E n g L i s h jenni Currie Santamaria

How to Use his Book
One of the joys of reading is that you can read what you want, when 
you want, however you want.
The format of 
Better Reading English 
enables you to use, and ben-
eit from, the book in different ways. One approach is to select a topic 
that interests you, read each of the selections in order, writing the exer-
cises after each one, until you have completed the inal selection. If you 
are really interested in this topic, you will probably be able to read the 
most dificult selections—because you want to and because you have 
been developing important reading skills that make the material easier 
to read. Then you may choose another topic that interests you.
A second approach is to read the irst, easiest selection in each sec-
tion, writing the exercises as you go, then progress to the second selec-
tion of each section, and so on until you have completed the most dif-
icult selections in the book.
In your approach to an individual selection, irst read it in its entirety 
then proceed with the exercises, which are designed to help you read 
without the aid of a dictionary. The exercises encourage development of 
the following skills:
• 
Skimming for general meaning
:
 
reading the entire selection quickly 
to determine its general purpose and content;
• 
Scanning for details
:
 
noting headings, references, and other guides to 
quick information;
• 
Using word formation to determine meaning
:
 
knowing how pre-
ixes, sufixes, verb endings, and grammatical forms indicate 
meaning;
• 
Using context to determine meaning
:
 
making educated guesses 
about the meaning of unfamiliar words by determining their role in 
the context of a sentence, paragraph, or entire selection;
• 
Learning idioms and other expressions
:
 
recognizing and learning the 
meaning of unusual expressions and phrases;
• 
Understanding artistic expression
:
 
recognizing literary devices that 
authors use;
• 
Rereading for comprehension
:
 
reading an entire selection again to 
gain greater understanding.

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Better Reading
E N G L I S H

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