Predicting an Author's Ideas
One way to read effectively is to predict. Making predictions or anticipating the writer's next point is an important skill in active reading. Although we may not be able to predict every detail and although a writer may surprise us with unexpected ideas, we can often anticipate the general direction the author is going. Making predictions while you read keeps your mind alert (留神的) and involved with the passage; it's a way to double-check your comprehension of what you've read so far, and it can be a great aid to understanding what comes next.
Take the first two paragraphs of Passage A as an example:
Where Principles Come First
| Looking at the title of the passage, you are probably wondering “Where do principles come first?” This is actually prediction. Then you move to the first paragraph of the passage. The first few words of the first sentence tell you that it is the Hyde School. Here you've got the answer to your question. |
The Hyde School operates on the principle that if you teach students the merit of such values as truth, courage, integrity, leadership, curiosity and concern, then academic achievement naturally follows. Hyde School founder Joseph Gauld claims success with the program at the $18,000-a-year high school in Bath, Maine, which has received considerable publicity for its work with troubled youngsters.
| After reading the first paragraph, you've got some basic information about the Hyde School. For instance, you've known its principle, its founder, its charge per year for a student, its location, etc. Yet, you are not satisfied with these. Your curiosity about the school is even made stronger by the phrase “which has received considerable publicity for its work with troubled youngsters”. “The school must be special in some way”, you wonder. “Is the author going to say something about this?” And the next paragraph will (or sometimes will not) tell you something about the school's special attitude to their students. |
"We don't see ourselves as a school for a type of kid," says Malcolm Gauld, Joseph's son, who graduated from Hyde and is now headmaster. "We see ourselves as preparing kids for a way of life — by cultivating a comprehensive set of principles that can affect all kids." 
Predicting an Author's Ideas
One way to read effectively is to predict. Making predictions or anticipating the writer's next point is an important skill in active reading. Although we may not be able to predict every detail and although a writer may surprise us with unexpected ideas, we can often anticipate the general direction the author is going. Making predictions while you read keeps your mind alert and involved with the passage; it's a way to double-check your comprehension of what you've read so far, and it can be a great aid to understanding what comes next.
Take a look at the title of Passage A and think about what the article is possibly about: Title of Passage A: Where Principles Come First
The passage might be about the following points:
1. What are the principles that come first?
2. Why should we put forward the principles first?
3. How are the principles accepted or appreciated or even rejected by some others?
4. Who put forward the principles?
5. Why did he or she put forward the principles?
6. What are the striking characteristics of the person who put forward the principles?
7. Are the principles being beneficial to others?
8. What can we learn from the principles?
If we read the passage with care, we can find that the article only deals with some of the questions listed above, not all the questions. This is the process which is going on all the time when we are reading something with active understanding.
