Part 2 Reading Skill Focus

Reading Skill Focus

Skimming (1)

What is skimming?

Skimming is used to quickly identify the main idea of a text. It is a reading technique that can help you to:

⇨ Read more quickly;

⇨ Decide if the text is interesting and whether you should read it in more detail.

Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time.

How do you skim a text?

As mentioned above, skimming is a reading method used to get the general ideas of reading material without reading all of it. When skimming, you go through the passage quickly in order to get the gist of it, to know how it is organized, or to get an idea of the tone or the intention of the writer without paying any attention to details or the unknown words.

Don’t read the whole text word-for-word. Use as many clues as possible to give you some background information. There might be pictures or images related to the topic, or an eye-catching title. Let your eyes skim over the surface of the text whilst thinking about any clues you have found about the subject, look out for key words.

The following tips are useful while skimming.

1. Read the title, subtitles and subheading to find out what the text is about.

2. Look at the illustrations to give you further information about the topic.

3. Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph.

4. Don’t read every word or every sentence. Let your eyes skim over the text, taking in key words.

This is the first part of Skimming. You’ll learn more about this technique in Unit 5. 

Guided Example

Example 1

Skim the passage and choose the correct answer for the question. 

The passage is mainly about ________.

A. the importance of memo writing

B. specific purpose of a memo

C. a few important distinctions between memos and essays

D. the importance of understanding the differences between writing memos and writing essays

Before you begin to write your first memo, it is important to understand the differences between writing memos and writing essays. A few of the most important distinctions appear in the table below.

As the table makes clear, a memo is very unlike the essays you write for other classes, and it is important that you appreciate the difference in style. A memo exists for a very specific purpose: to convey information to a colleague. Keep this in mind as you work and you won’t go wrong.

此题是主旨题，根据skimming的方法，快速阅读第一段和第二段的第一句话，可以看出此文重点指出备忘录和论文写作的区别，而其中间的表格也是对备忘录和论文写作风格的对比，因此可以快速确定答案是D。

Example 2

Skim the following passage and choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph. There are more headings than you will need.  

Job descriptions should effectively communicate your company’s available positions and the requirements for applicants.  Here are five essential details to include in your company’s job descriptions:

1 [    ]

 Develop a job title for the position you’re looking to fill — the title and level (assistant, senior, etc.) should accurately reflect the work that the employee will perform. Once you’ve defined the position, write a brief description of the purpose of the position and an overview of the position’s main responsibilities. This summary should be short and to the point — one to three sentences should suffice.

2 [    ]

List all of the essential responsibilities of the position. Generally, this includes between five and 10 responsibilities. Begin each responsibility with a present-tense, action verb such as “research social media trends”.

3 [    ]

List all qualifications that are mandatory, along with those that are preferred. Such qualifications should include skills, years of experience, certifications, licenses, education level and necessary technical proficiencies.

 4 [    ]

Include details on where the position is located. If travel is necessary, note what percentage of time the employee will spend traveling and where he or she will be traveling.

5 [    ]

While it may seem obvious, there are plenty of job listings on the web without contact information. Include contact information so that potential applicants can apply and ask questions.

  根据skimming的技巧，快速阅读每个段落的第一句话即可看出每一段的主题。答案为：

Paragraph 1 [ D], Paragraph 2 [A], Paragraph 3 [D], Paragraph 4 [F], Paragraph 5 [B]。

Task 2：Let’s Try

Skim the following paragraphs and passages and answer the questions.

Practice 1

   The paragraph mainly talks about _______.

   A. the responsibilities of a manager

   B. the qualities that a leader must possess

   C. the difference between managers and leaders

Manager and leader are two completely different roles, although we often use the terms interchangeably. Managers are facilitators of their team members’ success. They ensure that their people have everything they need to be productive and successful; that they’re well trained, happy and have minimal roadblocks in their path; that they’re being groomed for the next level; that they are recognized for great performance and coached through their challenges. Conversely, a leader can be anyone on the team who has a particular talent, who is creatively thinking out of the box and has a great idea, who has experience in a certain aspect of the business or project that can prove useful to the manager and the team. A leader leads based on strengths, not titles.

Practice 2

   The paragraph mainly talks about _______.

   A. the leadership style of female leaders

   B. what is “interactive” leadership style

   C. how to encourage other people’s participation

   Female leaders are tended to use “interactive” leadership style. They not only encourage others’ participation but also attempted to energize followers by enhancing their sense of self-worth. They inspire and motivate employees while allowing them some initiative and giving them the power to make decisions on their own. Many women leaders believe that people perform best when they feel good about themselves and their work. The leaders are opening access to information to increase opportunities for continuous improvement.

Practice 3

What is the main idea of this paragraph?

_______________________________________________________________________

Many experts agree that women are more likely to have the ability to deal with the complicated problems existed in the company. They are more active in building networks, listening, resolving conflict, and getting people to work together. In addition, women can help companies be more competitive because they see business opportunities as a result of their own experience. Many female leaders have the confidence that they can help company grow very well in an international market. Although men still run the world, more and more people realize that it might be in better shape if women were more often in charge.

Practice 4

   What is the most suitable title for the passage?

   A. Leadership Style in Apple

   B. Steve Jobs – A Visionary

   C. Apple: the World’s Leading Mobile Device Company

Steve Jobs was an unconventional leader. His management style wasn’t the stuff of university textbooks -- he wasn’t known for his consultative or consensus building approach. He was a “high-maintenance co-worker” who demanded excellence from his staff and was known for his blunt delivery of criticism.

But it was his sheer genius combined with his ability to articulate his vision and bring staff, investors and customers along on the journey -- plus the lessons learned in a major career setback -- that made it work. The results: indisputable.

A “visionary” is how he is most often described in relation to Apple, the company he founded with high school buddy Steve Wozniak in 1976, was effectively fired from in 1985, and then returned to in 1997 with a renewed sense of purpose.

And what a triumphant return it was. According the LA Times, the market value of Apple’s shares has grown from about $US5 billion in 2000 to $US351 billion today making it one of the biggest publicly listed companies in the US, up there with the likes of Exxon Mobil. 

Practice 5 

Choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph. There are more headings than you will need.  

With so many different theories on leadership, it may be difficult to find the one that works for you. Regardless of which theory you choose, there are many good leadership skills that are effective in most situations. To become effective leaders, managers need to master the following set of skills:

1. _________. Managers must have a good sense of what their departments are trying to achieve. They need to come up with detailed plans on how their team will meet the established goals. Effective managers involve their subordinates in developing plans of action.

2. _________. Effective managers help their employees succeed. They work with employees individually when possible to help them learn good problem-solving techniques.

3. _________. Managers need to delegate responsibility. Good leaders surround themselves with people they can trust so that they are comfortable delegating responsibility.

4. _________. Good leaders encourage their subordinates to come to them with problems and solutions. They help their subordinates think through solutions.

5. _________. Good leaders see themselves as captains of teams. The team captain inspires confidence in team members by striving for excellence and encouraging others to contribute.

6. _________. People tend to imitate the behavior of others. To benefit from this tendency, good leaders strive to set an example. They treat other people with respect. They listen to other people’s views. They meet deadlines. They remain cool under pressure.

7. _________. Good leaders accept full responsibility when things go wrong. They share credit with others when things go right.

With dynamic forces at work in the marketplace, managers and employees must continually adapt to new situations. The need to improve performance under conditions of constant change challenges managers continually to improve their motivation and leadership skills.

但是

Why do you go to university?