Forget what you know about reading

There is a right way to read a book for pleasure, and a right way to read a book for learning. You can read a book for pleasure one time through and be just fine. However, it is harmful to assume that you should approach academic reading the same way. In order to read and comprehend a book or article for school, you need to be much more intentional and strategic.

看书娱乐与看书学习有各自不同的方法。你可以匆匆看一遍书来娱乐，但是如果你用同样的方式来学习则有弊无利。要想理解与血液有关的一本书或是一篇文章，你要采取策略。

Understand genres and themes

了解书的不同类别

In most reading tests, the student is asked to read a passage and predict what might happen next. Prediction is a common reading comprehension strategy. The purpose for this strategy is to make sure you’re able to infer information from the clues in the text.

在大多数阅读考试中，学生都被要求看一篇文章并预测接接下来的走向。预测是一个很常见的阅读理解策略。该策略的目的是确保你可以通过文中线索预测信息。

Here’s an passage to clarify this point:

这里是一篇短文作为例子：

Clara gripped the handle of the heavy glass pitcher and lifted it from the refrigerator shelf. She didn’t understand why her mother thought she was too young to pour her own juice. As she backed away carefully, the rubber seal of the refrigerator door caught the lip of the glass pitcher, which caused the slippery handle to slip from her hand. As she watch the pitcher crash into a thousand pieces, she saw the figure of her mother appear in the kitchen doorway.

克莱拉握着沉甸甸的大水罐把手，把它从冰箱上拿下来。她不明白为什么她妈妈认为她还太小，不能自己倒果汁喝。她小心翼翼地退后，但是冰箱门的橡胶圈碰到了水罐的盖子，克莱拉手一松，水罐掉了下来，摔成碎片，这时，她看到妈妈走进了厨房。

So, what do you think will happen next? We could guess that Clara’s mother reacts angrily, or we might guess that the mother bursts into laughter. Either answer would be sufficient, since we have so little information to go on. But if I told you that this passage was an excerpt from a thriller, that fact might impact your answer. Similarly, if I told you this passage came from a comedy, you'd make a very different prediction.

接下来会发生什么？我们可以猜猜，克莱拉的妈妈会怒火中烧还是狂笑不止。这两种情况都很可能，因为我们知道的信息太少。但是没如果我告诉你这篇文章节选自恐怖小说，这就会影响你的答案。同样的，如果我说这篇文章节选自喜剧，你也会做出完全不同的预测。

It is important to know something about the type of text you're reading. Understanding the genre of a book helps you make predictions about the action--which helps you comprehend the action.

知道你所读的材料的类别很重要，了解类别可以帮助你预测，也可以帮助你理解。

Read with tools

利用工具阅读

Any time you read to learn, you should use active reading skills. There are good tools to use as you read, and there are tools that are not so good to use.

每当你一边阅读一边学习，你都要用上阅读技巧。阅读工具有好也有坏。

A pencil is a good tool. You can use a pencil to make annotations in the margins of your text without doing any permanent damage to the text. Another good tool is a pack of sticky notes. Use your notes to jot down thoughts, impressions, predictions, and questions as you read. A highlighter, on the other hand, can be a really bad tool. Not only do you create some serious damage when you highlight a book, you also give yourself the false impression that you have accomplished anything significant by doing so.

铅笔是个好工具，你可以在书的空白处坐上注释，而不会损坏书本。另一个好工具是便利贴。你可以一边读一边写下你的想法、印象、预测及疑问。荧光笔也许会误事。因为你不但损坏了书本，还给自己留下了已经标出重点的错误印象。

Work the vocabulary skills

学习词汇技巧

It's a no-brainer that you should take the time to identify and look up new and unfamiliar words as you read. But it's important to make a log book of those new words, and revisit them long after you've finished reading that book. The more we study a subject, the more it sinks in.

人人都知道要花时间查阅读中遇到的生词，但是重要的是你要把这些生词记录下来，并在阅读后复习它们。对一个方向的学习越深，你了解的就越多。

Analyze the title (and subtitles)

分析标题（及副标题）

If you are wondering why I would mention the title last, I can assure you that there is a good reason. The title is often the last thing to be adjusted once a writer has finished writing. A writer will labor hard and long on an article or book, and often the writer uses many of the same strategies that a good reader uses. Writers edit the text and identify themes, make predictions, and make notations galore. Many writers are surprised by the twists and turns that come from the creative process. This is why, once a text is completed, the writer may reflect on the true message or purpose as a final step and come up with a new title. This means you can use the title as a clue to help you understand the message or purpose of your text.

如果你好奇为什么我在最后提出要分析标题，我可以向你保证，我有一个绝佳的理由。标题往往是作者写完以后最后要调整的东西。作者会在标题上花费大量的心思，很经常，作者们取标题时会依照读者们的策略。作者会编辑文章，确定主旨，进行预测，并做大量标记。许多作者都惊叹自己创作过程中的迂回曲折，这也是为什么一篇文章写成后，作者会将思考文章的信息和目的作为最后一步，然后想出新标题。这意味着你可以视标题为线索，来帮助你理解这篇文本的信息或目的。

声明：本双语文章的中文翻译系爱思英语原创内容，转载请注明出处。中文翻译仅代表译者个人观点，仅供参考。如有不妥之处，欢迎指正。