热身任务-Active Reading 20170226
1.principally
adv. for the most part
The book is aimed principally at beginners.
No new power stations have been built, principally because of the cost.
2.pamphlet
小册子
n. A pamphlet is a little booklet with a soft (usually paper) cover that briefly addresses a particular subject of interest.
The pamphlet went out in 6000 copies.
Over a thousand copies of the pamphlet have now been given out.
3.exert
v.basically means to put forth effort to do something. For example, when you exert yourself in a workout, you can really feel the burn in your muscles.
exert something: to use power or influence to affect somebody/something
He exerted all his authority to make them accept the plan.
The moon exerts a force on the earth that causes the tides.
exert yourself: to make a big physical or mental effort
In order to be successful he would have to exert himself.
4.blow
n. a hard hit with the hand, a weapon, etc.
She received a severe blow on the head.
He was knocked out by a single blow to the head.
The two men were exchanging blows.
He landed a blowon Hill's nose.
5.inert
adj. (formal)without power to move or act
He lay inert with half-closed eyes.
The president has to operate within an inert political system.
6.analogy
n. [countable]a comparison of one thing with another thing that has similar features; a feature that is similaranalogy
(between A and B)The teacher drew an analogy between the human heart and a pump.analogy
(with something)There are no analogies with any previous legal cases.
7. curve
(also curve ball) 曲线球
(North American English)(in baseball)a ball that moves in a curve when it is thrown to thebatter
(figurative)One of the journalists threw the senator a curve(=surprised him by asking a difficult question).
8.changeup
变速球
a baseball thrown with little velocity when the batter is expecting a fastball
A pitch thrown deceptively slowly to surprise the batter.
补充：棒球知识https://www.zhihu.com/question/24991535/answer/29713400
9.knuckler
a baseball pitch thrown with little speed or spin
10.entail
v. to involve something that cannot be avoided
entail something The job entails a lot of hard work.
What does the job actually entail?
be entailed in something The girls learn exactly what is entailed in caring for a newborn baby.
entail(somebody) doing something It will entail driving a long distance every day.
11.suffice
v. (not used in the progressive tenses) to be enough for somebody/something
Generally a brief note or a phone call will suffice.
sufficeto do something One example will suffice to illustrate the point.
12.tract
n. (sometimes disapproving)a short piece of writing, especially on a religious, moral or political subject, that is intended to influence people’s ideas
feminist tracts
13.contrast
[countable,uncountable]a difference between two or more people or things that you can see clearly when they are compared or put close together; the fact of comparing two or more things in order to show the differences between them
contrast(between A and B)There is an obvious contrast between the cultures of East and West.
contrast(with somebody/something)to show a sharp/stark/striking contrast with something
14. in proportion
n. proportion: [uncountable,countable,usually plural] the correct relationship in size, degree, importance, etc. between one thing and another or between the parts of a whole
You haven't drawn the figures in the foreground in proportion.
The head is out of proportion with the body.
an impressive building with fine proportions
Always try to keep a sense of proportion(=of the relative importance of different things).
15. batter
击球手
17. fielder
外野手
n. (in cricket and baseball)a member of the team that is trying to catch the ball rather than hit it
18. convege upon a common end
v. [intransitive]converge(on…)(of people or vehicles)to move towards a place from different directions and meet
Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally.
19. execute
execute something(formal) to do a piece of work, perform a duty, put a plan into action, etc.
They drew up and executed a plan to reduce fuel consumption.
The crime was very cleverly executed.
Check that the computer has executed your commands.
20. whereas
conj. used to compare or contrast two facts
Some of the studies show positive results, whereas others do not.
We thought she was arrogant, whereas in fact she was just very shy.
思维导图：
原文：
Active Reading
As we said at the beginning, we will beprincipallyconcerned in these pages with thedevelopment of skill in reading books; but the rules of reading that, iffollowed and practiced, develop such skill can be applied also to printed materialin general, to any type of reading matter—to newspapers, magazines,pamphlets, articles, tracts, even advertisements.
Since reading of any sort is an activity, all readingmust to some degree be active. Completely passive reading is impossible; wecannot read with our eyes immobilized and our minds asleep. Hence when wecontrast active withpassive reading, our purpose is,first, tocallattention to the fact thatreading can be more or less active, and second, to point out that the moreactive the reading the better. One reader is better than another in proportionas he is capable of a greater range of activity in reading andexertsmore effort. He is better if he demands more ofhimself and of the text before him.
Though, strictly speaking, there can be no absolutelypassive reading, many people think that, as compared with writing and speaking,which are obviously active undertakings, reading and listening are entirelypassive. The writer or speaker must put out some effort, but no work need be doneby the reader or listener. Reading and listeningare
thought of asreceiving communication from someone who is activelyengaged in giving or sending it. The mistake here is to suppose that receivingcommunication is like receiving ablowor alegacy or a judgment from the court. On the contrary, the reader or listener ismuch more like the catcher in a game of baseball.
Catching the ball is just as much an activity aspitching or hitting it. The pitcher or batter is the sender in the sense thathis activity initiates the motion of the ball. The catcher or fielder is thereceiver in the sense that his activityterminatesit. Both are active, though the activities are different. If anything ispassive, it is the ball. It is theinertthingthat is put in motion or stopped, whereas the players are active, moving topitch, hit, or catch. The analogywith writingand reading is almost perfect. The thing that is written and read, like theball, is the passive object common to the two activities that begin andterminate the process.
We can take this analogy a step further. The art ofcatching is the skill of catching every kind of pitch—fast
balls and curves, changeups and knucklers.Similarly, the art of readingis the skill of catching every sort of communication as well as possible.
It is noteworthy that the pitcher and catcher aresuccessful only to the extent that they cooperate. The relation of writer andreader is similar. The writer isn’t trying not to be caught, although itsometimes seems so. Successful communication occurs in any case where what thewriter wanted to have received finds its way into the reader’s possession. Thewriter’s skill and the reader’s skill converge upon a common end.
Admittedly, writers vary, just as pitchers do. Somewriters have excellent “control”; they know exactly what they want to convey,and they convey it precisely and accurately. Other things being equal, they areeasier to “catch” than a “wild” writer without “control.”
There is one respect in which the analogy breaks down.The ball is a simple unit. It is either completely caught or not. A piece ofwriting, however, is a complex object. It can be received more or lesscompletely, all the way from very little of what the writer intended to thewhole of it. The amount the reader “catches” will usually depend on the amountof activity he puts into the process, as well as upon the skill with which heexecutes the different mental acts involved.
What does active readingentail?We will return to this question many times in this book. For the moment, itsuffices tosay that, given the same thing to read,one person reads it better than another, first, by reading it more actively,and second, by performing each of the acts involved more skillfully. These twothings are related. Reading is a complex activity, just as writing is. Itconsists of a large number of separate acts, all of which must be performed ina good reading. The person who can perform more of them is better able to read.
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