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.

️vocabulary：

1.pamphlet：

a very thin book with a paper cover, containing information about a particular subject

同义词：brochure，booklet，leaflet，tract

2.tract：

a short piece of writing, especially on a religious, moral or political subject, that is intended to influence people's ideas

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.

️vocabulary：

3.immobilize

同义词：bring to a halt，stop，put out of action

反义词：mobilize（ (+sb)to work together in order to achieve a particular aim; to organize a group of people to do this. 🤔eg：Mobilize the whole society to participate in a wide range of development, needs for mobilizing the masses.发动全社会广泛的参与发展，需要进行群众动员。（疑问：此处为什么用Mobilize动词原形做主语？安妮老师解答：动词原形是可以做主语的，动词原形做主语宾语之类都是比较口语的表达，不是很规范）（+ sth）to find and start to use sth that is needed for a particular purpose.🤔eg：He announced the cancellation of all police leave, and to mobilize support around the London police.他宣布取消所有警察的休假，并调集各地警力支援伦敦。）

Though, strictly speaking, there can be no absolutely passive reading, many people think that, as compared with writing and speaking, which are obviously active undertakings, reading and listening are entirely passive. The writer or speaker must put out some effort, but no work need be done by the reader or listener. Reading and listening are thought of as receiving communication from someone who is actively engaged in giving or sending 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 the contrary, the reader or listener is much more like the catcher in a game of baseball.

️vocabulary：

4.️catcher：

stands behind the batter and catches the ball if he or she does not hit it

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 activity initiates the motion of the ball. The catcher or fielder is the receiver in the sense that his activity terminates it. Both are active, though the activities are different. 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.

️vocabulary：

5.pitcher：（-pitch）

the player who throws the ball to the batter投球手

6.batter

The batter knocked the ball out of the park.击球手把球击出球场。

7.fielder：

a member of the team that is trying to catch the ball rather than hit it守场员

8.inert：

without power to move or act无活动能力的；无行动力的

without active chemical or other properties (= characteristics) 惰性的；不活泼的

同义词：lifeless，immobile，unmoving，motionless，still

反义词：active，moving

9.analogy：

comparison of one thing with another thing that has similar features; a feature that is similar

搭配：（v+n） draw analogy （adj+n）close analogy

🤔eg：If you understand this point, you can understand the rest by analogy.

如果懂得这点，其它的就可以触类旁通了。

We can take this analogy a step further. The art of catching is the skill of catching every kind of pitch—fast balls and curves, changeups and knucklers. Similarly, the art of reading is the skill of catching every sort of communication as well as possible.

️vocabulary：

10.curve：

a line or surface that bends gradually; a smooth bend曲线；弧线；曲面；弯曲

a ball that moves in a curve when it is thrown to the batter （投向击球员的）曲线球

11.changeup：

in baseball, a ball thrown by a pitcher that resembles a fastball but moves more slowly, adversely affecting the batter's timing

an unexpected shift in pace, rhythm, or feeling

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.

️vocabulary：

12.noteworthy：

to receive attention because it is unusual, important or interesting

同义词：notable，striking，remarkable

反义词：insignificant

🤔eg：It is noteworthy that on the whole children love their parents less than their parents love them.

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.”

️vocabulary：

13.admittedly

同义词：certainly，definitely，undeniably，undoubtedly

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. The amount 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 executes the different mental acts involved.

️vocabulary：

14.respect熟词僻义

a particular aspect or detail of sth（事物的）方面，细节

用法：in respect of sth，with respect to sth

原文：There is one respect in which the analogy breaks down.

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.

️vocabulary：

15.suffice：

to be enough for sb/sth