大学英语IV

汪丽萍

目录

  • 1 必须了解的
    • 1.1 课程大纲、进度计划
    • 1.2 四级真题解析课件
  • 2 unit 1 Urban development
    • 2.1 lead-in, background
    • 2.2 text analysis, critical thinking
    • 2.3 reading skill and writing skill
    • 2.4 language focus and language appreciation
  • 3 unit 2 Secrets to beauty
    • 3.1 lead-in, background
    • 3.2 text analysis, critical thinking
    • 3.3 reading skill and writing skill
    • 3.4 language focus and language appreciation
    • 3.5 Chinese Wisdom
  • 4 unit 3 Being entrepreneurial
    • 4.1 lead-in, background
    • 4.2 text analysis, critical thinking
    • 4.3 reading skill and writing skill
    • 4.4 language focus and language appreciation
    • 4.5 Chinese Wisdom
  • 5 unit 4 Why culture counts
    • 5.1 lead-in, background
    • 5.2 text analysis, critical thinking
    • 5.3 reading skill and writing skill
    • 5.4 language focus and language appreciation
    • 5.5 Chinese Wisdom
  • 6 unit 5 Gender equality
    • 6.1 lead-in, background
    • 6.2 text analysis, critical thinking
    • 6.3 reading skill and writing skill
    • 6.4 language focus and language appreciation
    • 6.5 Chinese Wisdom
  • 7 unit 6 Energy and food crisis
    • 7.1 lead-in, background
    • 7.2 text analysis, critical thinking
    • 7.3 reading skill and writing skill
    • 7.4 language focus and language appreciation
    • 7.5 Chinese Wisdom
  • 8 unit 7 Passion guides life choices
    • 8.1 lead-in, background
    • 8.2 text analysis, critical thinking
    • 8.3 reading skill and writing skill
    • 8.4 language focus and language appreciation
    • 8.5 Chinese Wisdom
reading skill and writing skill
  • 1 Reading skill
  • 2 writing skill

reading skill——Skimming

Step 1：Get a basic knowledge of skimming.

1. To skim milk, you take the cream, the richest part, off the top of the bottle. To skim reading material, you extract the important parts – the main part and the significant details. But you have to extract these where you find them, which are not necessarily at the top.

2. Skimming is a method of rapidly moving the eyes over a  text with the purpose of getting the main idea or a general overview of its content. For example, many people skim read a newspaper article just to get a quick overview, or a text to see whether it’s worth reading in detail. The key word for skimming is “general”. Unlike scanning, which involves searching for details or isolated facts, skimming requires the reader to focus only on the topic, the main idea or the main points.


Step 2：Discuss in groups and answer the following questions.


Which parts are important for skimming a passage?

Which parts are important for skimming a paragraph?


Always remember that skimming is the quick reading for general ideas.


Step 3：Skim read the passage and find out the main idea with the help of signal words.

  College differs from high school in several important ways. In the first place, a college student generally does not attend classes in a course every day of the week but rather two or three times a week. In the second place, in college more information is presented in a shorter length of time. For example, a high school English course may be a year-long course whereas a college English course may be only one semester long. Finally, a college student is expected to do most of his learning on his own outside of class; he is expected to be an independent learner.


Step 4：Skim read the following passage and find out the clues that have helped you skim read it.

One major source of information in a college course is the instructor. Through lecture the instructor will give the students much of the information the student is expected to learn for the course. Of course, the textbook is another major source of information. The student should complete all reading assignments as they are made and not wait until immediately before a test to do the reading. Some students do not realize the importance of class discussion as a major source of information in the college classroom. In a class discussion, the instructor will often elicit (draw out) from students points that are important to learn. A final source of information is the supplement material that the instructor may make available. Supplemental materials might include handouts, duplicated materials, and books or articles placed on reserve in the library or listed on the course outline as suggested but not required reading. In summary, there are four major sources of information for a college course.


Step 5：Discuss in groups and answer the following questions.

How to skim long passages? Which parts should be paid more attention to?


Step 6：Skim read the passage and find out the key information.
        Most people in the US speak only one language: English. They do not learn to speak a second language. High schools teach foreign languages. But very few students learn to speak well. Why don’t Americans speak other languages?
        First, most Americans never travel to other countries. The US is a very large country. Americans can travel a long distance and not leave the US. They do not need to learn a second language.

 Second, one of the countries next to the US is Canada. Most people in Canada speak English. Some Americans live near Canada. They travel there often. But they do not have to learn a new language.
        Third, many people in other parts of the world speak English. If Americans travel to other countries, they can speak English there too.
        Some Americans think that it is a mistake to speak only English. They believe it is very important to learn a second language. Maybe someday other Americans will agree. Then more people will speak a second language in the US.

Note:

It is important to note a basic difference between skimming and normal reading. While skimming leaves out some parts of the reading material, the reader would usually omit no part at all in normal reading.

Skimming speed should be twice as fast as the normal reading speed.