Do you get lots of reading tasks as part of your homework? You might wish that you could read faster. But experts have dismissed(驳回) this announcement.
“Speed reading is not actually possible," said Elizabeth Schotter, a scientist at the University of South Florida, US. Schotter pointed out that people who say that they can teach others how to speed read are usually doing it to make money by selling courses and books.
In fact, speed reading has been advertised(做广告) since 1959, when US educator Evelyn Wood introduced a speed reading program. Several US presidents have even asked their staff to take speed reading courses.
Schotter explained that reading is a complicated(复杂的) process. It includes four stages: seeing a word, searching its meaning from your memory, connecting it with other words in the same sentence, and then moving on to the next word. It can't be sped up.
Some people who are able to speed read are simply skimming(略读). Skimmers can find out the main idea of a passage. But they will not be able to recall all of the information.
Research suggests that you should try to improve your vocabulary and simply read more. Then you can improve your reading speed.
| A. This process uses many parts of the brain at one time. B. Skimming needs to read a passage quickly and only look for certain words or sentences. C. There are some people who announce that you can learn to read at super-high speeds. D. So is there a way to become a faster reader? E. However, the staff found that there is no real science behind speed reading. |
