For many people today, reading is no longer relaxation. To keep up their work they must read letters, reports, trade publications, interoffice communications, not to mention newspapers and magazines: a never-ending flood of words. In 　1 a job or advancing in one, the ability to read and comprehend 　2 can mean the difference between success and failure. Yet the unfortunate fact is that most of us are 　3 readers. Most of us develop poor reading 　 4　 at an early age, and never get over them. The main deficiency（缺乏） 5 in the actual stuff of language itself — words. Taken individually, words have little meaning until they are strung together into phrases, sentences and paragraphs. 　6 , however, the untrained reader does not read groups of words. He laboriously reads one word at a time, often regressing（退回） to 　7 words or passages. Regression, the tendency to look back over what you have just read, is a common bad habit in reading. Another habit which 　8 down the speed of reading is vocalization — sounding each word either orally or mentally as one reads.

To overcome these bad habits, some reading clinics use a device called an 　9 , which moves a bar (or curtain) down the page at a predetermined（預(yù)先確定的） speed．The bar is set at a slightly faster rate 　10 　the reader finds comfortable, in order to “stretch” him. The device forces the reader to read fast, 　11 word-by-word reading, regression and sub-vocalization（默讀）practically impossible. At first 　12 is sacrificed for speed．But when you learn to read ideas and concepts, you will not only read faster, but your understanding will 　13 . Many people have found their reading skill greatly improved after some training. 　14 Charlie Au, a business manager, for instance, his reading rate was a reasonably good 172 words a minute before the training, now it is an excellent 182 words a minute. He is delighted that how he can 　　15 through a lot more reading material in a short period of time.

1． A．a(chǎn)pplying 　　B．doing 　　 　C．offering 　　 　　 D．getting

2． A．quickly 　 　　B．easily 　　 　C．roughly 　　 　　 D．decidedly

3． A．good 　　　 　　B．curious 　 　C．poor 　 　　　　 D．urgent

4． A．training 　　　　 B．habits 　　 　C．situations 　 　　 D．custom

5． A．lies 　　　　B．combines 　　　 　C．touches 　　 　　 D．involves

6． A．Hopefully 　　　 B．Actually　 C．Logically 　 　　 D．Unfortunately

7． A．reuse 　　 　　B．reread 　　 　C．rewrite 　　　 　　　　 D．recite

8．A．scales 　　　 　　B．cuts 　　　C．slows 　　　　 D．measures

9．A．a(chǎn)ccelerator 　　　 B．a(chǎn)ctor 　　　 　C．loudspeaker 　　　 　　 D．observer

10．A．then 　　　　B．a(chǎn)s 　 　　　C．beyond 　　　 　　 D．than

11．A．having 　　 　　 B．leading 　 　C．making 　　　 　　 D．indicating

12．A．meaning B．comprehension 　C．vocalization　 D．regression

13．A．a(chǎn)rise 　　　 B．reduce 　 　　　　 C．improve 　　　 　　D．worsen

14．A．Like B．Take 　　 　　　　 C．Make 　 　　D．Consider

15．A．master 　 B．make　　 　　　　 C．finish 　 　　D．get

For many people today, reading is no longer relaxation. To keep up their work they must read letters, reports, trade publications, interoffice communications, not to mention newspapers and magazines: a never-ending flood of words. In 1 a job or advancing in one, the ability to read and comprehend 2 can mean the difference between success and failure. Yet the unfortunate fact is that most of us are 3 readers. Most of us develop poor reading 4 at an early age, and never get over them. The main deficiency 5 in the actual stuff of language itself-words. Taken individually, words have 6 meaning until they are strung together into phrased, sentences and paragraphs. 7 , however, the untrained reader does not read groups of words. He laboriously reads one word at a time, often regressing to 8 words or passages. Regression, the tendency to look back over 9 you have just read, is a common bad habit in reading. Another habit which 10 down the speed of reading is vocalization—sounding each word either orally or mentally as 11 reads.