the weak light of an oil lamp, I couldn't help retelling stories I'd heard that day. She listened impatiently at first, since in her eyes professional（职业的） storytellers were smooth-talking men—nothing good ever came out of their mouths. But slowly she was attracted by my retold stories, and from that day on, she never gave me any task on market days, unspoken agreement to enjoy new stories. As a repayment（回报）for Mother's kindness and a way to show off my memory, I'd retell the stories for her in lively detail. Soon, she wasn't the only member of my audience, which later included my elder sisters, my aunts, even my stubborn grandmother.
I knew she was worried about me. Talkative kids are not well thought of in our village, for they can bring trouble to themselves and to their families when they talk too much. Mother often reminded me not to talk so much, wanting me to be a silent and modest teenager. However, my natural desire（渴望）to talk never went away, and that is what makes my name – Mo Yan, which means ‘no speaking’. This strong wish to talk also improved my ability to express myself, which is important for writers who are also considered as storytellers.
【小题1】Mo Yan lived a/an ________ life when he was young.

A．hard

B．colourful

C．easy

D．rich

【小题2】From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.

A．little Mo Yan was interested in selling vegetables

B．his mother was attracted by the retold story at first

C．his mother didn’t let him listen to the new stories again

D．little Mo Yan had quite a good memory

【小题3】Why did his mother dislike the professional storytellers?

A．Because she thought they never said anything good.

B．Because she thought they couldn’t make much money.

C．Because she thought they would affect Mo Yan’s schoolwork.

D．Because she thought most people didn’t like listening to stories.

【小题4】In Mo Yan’s opinion, a writer should be a ________ child when they were young.

A．silent

B．modest

C．talkative

D．trouble-making

【小题5】Which is the best title（标题）of the passage?

A．My Unlucky Childhood	B．A Storyteller’s Childhood
C．My Kind Grandmother	D．More talking leads to success

 

Born into a farmer’s family, life was not easy when I was a kid. We were so poor that we often did not know where our next meal was coming from. I had to sell cabbages at the marketplace to support my family.

A storyteller once came to the marketplace, and I went to listen to him. My mother was unhappy with me for forgetting my job. But that night, while she was making clothes for us under the weak light of an oil lamp, I couldn't help retelling stories I'd heard that day. She listened impatiently at first, since in her eyes professional（职业的） storytellers were smooth-talking men—nothing good ever came out of their mouths. But slowly she was attracted by my retold stories, and from that day on, she never gave me any task on market days, unspoken agreement to enjoy new stories. As a repayment（回报）for Mother's kindness and a way to show off my memory, I'd retell the stories for her in lively detail. Soon, she wasn't the only member of my audience, which later included my elder sisters, my aunts, even my stubborn grandmother.

I knew she was worried about me. Talkative kids are not well thought of in our village, for they can bring trouble to themselves and to their families when they talk too much. Mother often reminded me not to talk so much, wanting me to be a silent and modest teenager. However, my natural desire（渴望）to talk never went away, and that is what makes my name – Mo Yan, which means ‘no speaking’. This strong wish to talk also improved my ability to express myself, which is important for writers who are also considered as storytellers.

1.Mo Yan lived a/an ________ life when he was young.

A．hard             B．colourful          C．easy             D．rich

2.From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________

A．little Mo Yan was interested in selling vegetables

B．his mother was attracted by the retold story at first

C．his mother didn’t let him listen to the new stories again

D．little Mo Yan had quite a good memory

3.Why did his mother dislike the professional storytellers?

A．Because she thought they never said anything good.

B．Because she thought they couldn’t make much money.

C．Because she thought they would affect Mo Yan’s schoolwork.

D．Because she thought most people didn’t like listening to stories.

4.In Mo Yan’s opinion, a writer should be a ________ child when they were young.

A．silent             B．modest           C．talkative          D．trouble-making

5.Which is the best title（标题）of the passage?

A．My Unlucky Childhood                   B．A Storyteller’s Childhood

C．My Kind Grandmother                    D．More talking leads to success