READING SKILLS

SKIMMING

Skimming is reading a text quickly to get a general idea of meaning. It is used to quickly gather the most important
information or ‘gist’. Skimming is a specific reading skill which is common in reading newspapers, messages and e-
mails. It is important to understand that there is no need to read every word when skimming.

HOW TO SKIM
Read the title if there is one
Read the introduction or first paragraph which may have the main idea of the text
Read the first sentence of each paragraph. Also called topic sentences, they often give you the main idea of the
paragraph.
If you do not get the main idea from the topic sentence, then you may want to skim more. Drop down through the
rest of the paragraphs
Read titles of picture, graphs and charts
Notice italicised or bold phrases
Read the summary or last paragraph.
Don’t read everything as you only need to read what is important to your purpose.

EXAMPLE: SKIMMING FOR GIST - Read the first sentence of each paragraph in the following text.

Here I want to try to give you an answer to the question: What personal qualities are Skim the
desirable in a teacher? Probably no two people would draw up exactly similar lists, introductory
but I think the following would be generally accepted. paragraph to identify
First, the teacher's personality should be pleasantly live and attractive. This does the central thought
not rule out people who are physically plain, or even ugly, because many such have of the passage
great personal charm. But it does rule out such types as the over-excitable,
melancholy, frigid, sarcastic, cynical, frustrated, and over-bearing :I still stick to what
I said in my earlier book: that school children probably 'suffer more from bores than
from brutes'. The first sentence or
Secondly, it is not merely desirable but essential for a teacher to have a genuine topic sentence of
capacity for sympathy -; a capacity to tune in to the minds and feelings of other each
people, especially, since most teachers are school paragraph usually
teachers, to the minds and feelings of children. explains what the
Closely related with this is the capacity to be tolerant - not, indeed, of what is wrong, paragraph is about
but of the frailty and immaturity of human nature which induce people, and again
especially children, to make mistakes.
Thirdly, I hold it essential for a teacher to be both intellectually and morally honest.
This does not mean being a plaster saint. It means that he will be aware of his
intellectual strengths, and limitations, and will have thought about and decided upon
the moral principles by which his life shall be guided.
(From Teaching as a Career, by H. C. Dent, Batsford, 1961)

Notice how reading these sentences gives you a good idea about the meaning of the text. In this example the text
describes the main qualities needed in a teacher. By skimming, you were able to get an overview of the topic.

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EXERCISE 1 - SKIMMING

The Royal Air Force base in Upper Heyford - once the heart of allied defence against nuclear attack by the
USSR - could become a Cold War 'museum'. Historians want parts of the base to be preserved as a
heritage centre that could show future generations the struggle with Soviet communism 'in a way no
document can'.

Details of the latest recommendations for Heyford - now being called Heyford Park - have been put
forward by English Heritage which has called for measures to prevent demolition of the 'irreplaceable'
military remains. Current thinking comes from a detailed assessment of Cold War infrastructure across
England by English Heritage experts. Keith Watson, the chief executive of the North Oxfordshire
Consortium who are to develop part of the site for housing, said they were in full agreement with English
Heritage's proposals.

He said: "We are quite content with what English Heritage is proposing. It has always been part of our
scheme to retain these structures in any event. "We are working with English Heritage to agree a
consistent plan for the buildings. The structures on the base can illustrate, in a way no document can, the
reality of the struggle with Soviet Communism," he said.

"In our view much of this character would be lost by future ill-thought-out change and there stands an
opportunity to ensure this does not happen. We recognize that preservation of the whole base exactly as it
stands today may not be a realistic option but a sustainable future could be found which balances the need
for preservation against other needs."

What is this article mainly about?

A The struggle against Soviet communism during the Cold War
B The clash between the housing developers and the historians
C The fight to preserve the historical air base used during the Cold War.

READING
Answer: C

Justification of answer: Preservation is mentioned in the opening and closing paragraphs. When a student skims
further, he can see that other paragraphs mention ‘prevent demolition’ and ‘retain these structures’ which have the
same idea as preservation)

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EXERCISE 2 - SKIMMING

Back in the twentieth century there was a British punk rock song that repeated over and over again the claim that
there were "no more heroes anymore". Calmer critics and social commentators have agreed that the age of the hero
is over. In the past people had heroes. They were the most prominent figures in the public consciousness - people
who had achieved great things, people who had done great deeds - proud, noble leaders and bold pioneers.
The myth of the hero, though, could not survive when public life came to be dominated by the mass media. The
mass media killed off the heroes and replaced them with celebrities. To become a celebrity what matters is not so
much the greatness of what you have done but the exposure you are given in the media.
The mass media is not solely responsible for the death of the hero. A democratic culture also undermines the idea
that certain individuals carry a divine spark and are therefore in a category superior to that of the rest of us. No one
deserves to be worshipped and there is a revulsion at the idea of bending the knee and kissing the hand of another
individual.
Having killed the hero we have replaced him with a distinctively modern public figure: the celebrity. As one
commentator put it: the celebrity is a person who is known for being well-known. Any exposure in the media helps
to increase someone's status as a celebrity. Celebrities offer exclusive stories to increase their exposure, the media
promote them to increase their ratings. They have no reason to object to invasions of their private lives because this
just keeps their names on everyone's lips, which is all that really matters.
For many people, the heroes of the past were an inspiration, they broadened our horizons by giving us an example of
a course of action that could be considered noble. Celebrities, on the other hand, with the string of stories about their
hardships and their lucky breaks, their affairs and their break-ups, prove to be nothing out of the ordinary. Reading
about their lives does not inspire us or fill us with purpose. If it isn't just an idle diversion - a way of killing time - it
may well help us to resign ourselves to our own sense of purposelessness. It may be fun, but perhaps something that
helped to raise the tone of public life has been lost.

Which of the following best expresses the central idea of the passage?
A. Celebrities have replaced heroes in inspiring the public
B The public no longer has heroes to inspire them
C Both heroes and celebrities play prominent roles in society

Answer: B
Justification of answer: By skimming through the topic sentences of each paragraph, the student can see references
to how the idea of heroes has become unpopular, why heroes are no longer relevant and how society no longer has a
source of inspiration like a hero to look up to)

READING

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DERIVE MEANING OF WORDS, PHRASES, SENTENCES FROM THE CONTEXT

Derive the meaning of the unknown words in the text using their context : contextual clues and word parts.

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE CONTEXTUAL CLUES

1. Punctuation clues : Keywords are identified, regrouped and recombined.
2. Punctuation marks like dashes (-); commas (, ); brackets ( ) e.g : The deluge, a flood of rain, threatened
to drown the little town
3. Definition clues : The unknown word is joined with the words that tell its meaning such as or, refer to,
meaning : e.g : His emaciation, that is, his skeleton-like appearance, was frightening to see. “Skeleton-
like appearance” is the definition of “emaciation.”
4. Control / contrast clues : The unknown word is joined with another word that is opposite. Look out for
words which indicate contrast such as but, however, yet, nevertheless, while, rather than, although,
whereas, and despite :
e.g : When the light brightens, the pupils of the eyes contract; however, when it grows darker, they dilate.
“Dilate” means the opposite of “contract.”
5. Restatement : The meaning of an unfamiliar word can sometimes be explained by the next part of the
sentence, or another sentence which restates the information. Restatements are sometimes indicated by
words like that is, in other words, or this means that : e.g : My father is a podiatrist, or foot doctor. The
restatement clue, “or foot doctor,” tells you the meaning of podiatrist.
6. Example clues : The examples in the text are shown to have common criteria with the unknown word. The
clues are introduced by for example, for instance, such as, to illustrate, including :
e.g : Large corporations like General Foods, Shell Oil, Nortel and Canadian Pacific are often less innovative
than smaller ones.
7. Framework-based / Logical Reasoning clues : The meaning of the new words is determined by the
background information of the text : e.g : A crying little girl can usually be pacified (calmed) by giving her
a doll
8. Anaphoric reference : The word or phrases or expression used before the word : e.g : ‘I went out with Jo
on Sunday. She looked awful.' ´She` clearly refers to Jo, there is no need to repeat her name.
9. Cataphoric reference : The word or phrases or expression used after the word : e.g : When he arrived,
John noticed that the door was open'.
Note: Contextual clues includes synonyms, antonyms, examples, definitions, affixes and restatement

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE WORD PARTS

Use root word, prefixes and suffixes to identify the meaning of the unknown word

Prefixes are added to the beginning of an existing word in order to create a new word with a different meaning.
Prefix Meaning Example
ante- before antenatal
dis- opposite of not disagree
fore- before forecast

Suffixes are added to the end of an existing word

Suffix Meaning Example
-dom place or state of being freedom
-ship position held friendship
-ment condition argument

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GUIDELINES
Notify the unknown word and its usage in the passage
Choose the best word that can replaced the word in the context
Figure out the meaning of the unknown words using the clues or information given in the passage

Sample Questions (Nov 2016)

“She should have diabetes. Given her body mass index, she must have diabetes. But she
doesn’t.” Even to a non-medical eye, Robles appeared obese. Like so many little people,
however, she remained free of diabetes. “I realised this in 1994,” Guevara said, “but no one
would believe me.”

This refers to the connection made between

body mass index and diabetes
obesity and environment
little people and diabetes

The answer is C.
The answer is found in the sentence (Like so many little people, however, she remained free of diabetes.) using
example clue Like

(July 2015)

To figure out what most appeals to our ear, Lindstrom wired up his volunteers, then played them
recordings of dozens of familiar sounds, from McDonald’s ubiquitous “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle to
birds chirping and cigarettes being lit. The sound that blew the doors off all the rest – both in
terms of interest and positive feelings – was a baby giggling.

blew the doors off all the rest means that

the most special
the most popular
the most effective
the most interesting

The answer is C. The answer is found using the dash ( - ) as in the punctuation clues

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