Download Read questions first Scan for important nouns and verbs

Reading Skills
English 181
Benefits
Increased
reading rate
More comprehension
Improved grammar
Bigger vocabulary
Better writing
Higher test scores
Change Your Reading Habits
1. Do not pronounce each word as you read.
2. Do not move your lips while you read
silently.
3. Do not follow the words in the text with
your finger or a pencil while you read.
4. Do not translate into Arabic as you read in
English.
Read Faster
 Read
rapidly for four
minutes
 Move eyes left to right
 Circle last word read
 Repeat
process
four times
Comprehension
 Underline
the
first sentence
of paragraph
 Underline last
sentence of
paragraph
Cholera has been observed for centuries among human populations and has been
responsible for many epidemics, resulting in millions of deaths. It is an infectious
disease, caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, first isolated by Robert Koch in
1883.
5
The organism enters the body through the digestive tract during the ingestion of
contaminated food and water. A common source in many countries is eating raw or
poorly cooked seafood taken from contaminated waters. The disease is especially
prevalent after a natural disaster or other destruction that results in a lack of fresh
water. When sewer systems fail so that waste travels into the rivers or streams and
10 piped water is not available so that people must take their drinking and cooking
water from the rivers or streams, the disease will frequently strike. Since many
populations establish along waterways, the disease can be spread along waterways
from one community to the next community downstream.
The bacteria multiply in the digestive tract and establish the infection. As they
15 die, they release a potent toxin that leads to severe diarrhea and vomiting. This
results in extreme dehydration, muscle cramps, kidney failure, collapse, and
sometimes death. If the disease is treated promptly, death is less likely.
Pyle, M. A. (1995). Reading comprehension practice test. In Bobrow, J. (Ed.), Cliffs advanced practice for the
TOEFL (pp. 20-22). Lincoln, NE: Cliffs Notes.
Ignore Unfamiliar Words
Read questions first
 Scan for important nouns
and verbs

Macular degeneration is a chronic, progressive
disease and the leading cause of legal blindness in
adults older than age 50.
- - - degeneration is - - - disease - - - leading cause - - blindness - - - older than age 50.
Context Clues
Read sentences near
the sentence
 Answer is usually
same part of speech
 Use word association
 Learn prefixes,
suffixes, and roots

Termites have eyes,
hard body walls, and
fully developed wings. A
pair of reproductive
termites founds the
colony. When new
reproductive termites
develop, they leave to
form another colony.
a.
establishes
b. destroys
c.
controls
d. guards
Test Strategies
“Scanning” questions
2. Pronoun reference questions
3. Vocabulary questions
4. Specific paragraph questions
5. General questions
6. True/false questions
7. Main idea questions
8. Best title questions
1.
1. Read rapidly
2.Underline
3.Ignore unfamiliar words
4.Use contextual clues
5.Follow test-strategy plan