如何提高阅读速度（一：问题的关键）

How to Read Faster (1: The Key Problem)

> By Li Xiaolai · 2009-01-17 · [Original (web archive)](https://web.archive.org/web/20111112134739/http://www.lixiaolai.com/archives/5144.html) (Chinese)
> Our translation from the Chinese original.

Most of the time people don't care about their reading speed, especially when reading for leisure; "speed" is almost not a factor considered—fast or slow is purely a matter of personal preference. Some people like to chew over every word, some people just like to swallow dates whole—and of course more people simply can't be bothered to read books, and only look at picture magazines and films and TV.

The times when people really care about their reading speed are basically during exams, for example, when taking foreign-language exams such as China's CET-4/6 or the study-abroad exams abroad, TOEFL, SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT—most people's direct feeling is that their reading speed is too slow, to the point that there isn't enough time.

To solve the "reading speed" problem, people (teachers and students included) have given all sorts of solutions and suggestions, and have at the same time defined many so-called "bad habits," such as "lip reading," "finger reading," "regressive reading," "translation reading" and so on[[1](#footnote_0_5144 "See this rather popular article online: 'Getting Rid of Bad Habits in Doing CET-4/6 English Reading Comprehension Questions' (《改掉做英语四六级阅读理解题的不良习惯》)")]. Many students facing the problem can't help "turning to any doctor in a medical emergency," believing that "lip reading," "finger reading" and the like really are so-called bad habits[[2](#footnote_1_5144 "See a student's anxious question on Baidu Zhidao: 'How do I get rid of the bad habit of silent reading when reading English articles?' (《如何改掉看英文文章时的默读的坏习惯？》)")]. In fact, *no matter how absurd something is, as long as someone is willing to say it categorically, someone (many people) will believe it without thinking*.

However, much of the time, you can't take "direct feelings" as the key to solving a problem—if it were that simple, the problem would have been solved long ago. Before solving a problem, you must correctly pin down its root, or else you can't solve it.

> Solving problems must never stay merely on the surface. Cui Jian's (崔健) "Like a Knife" (《像一把刀子》) has this lyric: "At this moment my heart is like a knife; it wants to pass through your throat to kiss your lungs……" When solving problems, we need to have this kind of attitude; often we have to pass through the problem's throat to probe its lungs before we can find the answer.
> ——[Preface to Make Time Your Friend](http://www.lixiaolai.com/archives/484.html) (《把时间当作朋友》前言)

Almost all language exams have a "reading section"; this is only the short name—the full name is "Reading Comprehension Section" (阅读理解部分). "Reading comprehension" is in essence the superposition of two processes: "input" and "understanding." "Input" has many methods; "understanding" is an ability that has to be accumulated before it can be acquired. Only by being able to understand the information that has been input can one truly achieve "reading comprehension." Seen this way, the various so-called "suggestions" actually only focus on the "input" process, and say not a word about the "understanding" process; that is, they think the crux of the problem lies in the "input process," without realizing that the crux actually lies in the "understanding process."

There are at least the following three common ways of "input":

1. Scanning: only using the eyes to browse the text quickly (in essence this necessarily comes at the cost of missing some information)
2. Silent reading: while browsing the text with the eyes, there's a voice in your head "saying" the words, without actually making a sound
3. Lip reading: while browsing the text with the eyes, the lips move to "say" the words[[3](#footnote_2_5144 "Actually, the original meaning of 'lip reading' (唇读) is 'judging judging the content of what a speaker is saying from the shape of the mouth alone'—that is, so-called lipreading. Here is a rather fun related article, 'Decoding Silence' (《解密无声》)")]

In fact, no one ever uses only one of the three input methods above[[4](#footnote_3_5144 "Actually, the various 'speed reading' theories and techniques I've seen are mostly total bullshit; they amount to nothing more than advising people to use only the first input method……")]—whether reading in the mother tongue or in a foreign language; on the contrary, **everyone unconsciously chooses the input method as needed.** When the reading content is relatively simple for the reader (that is, the reader's comprehension in this area is relatively strong), "scanning" is adopted more often; when the content is a bit more difficult, "silent reading" is used; if the content is relatively difficult, "lip reading" is naturally adopted—because this slows the speed down, so as to have more time to think and digest. So, "scanning," "silent reading" and "lip reading" alike are all only input methods, and input methods each with its own use; **they are not bad habits at all**. If students believe that "lip reading" and "silent reading" are both bad habits, they're actually already like "a three-legged cat [Translator's note: 三脚猫, "three-legged cat," is an idiom for a dabbler with only superficial skill; the author plays on its literal sense][[5](#footnote_4_5144 "What I mean is that the three input methods are like three legs, none of which can be done without; add another leg—comprehension ability—and the cat is whole……")] with two legs chopped off"—their situation has long been too miserable to look at. (Doing this also does at least one more serious harm, which will be explained in detail later.)

That is to say, in the process of "reading comprehension," what really takes time, or takes more time, is the "understanding process"—the input process is only the first step. Whichever input method is used, in the end it is only "matching" the understanding process. **When you can't understand, the faster you input the more useless it is.** So, to increase "reading speed," what you really need to train is your own "comprehension ability," and this isn't especially hard to do—although it takes a lot of space to explain clearly.

(To be continued)

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Footnotes:

1. See this rather popular article online: "[Getting Rid of Bad Habits in Doing CET-4/6 English Reading Comprehension Questions](http://edu.sina.com.cn/cet/2008-04-21/1737135439.shtml)" (《改掉做英语四六级阅读理解题的不良习惯》) [[↩](#identifier_0_5144)]
2. See a student's anxious question on [Baidu Zhidao](http://zhidao.baidu.com/): "[How do I get rid of the bad habit of silent reading when reading English articles?](http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/6514741.html)" (《如何改掉看英文文章时的默读的坏习惯？》) [[↩](#identifier_1_5144)]
3. Actually, the original meaning of "lip reading" (唇读) is "judging judging [Translator's note: the original repeats 判断, "judge"; translated as written] the content of what a speaker is saying from the shape of the mouth alone"—that is, so-called lipreading. Here is a rather fun related article, "[Decoding Silence](http://www.chinalawedu.com/news/1000/13/2006/12/li75612741131216002562-0.htm)" (《解密无声》) [[↩](#identifier_2_5144)]
4. Actually, the various "speed reading" theories and techniques I've seen are mostly **total bullshit** [Translator's note: 扯淡, a coarse word for "nonsense"]; they amount to nothing more than advising people to use only the first input method…… [[↩](#identifier_3_5144)]
5. What I mean is that the three input methods are like three legs, none of which can be done without; add another leg—comprehension ability—and the cat is whole…… [[↩](#identifier_4_5144)]

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