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com/
Speed Reading Test
Reading is becoming more and more important in the new knowledge economy and remains the most effective human
activity for transforming information into knowledge.

If top readers read at speeds of above 1000 words per minute (wpm) with near 85% comprehension, they only represent
1% of readers. Average readers are the majority and only reach around 200 wpm with a typical comprehension of 60%.
This seems surprising since most readers, actively reading work documents, newspapers, magazines, books or the
contents of a computer display are practicing daily for at least one hour. With such an intense training everyone should be
close to top performances.

Unfortunately, this is far from the real situation. The average reader is five times slower than the good reader. Things are
even worse if we consider reading efficiency as well as speed. Reading efficiency is reading speed weighted by
comprehension rate and it amounts to 200 x 60% or 120 efficient words per minute (ewpm) for the average reader and to
1000 x 85% or 850 ewpm for top readers. Thus, an efficiency ratio of seven divides these two categories.
Compare the results of the average reader to other areas. We may imagine a sprinter practicing every day for several
years on the running track and then just calmly walking for a race. We can also picture a racing driver never exceeding 30
mph or a pianist playing every day of the week for 20 years and only able to play music like a beginner. Unfortunately,
since the age of 12, most readers do not substantially improve their efficiency and never reach their full capacity.

Every computer-user who is also a slow typist is aware of the benefits he could obtain with a typing course, but nearly no
one suspects the much higher profits he could reach by improving his reading comprehension and speed. The rapid
improvement of voice recognition may gradually make typing virtuosity obsolete since a good typist performs well under
the speed of speech. On the other hand, human or computer speaking, with an average speed of 150 wpm, will always
remain many times slower than a good reader, without any consideration of the skimming and skipping possibilities.
There are three possible ways to improve reading. The fastest is probably a speed reading seminar based upon good
materials and animated by a dynamic instructor. It is quite usual for a slow reader to double and even triple his reading
efficiency during a two-day class offering a positive atmosphere, carefully selected texts and comprehension tests.
However, as this rapid and encouraging improvement is not sufficiently anchored, it often fades with time.

A book about speed reading is the second possibility. Such a book usually provides speed and comprehension tests as
well as techniques to improve reading. It often includes more general information about concentration, interest stimulation,
skimming techniques and ways to approach a text. Some methods may include audio or videocassettes. A book-based
method requires a good deal of time as well as a strong commitment from the reader.

Finally, a speed reading computer program is probably the most efficient way to achieve top reading levels. Computers
offer unique exercises to boost reading efficiency through interactivity, text animation and pacing. Higher reading skills
obtained with a computer screen are totally transferable to reading from paper. Unfortunately the inverse way does not
work so well. Speed reading software delivers enjoyable and fast paced training, thus giving the consistent practice
necessary to break lifelong slow reading habits. This is the task that seminars and speed reading books usually leave up
to the reader.

Typical reading results

Measurements of speed and comprehension depend upon the text
contents and upon a set of questions. Results in the table do not
correspond to a specific test but give a general idea of reading
efficiencies.
Screen Paper Comprehension Reader profile
100 wpm 110 wpm 50% Insufficient
200 wpm 240 wpm 60% Average reader
300 wpm 400 wpm 80% Good reader
700 wpm 1000 wpm 85% Excellent, accomplished reader
Q1. Compared to average reader, the accomplished reader reads with?

A higher speed and worse reading comprehension

B higher speed and better reading comprehension

C higher speed and same reading comprehension

Q3. The average reading speed is around?

A120 wpm

B150 wpm

C200 wpm

Q4. The average reader comprehension is around?

A50 %

B60 %

C85 %

Q10. A speed reading seminar or book lacks?

ARapid results

BConsistent practice

CDeep enough explanations

Q11. What is probably the best way to reach top level reading efficiency?

Aa speed reading book

Ba speed reading seminar

Ca speed reading software

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What Is Speed Reading?

Speed reading is the process of rapidly recognizing and absorbing phrases or sentences on a page all at once, rather
than identifying individual words.
The amount of information that we process seems to be growing by the day, whether it's emails, reports and websites at
work, or social media, books and magazines at home. We likely feel pressure to get through this information more quickly,
so that we can "stay in the loop" and make informed decisions.
Most people read at an average rate of 250 words per minute (wpm), though some are naturally quicker than others. But,
the ability to speed read could mean that you double this rate.
We'll now explore some of the skills that you can use to accelerate your reading.
How to Speed Read

All speed reading techniques have one thing in common: you avoid pronouncing and "hearing" each word in your head as
you read it, a process known as as "sub-vocalization." Instead, you "skim" lines or groups of words, as you can
understand words more quickly than you can say them.
One way to stop yourself from sub-vocalizing is to focus on blocks of words rather than on individual ones. Do this by
relaxing your face and "softening" or expanding your gaze on the page, so that you stop seeing words as single, distinct
units. As you practice this, your eyes will skip faster across the page.
Then, when you approach the end of a line, allow your peripheral vision to take your eye to the final set of words. This will
help to stop pauses in your reading (often at full points), meaning that you scan across and down to the next line more
quickly.
Now let's look at three methods to boost your reading speed:
1. The Pointer Method

Utah school teacher Evelyn Nielsen Wood was one of the pioneers of speed reading. In the 1950s, she claimed that she
could read at up to 2,700 wpm if she swept a finger along the line as she read.
This became known as the Pointer method, and is also sometimes called "hand pacing" or "meta guiding." Holding a card
under each line and drawing it down the page as you read works just as well.
2. The Tracker-and-Pacer Method

This is a variant of the Pointer method where you hold a pen, with its cap still on, and underline or track each line as you
read it, keeping your eye above the tip of the pen. This will help to increase the pace at which you take in each line, and
improve your focus on the words. Whether you actually underline the words is your choice.
Try to spend no more than one second on each line and then increase your speed with each subsequent page. You will
probably find that you retain very little information at first, but, as you train your brain and you become more comfortable
with the technique, your comprehension should improve.
3. The Scanning (or Previewing) Method

"Scanning" involves moving your eyes quickly down the page – often down the center – and identifying specific words and
phrases as you go. These can be key sentences (often the first sentence of each paragraph), names, numbers, or trigger
words and ideas. Learning to expand your peripheral vision can help with this.
You won't read every word, but your eye will land on what is important to allow you to grasp the basic idea. It may be
helpful to use a mind map® to organize the information you take in.

When to Speed Read

These techniques can all help you to read more quickly, but are they appropriate for what you're trying to achieve?
Effective speed reading is a balance between pace and comprehension. Studies have found that the faster you read, the
less information you take in, particularly when it comes to remembering detail.
So, speed reading is clearly not the answer if you're reading a complex legal or technical document, even if you are
pushed for time. Similarly, it would be sensible to slow down if the material you're reading is new or unfamiliar, or if you
have to teach it to someone else.
When you need to understand only the basic arguments or conclusions being presented, though, using a speed reading
technique can work.
This may especially be the case if you intend to go back and re-read something more slowly when you're less busy. In
fact, one study has suggested that skimming a text can improve your comprehension second time around.
Generally speaking, if you want to memorize something, you'll need to read slowly, at less than 100 wpm. A normal rate
for learning is 100-200 wpm, and for comprehension it is 200-400 wpm.
Speed reading is normally done at a rate of around 400-700 wpm. Anything above 500-600 wpm means sacrificing
comprehension, although this varies from person to person.
How to Improve Your Speed Reading

Knowing the "how" and "when" of speed reading is only the first step to success. Here are some more tips to help you:
 Avoid distractions. Create an environment where there are as few interruptions and distractions as possible, to
allow you to focus fully on the words in front of you.
 Go easy. Read an uncomplicated novel or a simple online article to get a feel for which technique is going to work
best for you. Gauge how much you've remembered or understood, and set a timer to see how much faster you are
now reading.
 Cover words that you've already read. This helps you to stop your eyes flitting back to earlier words and slowing
down your reading.
 Know what you want from the text. This can be useful if you are using the skimming method, as it primes you to
pay attention when you see relevant words, sentences or phrases. You can then slow down at these points, or circle
them for emphasis, but otherwise move across the page quickly.
 Benchmark your progress. This way you can tell whether your practice is paying off. There are many free speed
reading assessments online, such as at ReadingSoft.com.
 Practice, practice, practice. You have to practice speed reading to get good at it. The more you train yourself, the
more natural it will feel.

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Skimming is for Understanding the Main Idea

Skimming is the strategy to get the main idea or the most important point in the passage or book.

It involves running your eyes through the texts, visually searching the sentences and passages of a page for clues.

Skimming implies looking only for the general or main ideas. This is especially suitable for factual material and one can
skip the rest while looking for the important issues.

Skimming is to know what is happening. It is just like glancing through something to know what it is about.

The book summary or reviews provide extensive examples of this.

The movie trailers that we see give a glimpse of what the movie is about.

Skimming is not meant to know the details or to make elaborate inferences from.

Skimming comes naturally to many adults. It is done at a very high speed of about 1000 words or more per minute which
is three to four times the normal reading speed.

Scanning is Hunting for Details

Scanning is the strategy of speed reading where one specifically looks for certain information on a specific matter that one
has gathered after skimming.

When scanning, one looks only for a specific fact or information and skips the rest without reading.

Scanning involves rapid but focused reading and is equivalent to processing printed material at a high speed while looking
for desired information. Scanning for information is both fast and accurate.

Differences Between Skimming and Scanning

Skimming and Scanning are often confused with each other but both are distinct skills.

Moreover, Skimming and Scanning are designated as search techniques rather than speed reading techniques.

Both are good for the printed page rather than that displayed on computer screen.

It is easy to distinguish between the two, the major differences are:

 Skimming easily provides the general context of the material and a broad outline, whereas Scanning is to locate specific
contexts and details.

 In skimming one filters out large chunks to get to know what the reading material is about, whereas in scanning one
begins with a specific query in mind actively looks for something like a particular information such as dates, names, or
certain types of words and focus only on the sentences where these words occur.

 While the goal of skimming is a bird’s-eye view of the material, the goal of scanning is like that of an eagle’s to locate
and swoop down on particular facts.

 Although both are different techniques, both complement each other and are often used in succession, one after
another.
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/extensive-reading-0

Extensive reading involves learners reading texts for enjoyment and to develop general reading skills. It can be compared
with intensive reading, which means reading in detail with specific learning aims and tasks.

Example
A teacher reads a short story with learners, but does not set them any tasks except to read and listen.

In the classroom
Extensive reading is often overlooked, especially as a classroom activity. Teachers often feel it is not an effective use of
class time or are just uncomfortable with the extended silence. Learners can be encouraged to read extensively by setting
up a class library, encouraging review writing, and incorporating reading of books into the syllabus, and dedicating some
class time to quiet reading.

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What is meant by “extensive” and “intensive”

Extensive and intensive reading refer to approaches to language learning and teaching. From their names, you can
probably deduce that they both celebrate reading as an integral part of language learning. Where they differ, however, is
in their approach to this activity.

Extensive reading can essentially also be referred to as reading for joy. This approach advocates reading as much
material in your target language as humanly possible. This way, its advocates claim, you will be exposed to the widest
range of vocabulary and grammatical structures. All of this is supposed to make you a better language learner and help
you on the way to fluency.

Intensive reading, on the other hand, focuses on closely following a shorter text, doing exercises with it, and learning it in
detail. According to this approach, this helps language learners really understand the language’s grammar and syntax.
The proponents of this method use a range of exercises to complement the reading itself. Foreign language students can,
for example, read a short paragraph and then answer questions about the text, order sentences, or find specific words.

The advantages of each approach

Extensive reading is a great tool for people who already enjoy the activity. Switching your reading into your target
language will certainly expose you to much more vocabulary than you would normally learn. The aim of this approach is
not to look up every single unfamiliar word but to simply immerse yourself in your target language. You can use context to
figure out most of the words you don’t know in a text and, with extensive reading, you don’t exert yourself too much.
Instead, you can take joy in engaging with texts that you can comfortably manage. With extensive reading, you can read
material that doesn’t challenge your comprehension too much since the idea is to simply subject yourself to as much of
the written word as possible.

Intensive reading, however, opens the doors of full understanding of a text. You can take a passage of Shakespeare when
learning English or Murakami for Japanese and work out the very essence of that paragraph. You translate every word
you don’t understand, think about the meaning of what was written, and really engage with the text and its author. While
you’re not exposed to as much new vocabulary as with extensive reading, the intensive style helps you truly understand
the language. You can take comprehension tests, deconstruct the more complicated grammar, and gain valuable skills
that will help you in learning your target language. This approach is also invaluable to those who do not enjoy reading so
much as to take up extensive reading. Instead of reading a lot superficially, you can deeply engage with a short text and
walk away with a sense of great achievement.

But there are also drawbacks

While extensive reading is a great tool for those who enjoy reading, it really doesn’t work for those language learners who
find the activity tedious. In addition, reading the texts superficially will mean that you will certainly miss important details
that would come in handy in learning your target language. The evidence behind how much this approachhelps learners
acquire new vocabulary is also dubious.
The problems with intensive reading mostly have to do with the amount of concentration this approach requires. Since
you’re pretty much doing a word-by-word autopsy of the text, the mental effort required for that will leave you exhausted
after even a short period. That means you can only dedicate a limited time for this activity and should also pick times
when you feel mentally prepared. While it is suited for people who do not find reading enjoyable (but are able to suffer
through a short text), the close analysis of the text intensive reading requires can be tedious and boring for a lot of
students.

Conclusion – Combine the two approaches for most benefit

Sadly, you can often only find intensive reading taught in the foreign language classroom. This is perhaps understandable
due to the time limit classes face but it is, nonetheless, a drawback. While some students might find reading more
enjoyable than others, the extensive reading approach should also be an option when learning a foreign language.
Learners would certainly see the best results with a combination of the extensive and intensive approaches. Even if you
personally belong firmly in either the camp who appreciates one of these learning styles, it might be beneficial to
occasionally dabble in the other one, to get the full benefits of both.