Question 12
ComprehensionJAMB 1998 Passage III: Eye movement and reading speed
There is another interesting fact about eye movement. If you record the eye movements of someone who is reading, you will notice that, from time to time, the reader goes back and looks again at something he has read before; in other words, he regresses to an earlier part of the text, probably because he realises he does not understand the passage properly. Then he comes back to where he left off and continues reading. At one time, it was thought that regression was a fault, but it is in fact a very necessary activity in efficient reading.
There are several different kinds of faults in reading, which are usually more exaggerated with foreign learners. The most common one is that most people read more slowly than they should. There is no rate at which people ought to read, of course: it depends on your purpose in reading, how difficult the language is, how unfamiliar the material and so on. But most people read everything at the same slow speed, and do not seem to realise that they can read faster or slower as required. Other people say the words to themselves, or move their lips------ these habits slow the reader down to something near speaking speed, which is, of course, much slower than reading speed. Another habit which can slow you down is following the line with your finger, or with a pen.
If you want to be able to read faster, the secret is simply to practice under timed conditions. This means that you should give yourself a certain amount of time to read with understanding, then check your time when you have finished. Students who have practised fast reading even for only an hour a week, have shown average improvements of over 50% over a term of ten weeks' duration. Reading fast does not necessarily mean reading with less comprehension --------in fact, students usually show small increase in comprehension as well as a dramatic increase in speed.
(Wallace, M.C: Study Skills in English, C.U.P. 1980)
There are several different kinds of faults in reading, which are usually more exaggerated with foreign learners. The most common one is that most people read more slowly than they should. There is no rate at which people ought to read, of course: it depends on your purpose in reading, how difficult the language is, how unfamiliar the material and so on. But most people read everything at the same slow speed, and do not seem to realise that they can read faster or slower as required. Other people say the words to themselves, or move their lips------ these habits slow the reader down to something near speaking speed, which is, of course, much slower than reading speed. Another habit which can slow you down is following the line with your finger, or with a pen.
If you want to be able to read faster, the secret is simply to practice under timed conditions. This means that you should give yourself a certain amount of time to read with understanding, then check your time when you have finished. Students who have practised fast reading even for only an hour a week, have shown average improvements of over 50% over a term of ten weeks' duration. Reading fast does not necessarily mean reading with less comprehension --------in fact, students usually show small increase in comprehension as well as a dramatic increase in speed.
(Wallace, M.C: Study Skills in English, C.U.P. 1980)
According to the passage, the reader regresses so that he can
- A.look again at what he has read before
- B.appreciate what he is reading
- C.make sense of what he is reading
- D.remember what he is reading.
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: C (make sense of what he is reading)
Explanation
The reader goes back 'probably because he realises he does not understand the passage properly', i.e. to make sense of it.