One day, a college student was taking a walk with a professor. As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes. They supposed the shoes belonged to a poor man who was employed in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day's work.
The student turned to the professor, saying, "Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and hide ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his confusion when he cannot find them."
"My young friend," answered the professor, "we should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by tricking on the poor man. Put a coin into each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the discovery affects him. "
The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. After he slipped his foot into one of his shoes, he felt something hard. He bent down to feel what it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen on his face.
He fixed his eyes on the coin, turned it round, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and continued to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin. His feelings overcame him. He fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and cried a sincere thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom the timely help, from some unknown hand, would save from dying.
The student stood there, deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears. "Now," said the professor," are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?" The youth replied," You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. "
To become a flexible reader, you need to know how to select and use a reading style that is consistent with your purpose reading. Each has its own purpose. Read to earn about the three reading styles used by flexible readers.
The purpose of this reading style is to read difficult material at a high level of comprehension (理解). When using the study reading style, you should read at a rate that is slower than your normal reading rate. Sometimes, reading the material aloud will also keep you improve your comprehension.
The second reading style is skimming. The purpose of this reading style is to quickly get a general idea about the reading material. When using the skimming style, you should identify the main ideas in each paragraph and ignore the details in supportive sentences.
The third reading style is scanning. The purpose of this reading style is to quickly locate a specific piece of information within reading material. Since you know exactly what you are looking for, move your eyes quickly over the reading material until you locate the specific piece of information you need to find.
Before you begin your next reading assignment, identify your purpose of reading. Decide if you are reading for a high level of comprehension, trying to get a general idea about what you are reading, or looking for specific information.
A. Study reading is the reading style used by flexible readers.
B. Your reading purpose plays an important role in your reading.
C. There are three important reading styles you should learn to use.
D. Then use the reading style that is appropriate for your reading purpose.
E. The skimming style is most useful when you have to read a lot of material quickly.
F. If you want to find the topic sentence in a passage, the skimming style is your choice.
G. The information to be located may be contained in any place of the reading material.
