快速阅读概论

第一节　快速阅读概论

一、快速阅读的涵义

所谓快速阅读就是利用视觉运动的规律，通过一定的方法训练，在较短的时间里，从阅读大量的书报、文字资料中迅速接受有用信息的一种科学的阅读方法，简称快读法或速读法。

快读法强调阅读速度要尽可能地迅速。但这里所指的快读不是泛泛地浏览，它是在注意力高度集中下的以获取有价值的信息为目的的一种积极的、创造性的理解过程。

运用快读法可以很快地从浩繁的资料中筛选出自己需要的东西，可以快速把握材料的阅读价值，所以快读法也常作为精读的辅助方法。因为各种目的不同的精读，都应当是在确定了有价值之后才进行的，而速读正是确定材料的阅读价值最便捷的方法。

二、快速阅读内涵的属性

快速阅读这一概念的内涵应有以下几个属性构成:

1．阅读文学材料的快速性;

2．阅读文学材料的无声性;

3．阅读方法的科学性。

(一)阅读文学材料的快速性

有些同学抱怨自己的阅读速度太慢(例如低于50词/分钟) 。如果不是基础太差，词汇量太少，那就可能是有一个不好的习惯:逐词阅读或一目一词地阅读，这种阅读方式是快速阅读的一大障碍。譬如要数10000个橘子，一个一个地数要数一万次，而5， 10， 15……这么数下去则可节省4/5的时间，也就是说提高了4倍的计数速度。同样，如果我们不是一个词一个词地去阅读而是一组词(或者一个意群)一组词地阅读，我们的阅读速度也会成倍地提高。这种一组词一组词的阅读法叫成组视读( phrase reading) 。

训练成组视读的方法:将短文中句子分成若干个组(或者意群) 。练习视读时，力求一眼读完一组词，然后略作停顿，再一眼读完第二组词。也可在一般的读物上加上一些划分意群的斜线“/” 。如: Phrase marking is/a useful technique/for increasing awareness/of phrase structure/that you should practice/for five minutes a day/for the next ten day．

意群的划分一般以语法单位为标准，即主语部分、谓语部分、状语部分、补语部分。若各部分较长，可进一步分为中心词与修饰语、修饰语中更小的意义单元(如介词短语)等。例如:

Common people in England often got their names from the work they did: Baker， Powder Maker，Cooper ( someone who makes barrels) ． People also took names from the places where they lived or from some feature of the landscape nearby，such as Westfield，Shore，Hill．

若是逐字阅读，阅读模式如下(请记录阅读时间) :__________

Common/people/in/England/often/got/their/names/from the/work/they/did: /Baker，/ Powder/Maker，/ Cooper/( someone who/makes/ barrels) ．/People/also/took/names/from/the/places/where/they/lived/or/from/some/feature/of/the landscape/nearby，/ such/as/Westfield，/ Shore，/ Hill．

阅读时间:

若采用意群阅读方法，其阅读模式通常如下(请记录阅读时间) :

Common people/in England/often/got their names/from the work/they did:/Baker， Powder Maker，Cooper/( someone who makes barrels) ．/People also/took names/from the places/where they lived/or from some feature/of the landscape/nearby，/ such as/Westfield，Shore，Hill．

阅读时间:__________

在阅读过程中，不同的人每一次目光的扫视( eye span glance)所能接纳、理解的信息量(单词数)是不同的，而且每一次扫视的停顿时间( fixation)也是不同的。要极大地提高阅读速度，就必须努力扩大一个Eye Span的容量，即扩大一个意群的单词量，并尽力缩短每一个Fixation的时间。

如上面的句子，对某些读者来说，阅读模式可能是(请记录阅读时间) :

Common people in England/often got their names/from the work they did:/Baker， Powder Maker，Cooper/( someone who makes barrels) ．/People also took names/from the places where they lived/or from some feature/of the landscape nearby/such as Westfield，Shore，Hill．

阅读时间:__________

而对于以英语为母语的人来说，其阅读模式可能是:

Common people in England/often got their names from the work they did:/Baker， Powder Maker，Cooper ( someone who makes barrels) ．/People also took names from the places where they lived/or from some feature of the landscape nearby，/ such as Westfield，Shore，Hill．

上述几种阅读模式， fixation的次数依次为: 44(逐字阅读) ， 17(一般意群阅读) ， 10(较快阅读) ， 6(快速阅读) ，而每一次fixation的时间很可能是相差无几的。

以意群为基础的成组视读，使阅读理解建立在合理的基础上，一定要多做这种练习。成组视读的习惯一旦养成，就不要再打这种斜线了，然而一定要坚持一眼一个意群，并且要把意群逐步加长，这样，你的阅读速度就会越来越快。

(二)阅读文字材料的无声性

上面我们介绍的只是快速阅读的先决条件，速读的关键还在于“无声”训练，在阅读速度上，无声要比有声快，这是因为有声阅读是眼、脑、口、耳四个器官一起活动，文字符号反映到眼睛，再传到大脑，大脑命令嘴发音，耳在监听辨别正确与否。而无声阅读只是运用眼和脑两大器官，省去了口的发音和耳朵的监听，因而它的速度要快。据实验，不出声阅读比出声阅读的速度要快一倍。即使没有发出声音，但嘴唇还在动，也会妨碍提高阅读速度。快速阅读的信息变换方式为:书面信息→眼睛扫描信息→大脑记忆中枢的信息。

如果你觉得出声阅读的习惯无法改掉，这里有一个帮你逐渐养成默读习惯的方法，可以试一试。首先，说几个没有什么意义的字母组，如: ipt，ipt，...，反复地念这几个字母，直到不用思想控制也能自动发出为止。这时你一边轻声念这几个字母，一边视读。开始一个时期这样做会影响对内容的理解，可是后来一习惯，不但不影响对文章的理解，而且可以帮你克服必须出声才能阅读的习惯，从而大大提高阅读速度。

下面有一篇短文，请一边念ipt一边视读。

What Causes Waves?

Waves are beautiful to look at，but they can destroy ships at sea，as well as houses and buildings near the shore． What causes waves? Most waves are caused by winds blowing over the surface of the water． The sun heats the earth，causing the air to rise and the winds to blow． The winds blow across the sea，pushing little waves into bigger and bigger ones．

The size of a wave depends on how strong the wind is，how long it blows，and how large the body of water is． In a small bay big waves will never build up． But at sea the wind can build up giant，powerful waves．

A rule says that the height of a wave ( in meters) will usually be no more than one- tenth of the wind's speed ( in kilometers) ． In other words，when the wind is blowing at 120 kilometers per hour，most waves will be about twelve meters，Of course，some waves may combine to form giant waves that are much higher． In 1933 the United States Navy reported the largest measured wave in history． It rose in the Pacific Ocean to a height of thirty- four meters．

默读是快速阅读的基础，学生一旦有了一定的英语基础，就要注意培养自己的默读技能。对于大多数学生而言，抑制发音器官的动作，不发出声音来，是能够做到的，但还得注意消除脑子里潜在的词语语音印象，力求完全做到通过视觉器官，直接迅速感知文字信号，并尽量避免“复视” 。只有这样视读，效果才能达到最佳。

(三)阅读方法的科学性

我们在阅读的时候，必须通过直觉、联想、想象、逻辑分析和综合判断等一系列思维活动，才能把顺次进入视觉的一连串文字信号转换成概念和思想，完成阅读过程。要完成其过程，必须进行科学阅读，进行科学阅读应具备以下几个条件:

1．一个人要想在快速阅读上获得成功，首先要有自信心。在快速阅读时，自信心是很重要的，只要我们坚信我们能成功，通过长期苦练就会实现的。

2．集中注意力快速阅读的同时还要求快速记忆。这就要求在阅读时，不仅要阅读，而且要记，要理解，这是一个高难度的思维活动，没有集中的注意力是很难保证“速读”的完成。

3．快速理解是快速阅读的催化剂。“理解”就是利用已有的知识经验，去获得新的知识经验，并把新的知识经验纳入已有的知识经验系统中。理解可分为直接理解和间接理解。直接理解就是在瞬息之间立刻实现的，不需要任何中间思维过程，与知觉融合在一起，在这种情况下，主要是通过瞬间忆起以前所得的知识，选取立刻所需要的知识。而间接理解的实现则需要通过一系列复杂的分析综合活动。快速阅读用的是中间理解法，即推断法:实行快速阅读的人往往根据几个单词推断出一个句子，由句子推知整个段落的意思。这就需要多读书，知识积累越多，知识面越宽，理解力越强，快速阅读中的推断能力才能越高。正是由于这种推断，眼睛才能停顿在最有信息含义的地方上。

英语中使用的推断法之一是学会略过那些无关紧要的词汇。如: The usual life span of men in Shanghai is 72 years．如果我们阅读时不知道“span”的词义，我们也完全可以看懂句子意思是“通常上海男子的寿命是72岁” 。推断法之二是利用英语构词法推断词义，构词法由转换、派生与合成三部分构成。

4．快速阅读能促使快速记忆。快速阅读时人的注意力高度集中，连续的快速阅读是一种强化活动，强化活动能够巩固和促进快速记忆的成果。强化记忆有三个层次:一是死记硬背(这是必要的，不可缺少的层次) ;二是联想记忆;三是理解记忆。以阅读现代记叙文类(童话故事，作文选等)为例:要求硬记的是题目、作者、文中时间、地点、人物、姓名、名人名句等;要求联想记忆的是故事情节(事件起因、事件发展、关键情节、高潮情节、事件结局) ;要求理解记忆的是关键词、关键句、中心语、段首语、事件性质、人物命运、作者态度、人称变化、词语概念、文章含义或中心思想等等。总之，快速阅读能促进理解的质量，促进理解的速度，促进快速记忆。

练习

一、下面有几篇短文，供同学们做成组视读练习之用。文中的斜线表示意群的划分。

Passage 1

On April 15 /， 1912 /， the Titanic /， the largest ship in the world， struck an iceberg/off Newfoundland/and sank in the early morning darkness /，taking over/1500 lives．

The luxury liner was making/her first Atlantic voyage/from England to New York/when the tragedy occurred． Of the 2， 223 aboard /，only about 700 people/ were saved． Millions of dollars in jewelry and furs/went down with the ship．The Titanic was thought/to be unsinkable．

Earlier in the night/the captain of the ship/had been warned/that there were icebergs/in the area． The warning/was apparently ignored/as the big liner/ sped on through the darkness /，heading swiftly toward its destiny．

At 11: 40 p． m．/the Titanic /，a man- made giant /，rammed the white，si lent giant of nature/and sank in two and one half hours． Never will the world for get/that tragic event．

Passage 2

The story of petroleum/probably goes back/before the dawn of recorded history，in some places /，where the rock layers/of the earth's crust/were bro ken，petroleum appeared/at the surface of the ground． Early man/very likely found this/and used petroleum pitch or asphalt/long before we have written re cords． We do know/from some of the world's oldest writings/that asphalt/was used as mortar/in buildings． We know/that pitch， as used/in calking boats /，and that ancient Egyptians/used petroleum/to grease their chariot axles． In A merica/the native Indians/used petroleum for fuel and medicine/long before the white man came． The early settlers/considered oil a nuisance because it in terfered/with getting salt brine/from wells/that had been drilled/for that purpose． Actually /，the great petroleum industry/got its start/from bottled medicine oil/and the fact/that the whale oil/used for lighting and lubrication/was becoming very scarce．

二、用斜线将下列句子分成适宜于速读的视读单位，每天视读2—5次，并注意每天视读速度是否提高。

1． Earthworms dig tunnels that loosen the soil and make it easy for air and water to reach the roots of plants． These tunnels help keep the soil well drained．

2． The most popular of all Jewish family has a different history． It comes from a word that means priest． The usual way of spelling this name in the English speaking world is Cohen． But if the family came from Germany，it may be spelled Kahn or Kohn．

3． Rats have lived on the earth longer than man． And wherever man has gone，except for the very coldest parts of the world，rats have also gone and have very quickly grown in numbers．

4． History books tell us that armies of rats moved into Europe from Asia hundreds of years ago． On their way，these armies of rats swam through rivers，raced across open fields，destroyed crops，and moved through buildings．

5． Substances which are made up of only one kind of atom are called elements and there are about a hundred of these—the same number as there are kinds of at om． These are the substances from which everything else is made． Aristotle thought that there were four elements—earth，air，fire，and water—but he was very wrong． None of these is an element in any sense of the word and no further progress could be made until this idea was given up．

三、下面有几段文章，每一个段落均需要一个句子表达其中心思想，这个句子就是主题句。你应很快地从三个供选择的答案中挑选出适宜的主题句来。例如:

A) Water is found all over the world．

B) Water has important nutrients．

C) Water is essential for good health．

It is necessary forever a process of the body like digestion and absorption of food． In addition，water helps control the temperature of the body． It keeps the temperature at 37℃( 98． 6°F) ． Water also cleans the tissues． Water is found in all foods． For instance，fresh vegetable are 90 percent water，eggs are 74 percent water，and hamburger is 60 percent water．

Paragraph 1

A) There are many ways to cook meat and grains．

B) There are two kinds of proteins: complete proteins and incomplete proteins．

C) There are two kinds of amino acids．

Complete proteins，which the body needs for growth，have all the essential amino acids; meat，fish，poultry，eggs，milk，and cheese，have complete proteins． The body needs complete proteins everyday． The second kind，incomplete proteins，do not have all the essential amino acids． The proteins in vegetables and grains，for instance，are incomplete proteins． Two ways to form complete proteins from incomplete proteins are: ( 1) to mix vegetables and grains correctly，or ( 2) to add a small amount of meat or milk to a large amount of grains． The body can then use the complete proteins which result from the mixtures．

Paragraph 2

A) If there is not enough iron in the diet，a person will get a disease that is commonly called anemia．

B) If people eat healthy meals，they will get all of the minerals they need．

C) If people do not get enough oxygen，they will feel tired．

Iron is the mineral that makes blood look red． Anemia is found all over the world． People with anemia do not have enough iron in their blood． Because iron carries oxygen，people who do not have enough iron do not get enough oxygen for their normal activities． Their heart beats faster so their bodies can get more oxygen． People who have anemia often get tired easily． Sometimes their skin looks white; it does not look pink and healthy．

Paragraph 3

A) When a grain is processed，it tastes better．

B) When a grain is processed，it is more expensive．

C) When a grain is processed，it loses vitamins．

For example，there is a big difference between brown and white rice． When rice is processed，the brown outside is lost． The brown outside of rice has an important B vitamin which white rice lacks． In short，brown rice has more B vitamins than processed rice．

Paragraph 4

A) Vitamin D is called the“sunshine”vitamin．

B) Vitamin D is found in only a few foods．

C) Vitamins are essential in tropical countries．

Paragraph 5

When people sit outside，ultraviolet rays from the sun change a fat in skin to vitamin D． Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium． It helps build strong bones，and it prevents a disease in children that is called rickets． When children have this disease，their bones bend because they do not become hard． Rickets is seldom found in sunny，tropical countries． Rickets is more common in countries that have long winters with little sunshine，in cities that have pollution that keeps the sun out，and in towns surrounded by mountains that keep the sun out．

1． The topic of the sample paragraph is__________．

A) water　　B) body temperature 　C) nutrients

2． The topic of paragraph 1 is__________．

A) complete and incomplete proteins 　B) a definition of amino acids 　C) a description of how to cook grains

3． The topic of paragraph 2 is__________．

A) oxygen 　B) minerals 　C) anemia

4． The topic of paragraph 3 is__________．

A) processed grains　 B) the importance of B vitamins 　C) color and vitamins

5． The topic of paragraph 4 is__________．

A) children　 B) climate　 C) vitamin D

Answers:

Paragraph 1． B Paragraph 2． A Paragraph 3． C Paragraph 4． A

Paragraph 5: 1． A2． A3． B4． A5． C