阅读理解
    When children are little, we make them read aloud, before the teacher and other children, so that we can be sure they "know" all the words they are reading.  This means that when they don't know a word, they are going to make a mistake, right in front of everyone.  They may lose face in public. After having taught fifth-grade classes for four years, I decided to try at all costs to rid (消除) them of their fear and dislike of books, and to get them to read oftener and more adventurously (冒险地).
    One day soon after school had started, I said to them, "Now I would like you to read a lot of books this year, but I want you to read them only for pleasure. I am not going to ask you questions to find out whether you understand the books or not. If you understand enough of a book to enjoy it and want to go on reading it, that's enough for me.  Also I'm not going to ask you what words mean."
    The children sat amazed and silent. Was this a teacher talking? One girl, who had just come to us from a school where she had had a very hard time, looked at me for a long time after I had finished. Then, still looking at me, she said slowly and seriously, "Mr Holt, do you really mean that?" I said just as seriously, "I mean every word of it."
    During the .spring she really surprised me.  One day, she was reading Moby Dick (白鲸) at her desk.  I said.  "Don't you find parts of it rather heavy going?" She answered,  "Oh, sure, but I just skip over (略过) those parts and go on to the next good part."
    This is exactly what reading should be an exciting, joyous adventure. Find something, dive into it, take the good parts, skip the bad parts, get what you can out of it, go on to something else.