Reading between the lines means drawing understanding about the author's ideas from what is written and from what is not written. Writers don't always express all their thoughts openly, either as a matter of style, or because they assume we know and share their opinions-or because they aren't sure how to express themselves.
To draw inferences about the author's ideas we have to be very careful with what is advised in the following.
1) You have to make use of context clues, common sense and our knowledge of the world.
2) Connect ideas and draw conclusion from the reading passage.
3) Form and test what you have understood between the lines. The reading act is a two-way communication between the reader and the writer about understanding, forming ideas, testing your ideas during the reading of the passage, correcting or changing your own ideas and understanding and, finally, you are able to get what the writer is driving at or communicating.
Now here are more examples taken from passage A.
1. "Hey," I said, "just take it." As I spoke, I set the KFC box on the planter beside the pathway, contriving as I did so to toss my house keys into a bush. (Para. 3, Passage A, Unit 7)
Question: Why did the writer toss his house keys into a bush?
Possible answer: He would not let the robbers to have his keys to the house.
2. He wasn't stupid. I've seen enough criminal trials to know victims of armed attacks are seldom able to identify their offenders because their attention focuses on the guns, rather than on their users. I consciously noted details of their faces. (Para. 15, Passage A, Unit 7)
Question: Do you think the writer was stupid, too?
Possible answer: No. The writer was careful enough to note details of the robbers so that he could identify them later if possible.
To get the right answers to the above questions, you have to read very carefully and also make use of context clues.
Should I Have a Gun? 阅读技巧/Reading skill
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