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SEDE PALMIRA main body of the text, there are also many visual clues that
LECTURA DE TEXTOS ACADÉMICOS EN INGLÉS 2 help you to find information. Heads and subheads break up
NOMBRE
the text and identify the content of each part. Where key
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terms are introduced and defined, they appear in boldface
type. Graphs and charts have titles and/or captions that tell
Skimming and scanning are very rapid reading methods in you what they are about. These clues will help you to find
which you glance at a passage to find specific information. information. . . but only if you use them.
These reading methods make it easier for you to grasp large
amounts of material, especially when you're previewing. They Read the following text:
are also useful when you don't need to know every word. Researchers say jogging alone is unhealthy.
Skimming and scanning are especially valuable when there is
only one item of information that you need to find from a A newly published report indicates that jogging could have
particular passage adverse health effects, especially for those who do it alone. A
team of researchers from Harvard University has suggested
Skimming refers to the process of reading only main ideas that going for a run on your own is not as healthy as
within a passage to get an overall impression of the content previously believed and is nowhere near as beneficial as
of a reading selection. An example of this is when we read jogging as part of a group. They suggested it could actually
the title of a newspaper to know what happens everyday. be detrimental to one’s health. Experiments conducted on
How to Skim: rats indicated that running alone raises stress levels and
stifles brain cell regeneration. Professor Elizabeth Gould,
* Read the title. who led the research, said: “These results suggest that, in
* Read the introduction or the first paragraph. the absence of social interaction, a normally beneficial
* Read the first sentence of every other paragraph. experience can exert a potentially deleterious influence on
* Read any headings and sub-headings. the brain.”
* Notice any pictures, charts, or graphs.
* Notice any italicized or boldface words or phrases. The researchers monitored two groups of rats on exercise
* Read the summary or last paragraph.
wheels. One group exercised alone, the other as part of a
Scanning is a reading technique to be used when you want to rodent jogging team. After two weeks, the scientists
find specific information quickly. In scanning you have a conducted tests to ascertai n the rate of brain cell growth in
question in your mind and you read a passage only to find all of the test animals. The results revealed that the
the answer, ignoring unrelated information. communal joggers had double the amount of new brain cells
as the solo runners. Professor Gould concluded that: “When
How to Scan: experienced in a group setting, running stimulates
neurogenesis (brain cell growth). However, when running
* State the specific information you are looking for. occurs in social isolation, these positive effects are
* Try to anticipate how the answer will appear and what clues
suppressed.” Joggers around the world should perhaps take
you might use to help you locate the answer. For example, if
you were looking for a certain date, you would quickly read the research with a pinch of salt and remember that jogging
the paragraph looking only for numbers. is healthier than the rat race.
* Use headings and any other aids that will help you identify
which sections might contain the information you are looking Part. I Skimming
for.
* Selectively read and skip through sections of the passage. 1. Answer the following questions using your own
words but taking into account the information in the
text.
Special Note:
b. According to the text, is jogging alone beneficial for our
When you skim and scan, you need to cover everything, health? Why?
even titles, subtitles, side features, and visuals. That bit of
information you need may not be tidily packaged in a
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________________________________________________ 2. Answer the following questions:
________________________________________________ a. What does professor Gould says about the results of this
c. Has this piece of research been tested on humans? experiment?
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2. Choose a, b or c in each question below. Only one b. What were her conclusions?
choice is correct.
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1. Some Harvard researchers claim that jogging alone ________________________________________________
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a. is not healthy.
b. is as healthy as it was thought. Bonus:
c. is not as healthy as it was thought.
Skimming and scanning
a. increases the production of brain cells. Leer para obtener una idea general (SKIMMING) y leer en
b. increases the size of the brain. busca de información concreta (SCANNING) son dos
c. reduces the production of brain cells. habilidades lectoras . Por ejemplo, se lee un informe por
encima (skimming) para tener una idea general de lo que
3. The report suggests that if you decide to go jogging dice, pero sin embargo cuando miramos una página de la
guía telefónica en busca de un nombre o número lo que
a. you should do it on your own. hacemos es buscar una información concreta (scanning). A
b. you should do it with someone else. medida que ustedes ganen seguridad en su habilidad lectora
c. you should do it when your brain tells you. en la lengua materna y en inglés, aprenderán a abordar
textos con diferentes habilidades lectoras según el propósito
PART. II SCANNING del texto y de la razón para leerlo.
Questions ________________________________________________
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1. Read only the headline of this article. Try to predict what ________________________________________________
the article is about. _______________________________________________
2. Read the first paragraph of the article. Are you more clear 8. Try to do a summary just by looking at the main aspects of
of what the headline means. Elaborate. the article,
CRITICAL READING The more you read the more you become familiar with
difficult words. In other words by reading extensively you
Enables the reader to see the relationship of ideas and use improve your vocabulary. Reading in context (reading the
these in reading with meaning and fluency. sentence and understanding the way the word is used in that
sentence) is also a valuable reading skill.
Remember that writers often have specific aims in writing
texts- they often want to influence the way we think and see EXERCISE:
the world. In other words texts are sometimes biased.
Critical reading means questioning the opinions of the writer. DICTIONARY USE
You have the right to agree or disagree with his/her opinions.
This is an important step in engaging with the text. (Refer again to the above article)
Examples of questions you can ask when doing a critical Use a dictionary to find out the following:
reading: 1. What does the word "reluctant" mean?
• Is the text based on fact or opinion 2. Use the word "reluctant" in a sentence to show that you
• Do I agree with the authors viewpoint
• Is the text subjective (opinion) or objective (facts) understand its meaning.
• Is the text written in a specific time frame7
3. What part of speech (i.e. is it a verb, noun etc) is the word
"reluctant"?
EXERCISE:
4. Give an antonym (word of opposite meaning) for the word
CRITICAL READING EXERCISE "reluctant"
Read the article in the first section of this booklet i.e. "Doctor 5. What is "chemotherapy"?
re-united with two sons......"
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