When I was a child, I must have read every comic book1 ever published. (There were fewer of them then than there are now.)
I zipped through2 all of them in a couple of days, then reread the good ones until the next issues arrived.
Yes indeed, when I was a kid, the reading game was a snap3.
But as I got older, my eyeballs must have slowed down or something! I mean, comic books started to pile up faster than my brother Russell and I could read them! It wasn't until much later, when I was getting my doctorate4, I realized it wasn't my eyeballs that were to blame. Thank goodness. They're still moving as well as ever.
The problem is, there's too much to read these days, and too little time to read every word of it.
Now, mind you5, I still read comic books, in addition to contracts6, novels, and newspapers, screenplays, tax returns7, and correspondence8 , even textbooks about how people read, and which techniques help people read more in less time.
I'll let you in9 on a little secret. There are hundreds of techniques you could learn to help you read faster. But I know of three that are especially good.
And if I can learn them, so can you—and you can put them to use immediately．
They are commonsense10, practical ways to get the meaning from printed words quickly and efficiently. So you'll have time to enjoy your comic books, have a good laugh with Mark Twain, or a good cry with War and Peace. Ready?
Okay. The first two ways can help you get through tons of11 reading material -fast—without reading every word.
They'll give you the overall meaning of what you're reading. And let you cut out an awful lot of unnecessary reading.
1． Preview—If It＇s Long and Hard
Previewing is especially useful for getting a general idea of heavy reading like long magazine or newspaper articles, business reports, and nonfiction12 books.
It can give you as much as half the comprehension in as little as one tenth the time. For example, you should be able to preview eight or ten 100-page reports in an hour. After previewing, you'll be able to decide which reports (or which parts of which reports) are worth a closer look.
Here's how to preview: Read the entire first two paragraphs of whatever you've chosen.
Next read only the first sentence of each successive13 paragraph. Then read the entire last two paragraphs.
Previewing doesn't give you all the details. But it does keep you from spending time on things you don't really want—or need—to read.
Notice that previewing gives you a quick, overall view of long, unfamiliar material. For short. Light reading, there's a better technique.
2． 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 sections of the paper.
You should be able to skim a weekly popular magazine or the second section of your daily paper in less than half the time it takes you to read it now.
Skimming is also a great way to review material you've read before.
Here's how to skim: Think of your eyes as magnets14. Force them to move fast. Sweep them across each and every line of type. Pick up only a few key words in each line．
Everybody skims differently.
You and I may not pick up exactly the same words when we skim the same piece, but we'll both get a pretty similar idea of what it's about.
To show you how it works, I circled the words I picked out when I skimmed the following story. Try it. It shouldn't take you more than 10 seconds:
My brother Russell thought monsters lived in our bedroom closet at night. But I told him he was crazy.
“Go and check it then,”I said.
“I don't want to,” Russell said, “ I am chicken15.”
“Am not16,” I said.
“So...” He said.
So I told him the monsters were going to eat him at midnight. He started to cry. My Dad came in and told us to let the monsters to beat it. Then he told us to go to sleep.
“If I hear any more about monsters,” he said. “I'll spank17 you.”
We went to sleep fast. And you know something? They never come back.
Skimming can get you a very good idea of this story in about half the words—and in less than half the time it'd take to read every word.
So far, you've seen that previewing and skimming can give you a general idea about content - fast. But neither technique can promise more than 50 percent comprehension, because you aren't reading all the words. (Nobody gets something for nothing18 in the reading game.)
To read faster and understand most—if not all—of what you read, you need to know a thirdtechnique.
3． Cluster19— To Increase Speed and Comprehension
Most of us learned to read by looking at each word in a second - one at a time.
Like this:
My - brother - Russell - thinks - monsters ...
You probably still read this way sometimes, especially when the words are difficult. Or when the words have an extra-special20 meaning —as in a poem, a Shakespearean play, or a contract. And that's OK.
But word-by-word reading is a rotten21 way to read faster. It actually cuts down on your speed.
Clustering trains you to look at groups of words instead of one at a time—to increase your speed enormously. For most of us, clustering is a totally different way of seeing what we read.
Here's how to cluster: Train your eyes to see all the words in clusters of up to three or four words at a glance.
Here's how I'd cluster the story we just skimmed:
(My brother Russell) (thought monsters) (lived in) (our bedroom closet) (at night). (But I told him) (he was crazy).
(“Go and) (check it then,”) (I said.)
(“I don't want to,”) (Russell said,) (“I am chicken.”)
(“Am not,”) (I said.)
(“So...”) (He said.)
(So I told him) (the monsters) (were going to) (eat him) (at midnight.) (He started) (to cry.) (My Dad came in) (and told us to let the monsters) (to beat it.) (Then he told us) (to go) (to sleep.)
(“If I hear) (any more about) (monsters,” he said.) (“I'll spank you.”)
(We went) (to sleep fast.) (And you) (know something?) (They never) (come back.)
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant22 practice.
Here's how to go about it: Pick something light to read. Read it as fast as you can. Concentrate on seeing three to four words at once rather than one word at a time. Then reread the piece at your normal speed to see what you missed the first time.
Try a second piece. First cluster, then reread to see what you missed in this one.
When you can read in clusters without missing much the first time, your speed has increased. Practice 15 minutes every day and you might pick up the technique in a week or so. (But don't be disappointed if it takes longer. Clustering everything takes time and practice.)
So now you have three ways to help you read faster. Preview to cut down on unnecessary heavy reading. Skim to get a quick, general idea of light reading. And cluster to increase your speed and comprehension.
With enough practice, you'll be able to handle more reading at school or work—and at home— in less time. You should even have enough time to read your favorite comic books— and English Square for example.
1． comic book 连环画
2． zip through (发出飕飕响声地)飞快（浏览）
3． snap n． 不费力就能办到的事(＝ an easy task, activity)
4． doctorate n． 博士头衔
5． mind you （口语）听明白；请注意
6． contract n． 合同；契约
7． tax return 所得税申报表
8． correspondence n． 信函
9． let (sb．) in (on sth．) 让(某人)知情
10． commonsense adj． 常识性的
11． tons of 大量的
12． nonfiction n． 非小说类文学作品（随笔、自传、散文等）
13． successive adj． 连续的
14． magnet n． 磁铁；有吸引力的人或物
15． chicken adj． 胆小的；懦弱的
16． Am not ＝ I am not(儿语)
17． spank v． 打．．．．．． 的屁股；拍打
18． for nothing 不付出
19． cluster n． 串
20． extra－special adj． 有其它特殊含义的
21． rotten adj． 糟糕的
22． constant adj． 持续不断的