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There is no doubt that adults, and even highly educated adults, vary greatly in the speed and efficiency of their reading. Some proceed very slowly throughout: others dash along too quickly and then have to regress. Poor readers in particular may lack the ability to vary their manner of reading according to the type of reading matter and to their intentions in reading it. A good reader can move at great speed through the text of a novel or similar light reading matter. He may be able to skim a page, picking up a word or two here and there, and gain a general idea of what the text is about without really reading it. In reading more difficult material, with the intention of taking in the whole of it, he will proceed more slowly, but even then he will vary his pace, concentrating on the key words and passages, perhaps re-reading them several times and pass more quickly over the remainder. A less efficient reader tends to maintain the same speed whatever the material he reads. Consequently, even light reading matter gives him little pleasure because he reads so slowly. But this pace may be too fast for really difficult material which requires special concentration at difficult points.
A type of reading which necessitates careful attention to detail is proofreading, in which the reader , in order to detect misprints in a sample print, has to notice not so much the meaning of what he reads as the exact shape and order of letters and words in the text. This is extremely difficult for most people, since they are accustomed to overlooking such details. In fact, considerable practice is required to practice this task efficiently and it can be done only by reading very slowly, and by paying comparatively little attention to the general meaning of the text.
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Television has opened windows in everybody’ s life. Young men will never again go to war as they did in 1914. Millions of people now have seen the effects of a battle. And the result has been a general dislike of war, and perhaps more interest in helping those who suffer from all the terrible things that have been shown on the screen.
Television has also changed politics. The most distant areas can now follow state affairs, see and hear the politicians before an election. Better informed, people are more likely to vote, and so to make their opinion count.
Unfortunately, television’ s influence has been extremely harmful to the young. Children do not have enough experience to realize that TV shows present an unreal world: that TV advertisements lie to sell products that are sometimes bad or useless. They believe that the violence they see is normal and acceptable. All educators agree that the “television generations“ are more violent than their parents and grandparents.
Also, the young are less patient. Used to TV shows, where everything is quick and interesting, they do not have the patience to read an article without pictures: to read a book that requires thinking: to listen to a teacher who doesn’ t do funny things like the people on children’ s programs. And they expect all problems to be solved happily in ten, fifteen, or thirty minutes. That’ s the time it takes on the screen.
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Looking back on my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon abandoned their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages, I was not an early reader and I could not do mental arithmetic.
Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys. Nor do I recall clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door. But I do have a crystal-clear memory of dogs, the farm animals, the local birds and above all, the insects.
I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world, and my enthusiasm has led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil, reading about other people’ s observations and discoveries. Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit together. This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might honor with the title of scientific research.
But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist: one of the outstanding and essential qualities required is self-discipline, a quality I lack. A scientist can be made. A naturalist is born. If you can combine the two, you get the best of born worlds.
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As the Titanic was sinking and women and children climbed into lifeboats, the musicians from the ship’ s band stood and played. They died when the ship went down. Men stood on the deck and smoked cigarettes. They died, too. This behavior is puzzling to economists, who like to believe that people tend to act in their own self-interest. “ There was no pushing, “ says David Savage, an economist at Queensland University in Australia who has studied witness reports from the survivors. It was “very, very orderly behavior.
Savage has compared the behavior of the passengers on the Titanic with those on the Lusitania, another ship that also sank at about the same time. But when the Lusitania went down, the passengers panicked. There were a lot of similarities between these two events. These two ships were both luxury ones, they had a similar number of passengers and a similar number of survivors.
The biggest difference, Savage concludes, was time. The Lusitania sank in less than 20 minutes. But for the Titanic, it was two-and-a-half hours. “ If you’ ve got an event that lasts two-and-a-half hours, social order will take over and everybody will behave in a social manner, “Savage says. “If you’ re going down in under 17 minutes, basically it’ s instinctual. “ On the Titanic, social order ruled, and it was women and children first. On the Lusitania, instinct won out. The survivors were largely the people who could swim and get into the lifeboats.
Yes, we’ re self-interested, Savage says. But we’ re also part of a society. Given time, social norms can beat our natural self-interest. A hundred years ago, women and children always went first. Men were stoic. On the Titanic, there was enough time for these norms to become forceful.
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Darkness doesn’ t trouble cats, for they can see______. in dark in the dark in a darkness in darkness
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If you want to become a doctor, you ought to study______. medicine the medicine literature the literature
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I’ ve got______today. the bad toothache a bad toothache bad toothaches the bad toothaches
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He was______enough to understand my questions from the gestures I made. intelligent efficient proficient diligent
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______work has been done to improve people’ s living standard. Many A great many A large number of A great deal of
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Lincoln thought it was wrong to keep Negroes______slaves. in as for at
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Will you show me the girl______name is Jane? her who’s whose which
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If you associate with such people. I’ m afraid you______serious trouble. are heading for are making are avoiding are creating
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The train will______from Platform 2 at 3: 45 on Tuesday morning. depart arrive stop derail
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A judge must be______when weighing evidence. interested disinterested separated disconnected
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At present time, people have a trend to live in the______. suburb suburbs garb outskirts
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You must______the facts and should not run away from the truth. look sight front face
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It’ s no use ringing me up at the office this week because I’ m______. by my leave at leave in holidays on holiday
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There is no reason why you should tell them______that you are going. for advance in advance on advance of advancing
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My father was asked to______the New York office. take part in take place take over take in
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______anything about the accident, he went to work as usual. Not know Know not Knowing not Not knowing
