1. Forget what you know about reading.

将你对阅读的一切认知都抛开

Did you ever wonder why teachers teach the SQ3R strategy? That strategy requires that you read a text more than one time and that you question what you read. The truth is, you should never read a school book or article one time! There is a right way to read a book for pleasure, and a right way to read a book for learning. You can read a book for pleasure one time through and be just fine.

You’ll get all you need out of that one reading—which is pleasure. However, it is harmful to assume that you should approach academic reading the same way. In order to read and comprehend a book or article for school, you need to be much more intentional and strategic. That is, if you want to earn a good grade!

你有没有好奇过为什么老师会讲SQ3R 方法（Survey，Question，Read，Recite，Review）呢？该方法要求你将一篇文本多读几次，并对阅读的内容质疑。而真相是，你一次都没有读过课本或文章！为了获得乐趣，或者学习知识而阅读也有正确的方法。你可以纯粹为了乐趣将一本书读一遍。那么你会从阅读中得到所有你需要的，即乐趣。但是，如果以同样的方法来对待学术阅读则是有危害的。为了阅读或理解课内书籍或文章，你需要更加集中注意力且采用策略。也就是说，如果你想获得好成绩的话！

2. Understand genres and themes.

了解体裁和主题

In most reading tests, the student is asked to read a passage and predict what might happen next. Prediction is a common reading comprehension strategy. The purpose for this strategy is to make sure you’re able to infer information from the clues in the text. Here’s an passage to clarify this point:

在大多数的阅读测试中，学生们会被要求阅读一段文章，并预测接下来的内容是什么。预测是一种常见的阅读理解模式，该模式的目的是确保你可以从文章中的线索里推断出信息。这里有一段文章可以对这一点作出解释：

Clara gripped the handle of the heavy glass pitcher and lifted it from the refrigerator shelf. She didn’t understand why her mother thought she was too young to pour her own juice. As she backed away carefully, the rubber seal of the refrigerator door caught the lip of the glass pitcher, which caused the slippery handle to slip from her hand. As she watch the pitcher crash into a thousand pieces, she saw the figure of her mother appear in the kitchen doorway.

克拉拉抓住了沉重的玻璃水罐的把手，将它从冰箱搁板上拿下来，她不明白为什么妈妈觉得她太小，不能自己给自己倒果汁。她小心翼翼地往后挪，冰箱门上的橡胶密封圈碰到了玻璃水罐的边缘处。克拉拉眼睁睁看着水罐摔了个粉碎，又看到了妈妈的身影出现在厨房门口。

So, what do you think will happen next? We could guess that Clara’s mother reacts angrily, or we might guess that the mother bursts into laughter. Either answer would be sufficient, since we have so little information to go on.

所以，你认为接下来会发生什么呢？我们可以猜猜看，克拉拉的妈妈是勃然大怒呢，还是忍俊不禁呢。两个答案都有可能，因为我们获取的信息量太少了。

But if I told you that this passage was an excerpt from a thriller, that fact might impact your answer. Similarly, if I told you this passage came from a comedy, you'd make a very different prediction.

但是，如果我告诉你这段话摘自一篇惊险小说，这个事实可能就会影响你的答案了。同样地，如果我告诉你这段话摘自一篇喜剧小说，你又会作出一个截然不同的预测。

It is important to know something about the type of text you're reading, whether it is a nonfiction or a work of fiction. Understanding the genre of a book helps you make predictions about the action--which helps you comprehend the action.

了解你所阅读的文本的体裁十分重要，不管它是不是小说。了解一本书的体裁能够帮助你对情节作出预测，从而也帮助你理解故事情节。

3. Read with tools.

在工具的辅助下阅读

Any time you read to learn (and not for pleasure), you should use active reading skills. There are good tools to use as you read, and there are tools that are not so good to use.

当你为了学习知识而阅读时，（并非为了乐趣），你就应该使用积极的阅读技巧。阅读时使用的工具也是有好有坏。

A pencil is a good tool. You can use a pencil to make annotations in the margins of your text without doing any permanent damage to the text.

铅笔是一个好的工具。你可以用铅笔在文章边缘做注释，就不会对文本造成任何不可复原的毁坏。

Another good tool is a pack of sticky notes. Use your notes to jot down thoughts, impressions, predictions, and questions as you read.

还有一个好工具是一包便利贴。用便利贴来记录你在阅读中的想法，印象，预测和问题。

A highlighter, on the other hand, can be a really bad tool. Not only do you create some serious damage when you highlight a book, you also give yourself the false impression that you have accomplished anything significant by doing so.

另一方面，荧光笔是一个糟糕的工具。它不仅使你在作记号时给书本造成破坏，也会让你产生这样做就能完成所有重要的事的错觉。

The only thing you accomplish by highlighting is marking passages that you may want to read again. But if a passage impresses you enough to highlight it, you must indicate why it impresses you. Otherwise, you will go back to read isolated sentences and try to remember why they were important.

你用荧光笔唯一可以完成的就是给你想要在此阅读的段落做上标记。但是，如果一篇文章已经给你留下了足够深刻的印象，你就要标注上该文章打动你的原因。否则，你就只能倒回去阅读单个的句子，并且试着记住其重要性的原因。

4. Analyze the title (and subtitles).

分析标题（及副标题）

If you are wondering why I would mention the title last, I can assure you that there is a good reason. The title is often the last thing to be adjusted once a writer has finished writing.

如果你很好奇为什么我会把关于标题的内容放在最后说，我可以告诉你一个充分的理由。标题通常是作者在完成写作后最后进行调整的部分。

A writer will labor hard and long on an article or book, and often the writer uses many of the same strategies that a good reader uses. Writers edit the text and identify themes, make predictions, and make notations galore.

作者在一篇文章或一本书会花费大量的心血，而且作者通常会使用和优秀的读者一样的许多策略。作者们将文本进行编辑，并确定主题，作出预测，并做上大量的注释。

Many writers are surprised by the twists and turns that come from the creative process.

许多作者会对这个充满创意的过程的迂回曲折感到惊讶不已。

This is why, once a text is completed, the writer may reflect on the true message or purpose as a final step and come up with a new title. This means you can use the title as a clue to help you understand the message or purpose of your text.

这就是为什么当一篇文章完成后，作者会把反映真实信息或目标作为最后一步，然后想出一个新标题的原因。这意味着你可以把标题做为帮助你理解信息或文章目的的线索。