My two cents about reading

Let me start with very basic tips about reading and hope the rest of you can wrap up the best for last:

1. Have the desire to read
2. Have interest in the materials to read
3. Be aware where you are at reading, such as reading speed, understanding, vocabulary, etc.
4. Start reading a book that fits you
5. Try not to read every word as fast as you can. Read groups of words
6. Try not to connect English words to thoughts in Chinese
7. Increase the number of words to be recognized effortlessly and without thought
8. Have a good dictionary handy
9. Read an hour or two daily

Wonderful suggestion. Thank you, ZZYZX.  I only have one conditon meet this- have 2 good dictionaries handy. I have to try my best to improve myself  to meet others to be a qualify reader.

In the modern age of information, reading truly is a fundamental survival skill. Here are ten tips that anyone can use to improve their reading skills:

1. You don't have to be a great reader to get the point.

Some people read fast and remember everything. Others read slowly and take a couple of times to get all the information. It doesn't matter, really, so long as when you read, you get the information you're seeking.

2. Know WHY you're reading.

Are you reading for entertainment or to learn something? Decide why you're reading before you start and you'll greatly improve your comprehension and your enjoyment.

3. You don't need to read everything.

Not every magazine, letter, and email you receive contains information you need. In fact, most of it is simply junk. Throw it away, hit the delete key! Just doing this will double the amount of time you have available to read.

4. You don't need to read all of what you DO read.

Do you read every article of every magazine, every chapter of every book? If so, you're probably spending a lot of time reading stuff you don't need.

Be choosy: select the chapters and articles that are important. Ignore the rest.

5. Scan before you read.

Look at the table of contents, index, topic headers, photo captions, etc. These will help you determine if, a) you have a real interest in this reading, and b) what information you're likely to get from it.

6. Prioritize your reading.

You can't read everything all at once (and wouldn't want to). If it's important, read it now. If it's not, let it wait.

7. Optimize your reading environment.

You'll read faster and comprehend more if you read in an environment that's comfortable for you.

8. Once you start, don't stop!

Read each item straight through. If you finish and have questions, go back and re-read the pertinent sections. If you don't have questions, you got what you needed and are ready to move on.

9. Focus.

Remember, you're reading with a purpose, so focus on that purpose and the material. If you lose interest or keep losing your place, take a break or read something else. You can keep track of where you are by following along with your hand. This simple technique helps you focus and increase your concentration.

10. Practice!

The more you read, the better reader you'll become (and smarter, too)! So, feed your mind: read!

so good experience
pls. luky me ,my good friends,
i do can do better than last year  ^_^
thx. all

Read as much as you can. Fluency comes through a lot of reading. You can get familiar with commonly used words, phrases and sentenses by reading and there is no need to worry much about precise grammar in most times. Learn the rules of grammar through reading and using the language. Google new words or phrases and refer to their usage on the Internet. Besides, write your thoughts daily or weekly and write to anyone you can with a spellchecker. Believe me, Feiyu, reading will stretch your use of words and grammar and improve your writing skills, and will get you to the top.

By the way, thanks for sharing your thoughts.

thank you and happy new year !
Plentiful Reading  is a very good way to study foreign language
and now i like reading very much , and i proud i don't be fearful those new words than before
study foreign language by self in China isn't a easy
i think if i  according these beauteous technique i can succeed soon
:-)

All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. Sometimes it was as long as a year; sometimes as short as twenty-four hours . But always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his last hours . I speak , of course , of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited.
Such stories set us thinking, wondering what we should do under similar circumstances. What events, what experiences, what associations should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings? What happiness should we find in reviewing the past, what regrets?
Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with a gentleness, a vigor , and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the epicurean motto of  「Eat , drink , and be merry,」 but most people would be chastened by the certainty of impending death.
Most of us take life for granted. We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future. When we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable . we seldom think of it . the days stretch out in an endless vista. So we go about our petty tasks, hardly aware of our listless attitude toward life.
The same lethargy, I am , characterizes the use of all our faculties and senses. Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. But those who have never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sounds hazily, without concentration, and with little appreciation. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it , of not being conscious of health until we are ill.
I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound.
Now and then I have tested my seeing friends to discover what they see. Recently I was visited by a very good friend who had just returned from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had observed. 「Nothing in particular,」 she replied I might have been incredulous had I not been accustomed to such responses, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see little.
How was it possible , I asked myself, to walk for an hour through the woods and see nothing worthy of note? I who cannot see find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch. I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf. I pass my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birck, or the rough shaggy bark of a pine. In spring I touch the branches of trees hopefully in search of a bud, the first sign of awakening Nature after her winter』s sleep. I feel the delightful, velvety texture of a flower ,and discover its remarkable convolutions; and something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me. Occasionally , if I am very fortunate, I place my hand gently on a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song. I am delighted to have the cool waters of a brook rush through my open fingers. To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug. To me the pageant of seasons is a thrilling and unending drama , the action of which streams through my finger tips. At times my heart cries out with longing to see all these things. If I cam get so much pleasure from mere touch, how much more beauty must be revealed by sight. Yet , those who have eyes apparently see little. The panorama of color and action which fills the world is taken for granted. It is human, perhaps , to appreciate little that which we have and to long for that which we have not , but it is a great pity that in the world of light the gift of sight is used only as a mere convenience rather than as a means of adding fullness to life.
Oh, the things that I should see if I had the power of sight for three days!

                                                 Write by : Helen keller

Thank you for sharing the wonderful writing. Helen Keller's story has encouraged people to stay strong for a century. It has proved the disabled can be independent, just like she, who could not hear and could not see, proved she could communicate in the world of sight and sound and was able to speak to it and live in it.

many thanks for your both sharing.

I do feel a bigger improvement in reading than last yr, on such distant way of study non-mother tongue lanuage.

Actually, i've been stucking in a dot both on aural and reading last yr. however, i can't remember the reason and since when did i start to pick up a book and keep reading day to day as a natural habit planted in my body.  I can apparently sense that speed on reading is faster than before, from 5-8 pages per hr leaps into at least 20 pages in the same time.

I am also aware, i can easily distinguish the threads written by native or non native through few sentences etc. Overall changes on reading brings me much confidence in further activities.

Bluepolish,

I am happy to see you make progress in your reading and hope you can keep reading 20 to 30 pages daily and share your thoughts with us as usual. I really enjoy reading your threads, which makes me feel great about being here.