THE BASICS MADE EASY IN 20 MINUTES A DAY! LEARNINGEXPRESS THE BASICS MADE EASY IN 20 MINUTES A DAY! A New Approach to “Mastering The Basics.” An innovative 20-step self-study program helps you learn at your own pace and make visible progress in just 20 minutes a day GRAMMAR ESSENTIALS HOW TO STUDY IMPROVE YOUR WRITING FOR WORK MATH ESSENTIALS PRACTICAL SPELLING PRACTICAL VOCABULARY READ BETTER, REMEMBER MORE THE SECRETS OF TAKING ANY TEST Become a Better Student–Quickly Become a More Marketable Employee–Fast Get a Better Job–Now READ BETTER, R EMEMBER MORE Second Edition Elizabeth Chesla đ NEW YORK Copyright â 2000 Learning Express, LLC All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions Published in the United States by LearningExpress, LLC, New York Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chesla, Elizabeth L Read better, remember more / Elizabeth Chesla — 2nd ed p cm Rev ed of: How to read and remember more in 20 minutes a day 1st ed ©1997 ISBN 1-57685-336-5 (pbk.) Reading comprehension Reading (Adult education) I Chesla, Elizabeth L How to read and remember more in 20 minutes a day II Title LB1050.45.C443 2000 428.4'3—dc21 00-058787 Printed in the United States of America 987654321 Second Edition For Further Information For information on LearningExpress, other LearningExpress products, or bulk sales, please call or write to us at: LearningExpress® 900 Broadway Suite 604 New York, NY 10003 Visit LearningExpress on the World Wide Web at www.LearnX.com C ONTENTS Introduction: How to Use This Book Pre-Test Section 1: Setting Yourself Up for Reading Success Pre-Reading Strategies Getting the Facts Using the Dictionary Determining Meaning from Context Putting It All Together vii 11 13 21 29 41 49 10 Section 2: Getting—and Remembering—the Gist of It Finding the Main Idea Finding the Supporting Ideas Highlighting, Underlining, and Glossing Taking Notes and Outlining Putting It All Together 55 57 67 79 91 99 11 12 13 14 15 Section 3: Improving Your Reading IQ Recognizing Organizational Strategies Distinguishing Fact from Opinion Recording Your Questions and Reactions Visualizing to Remember Putting It All Together 107 109 123 131 141 153 16 17 18 19 20 Section 4: Reader, Detective, Writer Word Choice and Point of View Determining Tone Finding an Implied Main Idea Putting It in Your Own Words Putting It All Together 161 163 175 183 191 201 Post-Test Appendix A: Additional Resources Appendix B: CommonPrefixes, Suffixes, and Word Roots Index 209 219 225 239 INTRODUCTION HOW T TO USE THIS BOOK he 20 practical chapters in this book are designed to help you better understand and remember what you read Because you need to understand what you read in order to remember it, many chapters focus on reading comprehension strategies that will help you improve your overall reading ability and effectiveness Each chapter focuses on a specific reading skill so that you can build your reading skills step by step in just 20 minutes a day Practice exercises in each chapter allow you to put the reading strategies you learn into immediate practice If you read a chapter a day, Monday through Friday, and all the exercises carefully, you should be able to understand—and vii viii READ BETTER, REMEMBER MORE remember—much more of what you read by the end of one month of study The 20 chapters are divided into four sections Each section focuses on a related set of reading skills: Section One: Section Two: Section Three: Section Four: Setting Yourself Up for Reading Success Getting—and Remembering—the Gist of It Improving Your Reading IQ Reader, Detective, Writer Each section begins with a brief explanation of that section’s focus and ends with a chapter that reviews the main ideas of that section The practice exercises allow you to combine all of the reading strategies you learned in that section Although each chapter is an effective skill builder on its own, it’s important that you proceed through this book in order, from Chapter through Chapter 20 Each chapter builds on the skills and ideas discussed in previous chapters If you don’t have a thorough understanding of the concepts in Chapter 4, for example, you may have difficulty with the concepts in Chapters 5-20 The reading and practice passages will also increase in length and complexity with each chapter Be sure you thoroughly understand each chapter before moving on to the next one Each chapter provides several practical exercises that ask you to use the strategies you’ve just learned To help you be sure you’re on the right track, each chapter also provides answers and explanations for the practice questions Each chapter also includes practical “skill building” suggestions for how to continue practicing these skills throughout the rest of the day, the week, and beyond GET “IN THE MOOD” FOR READING Your success as a reader, much like the success of an athlete, depends not only on your skills but also upon your state of mind This book will help you improve your skills, but you need to provide the proper atmosphere and attitude INTRODUCTION CREATE AN ATMOSPHERE THAT INVITES SUCCESS There are many reasons why people may have difficulty understanding or remembering what they read Sometimes they’re too busy thinking about other things Sometimes they haven’t gotten enough sleep Sometimes the vocabulary is too difficult And sometimes they’re simply not interested in the subject matter Perhaps you’ve experienced one or more of these difficulties Sometimes these factors are beyond your control, but many times you can help ensure success in your reading task by making sure that you read at the right time and in the right place Though reading seems like a passive act, it is a task that requires energy and concentration You’ll understand and remember more if you read when you have sufficient energy and in an environment that helps you concentrate Therefore, determine when you are most alert Do you concentrate best in the early morning? At lunch time? Late in the afternoon? In the evening? Find your optimum concentration time Then, determine where you’re able to concentrate best What kind of environment you need for maximum attention to your task? Consider everything in that environment: how it looks, feels, and sounds Do you need to be in a comfortable, warm place, or does that kind of environment put you to sleep? Do you need to be in a brightly lit room? Or does softer lighting help you focus? Do you prefer a desk or a table? Or would you rather curl up on a couch? Are you the kind of person that likes some background noise—a TV, radio, the buzz of people eating in a restaurant? If you like music, what kind of music is best for your concentration? Or you need absolute silence? If you’re preoccupied with other tasks or concerns and the reading can wait, let it wait If you’re distracted by more pressing concerns, chances are you’ll end up reading the same paragraphs over and over without really understanding or remembering what you’ve read Instead, see if there’s something you can to address those concerns Then, when you’re more relaxed, come back to your reading task If it’s not possible to wait, your best to keep your attention on your reading Keep reminding yourself that it has to get done, and that there’s little you can about your other concerns at the moment ix .. . LEARNINGEXPRESS THE BASICS MADE EASY IN 20 MINUTES A DAY! A New Approach to “Mastering The Basics. ” An innovative 20- step self-study program helps you learn at your own pace and make visible .. . classes are taught in a language other than English A summary should include: a the main idea only b the main idea and major supporting ideas c the main idea, major supporting ideas, and minor supporting .. . have a 75% chance of being tall According to the passage, a child who has the “Tt” combination has which parents? a TT and TT b TT and tt c tt and tt d Tt and Tt The passage suggests that: a the