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.

principally adv.   for the most part; chiefly 多半; 主要地:  The dialect is spoken principally in the rural areas. 该方言主要通行于农村地区.                       Weymouth is principally a holiday resort. 韦茅斯主要来说是个度假胜地.

tract  /trækt/ n. pamphlet containing a short essay, esp on a religious or political subject 小册子（尤指宗教或政治内容的）.

matter n. written works (especially in books or magazines)                              He always took some reading matter with him on the plane.

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.

One reader is better than another in proportion as he is capable of a greater range of activity in reading and exerts more effort.

to some degree 在某种程度上，在一定程度上      （to a certain extent, to the extent）    From that we can unravel to some degree how it forms.从某种程度上我们可以揭开其形成的原因。

immobilized adj. made unable to move, rendered stationary

in proportion as   adv. 按…比例；依…程度而变

exert v.   ~ oneself make an effort 努力; 尽力: You'll have to exert yourself more if you want to pass your exam. 你若想考试及格, 就必须更加努力. *

strictly speaking

On the contrary, the reader or listener is much more like the catcher in a game of baseball.

catcher n (in baseball) fielder who stands behind the batter （棒球）接球手

If anything is passive, it is the ball. It is the inert thing that is put in motion or stopped, whereas the players are active, moving to pitch, hit, or catch. The analogy with writing and reading is almost perfect. The thing that is written and read, like the ball, is the passive object common to the two activities that begin and terminate the process.

inert adj. heavy and slow in action, thought, etc; without vigour                         an inert management team

It is noteworthy that the pitcher and catcher are successful only to the extent that they cooperate.  

The writer’s skill and the reader’s skill converge upon a common end.

noteworthy adj deserving to be noted; remarkable 值得注意的; 显著的:             a noteworthy performance by a young soloist 青年独奏演员的出色表演

converge v. 1 ~ (on sb/sth); ~ (at sth) (of lines, moving objects, etc) (come towards each other and) meet at a point （指线条、 运动的物体等）会于一点, 向一点会合; 聚集                              2（比喻）(tend to) become similar or identical （趋于）相似或相同:       Our previously opposed views are beginning to converge.

Admittedly adv. without a doubt

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.

entail v. make (sth) necessary; involve 使（某事物）必要; 牵涉:               This job entails a lot of hard work. 这项工作需要十分努力。

suffice v. be enough (for sb/sth); be adequate 能满足（某人[某事物]）之需要的; 足够的:      Will 10 suffice for the trip? 这趟行程10英镑够用吗?                (idm 习语) suffice it to say (that)... (used to suggest that even though one could say more, what one does say should be enough to show what one means 用以指不必多说, 只须说...就够了):