Do you ever get to the bottom of the page and realize you’ve got too little time or too little interest to spend another minute on the book? It happens to everybody sometimes. Luckily, there are many things you can do to make the reading a lot easier and faster. For example, if you read a paragraph, consider skimming over the whole story to get the main idea and the main characters, so you’ll know what to pay attention to as you read more closely. Reading about the book on the Internet can be a good way to get a good conclusion of the reading to help you get through it more easily. Just don’t forget to go back and read through more closely.
While reading, don’t forget to look up any words or ideas you aren’t sure about. You can use context (上下文) clues to help you understand things you think difficult, but it’s always a good idea to take a minute to learn any reference (参考书). It’ll make the reading much easier.
More importantly, be sure to learn to take notes while you are reading. You can write questions in the margin (页边空白), and underline things which you think are interesting and important ideas. If you’re reading something difficult and find yourself often wanting to go back to get something you missed, then, at the end of each page, or even at the end of each paragraph, write something about what happened on that page. If you find something that needs answering, always write it down. This might give you a good question to ask later in class, or give you something to think more about as you continue reading. What’s more, when you finish reading, start writing down what seems important, what you think the purpose of the writing is, and how it makes you feel as a reader.
After you finish reading, get together with your friends or classmates and discuss the reading. Try to know how your classmates understand the reading and compare it with your own. Try not to talk about whether or not it is “boring”, but pay attention to how well your classmates explain what you might have found difficult. Think of open questions to explore the reading, and don’t ask questions that can be answered with a “yes” or a “no”. Learning to ask “how” is a helpful way of coming up with big discussion questions.

How to understand what you read
Skim before reading closely	Start with skimming or reading about the book      to know what the book is mainly about. In this way, you know what you should pay      to while reading it closely.
Look up any unsure words or ideas	Try to understand     parts according to context clues. You can also read more     with the help of references.
Take notes	Taking notes is of great     while you are reading. Write questions in the margin and underline something  or important. Write down your     about what you read. After finishing reading, write down important ideas, the purpose of the writing and your       about the reading.
Discuss the reading	your understanding about the book with that of your classmates. Pay attention to others’ good explanation of something difficult. Ask      questions instead of “yes or no” ones.