1 Reading skills How do you improve your reading skills? Let’s practice together. 李玉華、施舜馨

2 An essay  An essay is like an extension of a paragraph. It has at least three paragraphs. 一篇文章就像是一個段落的延伸  The three main parts of an essay ： 1. Introductory paragraph 2. Supporting paragraphs (可能有一至多段) 3. Concluding paragraph

3 The introductory paragraph  The first paragraph is the “introductory paragraph”, the last sentence of which usually gives you the “thesis statement.” The thesis statement is a sentence which tells you the topic and the writer’s attitude about the topic. 第一段是開始段落 (introductory paragraph) 通常開始段落的最後一句是主旨句(thesis statement), 主旨句表達文章的主旨, 即作者對主題的看法.

4 Supporting sentences  There may be one to several paragraphs to support the main idea. In “supporting paragraphs”, the writer talks about different aspects of the topic to convince the readers. 接在開始段落之後的是承接段落(supporting paragraphs),作者從不同觀點切入,把他的 想法表達給讀者.

5 Concluding sentence  The last paragraph is the “concluding paragraph,” which is a summing up of the main idea stated in the first paragraph. 最後一段是總結段落(concluding paragraph) 呼應第一段並總結整篇文章.

6 Other Important Reading Skills  Previewing 預覽 a. Read any headings b. Notice any names, dates or numbers c. Study any pictures d. Notice the type of text (article, poem, etc.) 在開始閱讀前,快速地看一次文章,注意專有名詞, 辨別文章的屬性

7 Other Important Reading Skills  Identifying cohesion 找出句子的銜接方式 a. Look for words like I, you, he, her, this, those, etc. b. Find what they refer to by looking back in the text. 注意文章中的代名詞,並注意上下文之間 的關聯.

8 Practice1: What do the words in italics ( 斜體字 ) refer to? Last week, I went to a restaurant with my friend, Jessica. (1)It was a nice place, but(2)we weren’t happy about the food. (3)It was terrible! When my soup came, it was cold. Jessica’s steak was very small, and (4)it was too tough as well. When we left, the waiter looked unhappy because we didn't leave a tip. I explained to(5)him that the food was bad, and the service was slow. We won’t go (6)there again.

9 Answers: (1) It -- a restaurant (2) we -- Jessica and I (3) It --the food (4) it -- Jessica’s steak (5) him -- the waiter (6) there --the restaurant Go back to try again!!