To become a better reader, we could learn to improve our reading comprehension(理解) skills like learning new vocabulary from the context, finding out the main idea and making inferences(推测).
What is context?
Context means all the words in a sentence or all the sentences in a paragraph. If you find a word you do not know, look at the words around it. These other words can help you understand what the words mean.
What is a main idea?
The main idea of a story tells what it is about. The other sentences add details to the main idea.
Often the main idea is started in the first or last sentence of the paragraph. Sometimes you may find the main idea in the middle of the paragraph.
What is an inference?
An inference is a guess you make after thinking about what you already know. For example, a friend invites you to a party. From what you know about parties, you might infer that there will be games, gifts, food and drinks.
| (a) Stevie Wonder was blind from birth. This did not prevent him from using his talent. He found that he was good with music. He learned how to play many instruments. He wrote his own songs. At the age of 12, he sang his first hit. Since then he has made many records. He has even written music for movies. |
| (b) In the fall of each year, the days grow shorter and shorter. We finally reach a time when the days and nights last about the same number of hours and minutes. During these days, the full moon is called a harvest moon. It rises soon after the Sun goes down. It is often a deep orange color. Since the Moon is so bright, farmers have more time to harvest their crops(收割庄稼). That's why it's called a harvest moon. |
| (c) The Smithsonian is a big museum. The bones(骨头) of animals that lived long ago are kept there. You can also see clothes, tools and cars that people have used in the past. The first U.S. rocket is there, too. |
