A good reader is one who can read beyond the lines, seeing ideas implied through the words, and one who can bridge the gap between the obvious and the suggested, thus obtaining much more information. Let’s look at the following sentence: JOHN HENDERSON WAS DRIVING HOME LATE LAST NIGHT FROM AN EXHAUST ING BUSINESS TRIP. As you might have realized, this is the opening sentence of a story. It tells the reader whom the story is about ——John Henderson, and when the event takes place — late one night. If we read carefully and thoughtfully we can also infer from this sentence that:

1) John Henderson may be a businessman because he has just finished a “business trip”；

2) John Henderson must be very tired because the trip is “exhausting”；

3) John Henderson must be very eager to get home because he is driving “late” at night right after this exhausting trip.

Making inferences while reading will always help us achieve a better comprehension. But we should keep in mind that inferences must be made with care and supported by evidence. In order to make reasonable inferences we should.

1．read and think beyond the printed words；

2. analyze the information given in the text；

 　　 3. determine the author’s reason for his choice of words.

1. According to the author, a good reader________

A．can read between the lines

B．should have a large vocabulary

C．knows enough grammar rules

D．must have a good knowledge of the author

2. From the quoted sentence, you know John Henderson was most likely________

A．a seller

B．a man on business

C．a driver

D．a traveler

3. From the quoted sentence, you know John Henderson had a________

A．tired trip

B．bored trip

C．boring trip

4. When the author asks us to make inferences while reading, he intends to say________

A．’make guesses’

B．’have imaginations’

C．’do translations’

D．’draw conclusions’

5. The best topic of the passage is________

A．Reading Skills

B．Try to Be a Good Reader

C．Reading Is Importa
?

nt

D．Reading Is Thinking