Better Reading English was designed for basic to intermediate English speakers to help them read English better and to encourage them to read more.
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About The Book
Better Reading English has been developed for English speakers who have a basic to intermediate knowledge of English and is designed to help them read English better and to encourage them to read more. To read better, we must read more.
As an encouragement for beginning readers, I have organized this book according to 10 areas of interest: nature, the 20th century, San Francisco, early U.S. history, entertainment, eating and food choices, popular games, health, family, and leisure time. At least one of these areas should interest the reader immediately, and after that subject is explored, interest in another will follow.
The selections include material that has appeared in magazines and books, as well as on the Internet. Some of the online selections have been abridged and edited for accuracy. Selections not otherwise credited were compiled, adapted, or created by the author.
While each section’s material relates to a topic in American culture, the section as a whole is not intended to be an overview or summary of the topic. Instead, the selections have been chosen for their broad appeal, their variety, and their likelihood to inspire readers to explore new horizons and to feel confident as they encounter the written word in English in its myriad forms.
Each section begins with the selections that are easiest to read, although none of the material has been simplified. The selections become progressively more difficult within each section.
All reading selections are followed by one or more exercises designed to help readers develop skills in understanding what they are reading. The overall goal is to help readers develop reading strategies that will help them understand and benefit from the future reading material. If we can read better, we will read more.
You can also read: All Cambridge IELTS Books
Better Reading English: Improve Your Understanding of Written English
Better Reading English The more you read in English, the greater your knowledge of the language and of the culture of its native speakers. The short articles in Better Reading English reflect real-life, contemporary issues and situations that will help you understand more about American English and the people who speak it daily.
Each chapter features articles that cover a specific topic, with each subsequent piece becoming more challenging as the section progresses. These engaging texts come from everyday sources, so you get a contemporary snapshot of the culture of the American English-speaking world, from the natural world to urban life, and from the early United States to modern technology. The exercises that follow each article will help the development of your language skills, such as:
● Using word formation, cognates, and context to determine the meaning.
● Understanding idioms and artistic expressions.
● Improving your speed in reading English.
Better Reading English will not only help you improve or revive your language skills, but will also open up the enjoyable and exciting world of reading in English.
How to Use his Book
One of the joys of reading is that you can read what you want, when you want, however you want.
The format of Better Reading English enables you to use, and beneit from, the book in different ways. One approach is to select a topic that interests you, read each of the selections in order, writing the exercises after each one, until you have completed the inal selection.
If you are really interested in this topic, you will probably be able to read the most dificult selections—because you want to and because you have been developing important reading skills that make the material easier to read. Then you may choose another topic that interests you.
A second approach is to read the irst, easiest selection in each section, writing the exercises as you go, then progress to the second selection of each section, and so on until you have completed the most difficult selections in the book.
In your approach to an individual selection, first read it in its entirety then proceed with the exercises, which are designed to help you read without the aid of a dictionary. The exercises encourage the development of the following skills:
- Skimming for general meaning: reading the entire selection quickly to determine its general purpose and content;
- Scanning for details: noting headings, references, and other guides to quick information;
- Using word formation to determine meaning: knowing how preixes, sufixes, verb endings, and grammatical forms indicate meaning;
- Using context to determine meaning: making educated guesses about the meaning of unfamiliar words by determining their role in the context of a sentence, paragraph, or entire selection;
- Learning idioms and other expressions: recognizing and learning the meaning of unusual expressions and phrases;
- Understanding artistic expression: recognizing literary devices that authors use;
- Rereading for comprehension: reading an entire selection again to gain greater understanding.
You can also read:
- Mastering the Reading Section for the TOEFL iBT
- Collins Reading for IELTS
- IELTS Reading Strategies
- Mastering The TOEFL Reading Section
- Improve your IELTS Reading Skills
