Active Reading
As we said at the beginning, we will be principally concerned in these pages with the development of skill in reading books; but the rules of reading that, if followed and practiced, develop such skill can be applied also to printed material in general, to any type of reading matter—to newspapers,magazines,pamphlets, articles,tracts, even advertisements.
【词汇】1.pamphlet:小册子（SYN：leaflet）;
2. Tract:(尤指宣扬宗教、伦理、政治的）短文、传单、小册子
【概要】阅读原则可以习得；并且适用于多种素材。
Since reading of any sort is an activity, all reading must to some degree be active. Completely passive reading is impossible;we cannot read with our eyes immobilized and our minds asleep.Hence when we contrast active with passive reading, our purpose is, first, to call attention to the fact that reading can be more or less active, and second, to point out that the more active the reading the better. One reader is better than another in proportion as he is capable of a greater range of activity in reading and exerts more effort. He is better if he demands more of himself and of the text before him.
【词汇】1. Immobilize v.
（in）Mobile(adj.) e.g. Mobile facilities;移动设备
People are less mobile;行动不便的人；
A highly mobile workforce具有很强流动性的劳动力
2. In proportion: 成反比 意思是：越active 的reader 越是好读者。
3. Exert: v. To put more effort;
E.g.To get ideal scores, I must exert myself .
【概要】积极阅读的目的：承认阅读本身就是一件积极行动的事情；
积极阅读的好处：他会表现出强烈的自主性和执行力。
Though, strictly speaking, there can be no absolutely passive reading, many people think that, as compared with writing and speaking, which areobviously active undertakings, reading and listening are entirely passive. The writer or speaker must put out some effort, but no work need be doneby the reader or listener. Reading and listening are thought of as receiving communication from someone who is actively engaged in giving orsending it.The mistake here is to suppose that receiving communication is like receiving a blow or a legacy or a judgment from the court. On thecontrary, the reader or listener is much more like the catcher in a game of baseball.
【词汇】catcher:棒球运动的接球手（攻方队员）
【概要】指出认知误区：人们通常认为写作和表达是积极活动，而阅读和听力是消极活动。
Catching the ball is just as much an activity as pitching or hitting it. The pitcher or batter is the sender in the sense that his activityinitiatesthe motionof the ball. The catcher or fielder is the receiver in the sense that his activityterminatesit. Both are active, though the activities are different. Ifanything is passive, it is the ball. It is theinert thingthat is put in motion or stopped, whereas the players are active, moving to pitch, hit, or catch.The analogy withwriting and reading is almost perfect. The thing that is written and read, like the ball, is the passive object common to the twoactivities that begin and terminate the process.
【词汇】1.initiate: v. To make sth begin
E.g. The government has initiated a program of economic reform.
2. Terminate: v. To make sth end (OPP)
E.g. This contract was terminated at once.
3. Inert adj. Without power to move or act.
E.g. She lay inert on the bed.
4. Analogy n.
Draw a analogy between A and B;
Analogy with...
5.put in motion：to start sth moving
E.g. They put the machinery in motion.
【摘要】：评析认知误区：作者认为阅读和写作都是积极活动；他把它们和棒球运动中的接球和发球做类比，棒球运动员在这两种动作中都在为得分努力，所以是积极运动。阅读和写作同理可得。
We can take this analogy a step further. The art of catching is the skill of catching every kind of pitch—fast balls andcurves,changeupsandknucklers.Similarly, the art of reading is the skill of catching every sort of communication as well as possible.
【词汇】：1.curve: v.沿曲线运动
E.g. The ball curves through the air.
2.changeup 变速
3. Knuckler 慢速
【概要】作者指出：接球员能接住各种球速的球，阅读同理，能阅读并获取各种信息。
It is noteworthy that the pitcher and catcher are successful only to the extent that they cooperate. The relation of writer and reader is similar. The writer isn’t trying not to be caught, although it sometimes seems so. Successful communication occurs in any case where what the writer wanted to have received finds its way into the reader’s possession. The writer’s skill and the reader’s skill converge upon a common end.
【词汇】1.it is noteworthy that: it is noticeable that...
2. Converge(v.)--convergent(adj.)
Converge (on) e.g. Convergent ideas
【概要】作者指出阅读和写作相辅相成。
Admittedly, writers vary, just as pitchers do. Some writers have excellent “control”; they know exactly what they want to convey, and they convey it precisely and accurately. Other things being equal, they are easier to “catch” than a “wild” writer without “control.”
【概要】作者指出：一位优秀的作者具备以下两种能力：简明扼要地传递重要信息；获取哪重要信息。这就是他们对于文字“掌控”的表现。
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 of writing, however,is a complex object. It can be received more or less completely,all the way from very little of what the writer intended to the whole of it.Theamount the reader “catches” will usually depend on the amount of activity he puts into the process, as well as upon the skill with which he executesthe different mental acts involved.
【词汇】1.break down :此处因理解为：类比有失妥当之处
2. Execute(熟词僻义）v. Perform
E.g. He executes a plan.
【概要】：作者指出阅读和棒球运动的区别是：前者不是非黑即白的结果，而是渗透式切入，收获多少取决于读者的投入和运用的方法论。
【加粗处解析】：写作和棒球运动不同，它会让你从知之甚少达到通盘皆知的程度。
What does active reading entail? We will return to this question many times in this book. For the moment, it suffices to say 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 two things are related. Reading is a complex activity, just as writing is. It consists of a large number of separate acts, all of which must be performed in a good reading. The person who can perform more of them is better able to read.
【词汇】：1.entail v. Involve/need
E.g. This work entails a lot of professional skills.
2.it suffices to say that:闲言少叙
【概要】：两点建议：积极阅读；运用方法论阅读。
(PS： 原文由甘比学堂安妮笃师提供！)
May
Feb 25, 2017
