Comprehension questions
Exercise 1. Check off the option which best completes each statement.
1. What many people call skimming is actually
( ) a. rapid reading
( ) b. poor reading
( ) c. slow reading
( ) d. careful reading
2. Like all other kinds of reading, skimming must be
( ) a. useful
( ) b. enjoyable
( ) c. deliberate
( ) d. purposeful
3. To be suitable for skimming, material should be
( ) a. unimportant
( ) b. familiar
( ) c. for relaxation
( ) d. all of the above
4. Much of the material we read daily
( ) a. is of minor importance
( ) b. we soon forget
( ) c. we need for later recall
( ) d. is familiar to us
5. We should skim whenever
( ) a. the material is important
( ) b. we want total comprehension
( ) c. there isn't time to read carefully
( ) d. the opportunity exists
6. The author considers skimming
( ) a. our most important reading skill
( ) b. a relatively unimportant reading skill
( ) c. one of many necessary reading skills
( ) d. our most useful reading skill
7. The average reader comprehends
( ) a. 60% of what he reads
( ) b. 70% of what he reads
( ) c. 80% of what he reads
( ) d. between 60 and 80% of what he reads
8. As a skill, skimming
( ) a. requires much practice
( ) b. is readily acquired
( ) c. comes natural to many
( ) d. takes years to develop
9. An essential part of your skimming training is
( ) a. Tech-X training
( ) b. classroom instruction
( ) c. elimination of sub-vocalization
( ) d. comprehension training
10. The skilled skimmer
( ) a. sees every word
( ) b. hears the words in his mind
( ) c. sub-vocalizes
( ) d. previews well
Exercise 2. Read the following questions. Then skim the paragraph below to find the answers. Underline the sentences that answer the questions.
What is a common answer to the question “What is a volcano?”
Does burning take place in a volcano?
Where does the activity of a volcano most often take place?
“What is a volcano?” is a familiar question. An oft-given answer is ‘that a volcano is burning mountain from the top of which issue smoke and fire.” Such a statement, although it does express the popular idea of a volcano, held even today, contains few elements of truth. In the first place, no “burning” in the sense of combustion, such as the burning of wood, occurs in a volcano. Moreover, volcanoes are not necessarily mountains. Furthermore, the activity takes place not always at the summit but more commonly on the sides, or flanks. And finally the “smoke” is not smoke but condensed steam, mixed, frequently, with dust particles until it is dark in color. And the “fire” is the reflection of the red-hot material on the vapor clouds above the volcano.
Exercise 3. Now read the paragraph, more slowly, a second time. When you are finished, cover the paragraph. Do not look at it again. Then place a check mark beside the questions that are answered in the paragraph.
_______ 1. What is the only thing that a campfire has in common with a volcano?
_______ 2. Are all volcanoes mountains?
_______ 3.Why does the steam rising from a volcano become dark in color?
_______ 4. What does a volcano have in common with a pot of boiling water?
_______ 5. What really is the “fire” of a volcano?