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略读 & 扫描

Skimming and scanning are reading techniques that use rapid eye movement and 关键字 to move quickly through text for slightly different purposes. Skimming is reading rapidly in order to get a general overview of the material. Scanning is reading rapidly in order to find specific facts. While skimming tells you what general information is within a section, scanning helps you locate a particular fact. Skimming is like snorkeling, and scanning is more like pearl diving.

Use skimming in previewing (reading before you read), 复习(读完后再读), determining the main idea from a long selection you don't wish to read, or when trying to find source material for a research paper.

Use scanning in research to find particular facts, 学习重事实的话题, and to answer questions requiring factual support.

略读以节省时间
Skimming can save you hours of laborious reading. However, it is not always the most appropriate way to read. It is very useful as a preview to a more detailed reading or when reviewing a selection heavy in content. 但是当你浏览, you may miss important points or overlook the finer shadings of meaning, for which rapid reading or perhaps even study reading may be necessary.

Use skimming to overview your textbook chapters or to review for a test. Use skimming to decide if you need to read something at all, 例如 during the preliminary research for a paper. Skimming can tell you enough about the general idea and tone of the material, as well as its gross similarity or difference from other sources, to know if you need to read it at all.

To skim, prepare yourself to move rapidly through the pages. You will not read every word; you will pay special attention to typographical cues-headings, 黑体和斜体, 缩进, 项目符号和编号列表. You will be alert for key words and phrases, 人名和地名, 日期, 名词, 不熟悉的单词. 一般来说，请遵循以下步骤:

1. 读了 目录表 or 章概述 to learn the main divisions of ideas.
2. Glance through the main headings in each chapter just to see a word or two. 读了 图表和表格的标题.
3. 阅读全文 介绍性的段落 然后是 第一句和最后一句 只适用于以下每一段. For each paragraph, read only the first few words of each sentence or to locate the main idea.
4. Stop and quickly read the sentences containing 关键字 用黑体字或斜体字表示.
5. When you think you have found something significant, stop to read the entire sentence to make sure. 然后走同样的路. Resist the temptation to stop to read details you don't need.
6. 读 章总结 当提供.

If you cannot complete all the steps above, compromise: read only the 章概述s and summaries, 例如, or the summaries and all the boldfaced 关键字. When you skim, you take a calculated risk that you may miss something. 例如, the main ideas of paragraphs are not always found in the first or last sentences (although in many textbooks they are). Ideas you miss you may pick up in a 章概述 or summary.

Good skimmers do not skim everything at the same rate or give equal attention to everything. While skimming is always faster than your normal reading speed, you should slow down in the following situations:

• When you skim introductory and concluding paragraphs
• 当你略读主题句时
• 当你发现一个不熟悉的单词时
• When the material is very complicated

扫描研究和学习
Scanning, too, uses 关键字 and organizational cues. But while the goal of skimming is a bird's-eye view of the material, the goal of scanning is to locate and swoop down on particular facts.

Facts may be buried within long text passages that have relatively little else to do with your topic or claim. Skim this material first to decide if it is likely to contain the facts you need. Don't forget to scan tables of contents, summaries, indexes, headings, and typographical cues. 来理解列表和表格, skim them first to understand how they are organized: alphabetical, 按时间顺序排列, 或者多到少, 例如. If after skimming you decide the material will be useful, go ahead and scan:

1. 知道你在寻找什么. Decide on a few key words or phrases–search terms, if you will. You will be a flesh-and-blood search engine.
2. Look for only one keyword at a time. If you use multiple 关键字, do multiple scans.
3. Let your eyes float rapidly down the page until you find the word or phrase you want.
4. When your eye catches one of your 关键字, read the surrounding material carefully.

扫描回答问题
If you are scanning for facts to answer a specific question, one step is already done for you: the question itself supplies the 关键字. 遵循以下步骤:

1. 读 each question completely before starting to scan. Choose your 关键字 from the question itself.
2. Look for answers to only one question at a time. 每个问题分开扫描.
3. When you locate a keyword, read the surrounding text carefully to see if it is relevant.
4. Re-read the question to determine if the answer you found answers this question.

Scanning is a technique that requires concentration and can be surprisingly tiring. You may have to practice at not allowing your attention to wander. Choose a time and place that you know works for you and dive in.