What do you want to read

Учебник Spotlight 6. Student’s Book. Страница 38

4b. How about…? — Как насчет?

1. a) Look at the TV programmes In the pie chart. Which ones exist in your country? — Посмотри телепрограмму в секторной диаграмме. Что из этого есть в твоей стране?

In Russia we have all kinds of TV programmes — В России у нас есть все виды телевизионных передач

b) Listen to the music extracts. Which TV programme do they match? — Послушай музыкальные отрывки. Каким телевизионным программам они соответствуют?

2. Read the pie chart. What do American teenagers like watching on TV? — Прочитай круговую диаграмму. Что американские молодые люди любят смотреть по телевизору?

36% (per cent) of American teenagers like watching sitcoms and 19% of them like watching dramas.

3. What do you like watching on TV? Use the table and the adjectives to tell the class. — Что ты любишь смотреть по телевизору? Используй таблицу и прилагательные, чтобы рассказать классу.

I love watching sitcoms on TV. The sitcom TV programmes are enjoyable. I like watching Science Fiction too. There are a lot of fantastic Science Fiction films and programmes on TV. I don’t like talk shows and realty shows, I think they are bored. And I hate watching news because they are always awful.

Я люблю смотреть ситуационные комедии по телевизору. Комедийные программы очень веселые. Мне также нравится смотреть научную фантастику. По телевизору показывают очень много просто фантастичных фильмов и программ в жанре научной фантастики. Я не люблю смотреть разговорные шоу и реалити шоу. Я думаю, они скучные. И я ненавижу смотреть новости. Они всегда ужасные.

4. What do you like? Discuss. — Что вам нравится? Обсудите.

A: What’s your favourite food? — Какая твоя любимая еда?
B: I love pizza I think it ’s great. What about you? — Я люблю пиццу. Я думаю, она классная. А ты?
A: I like hamburgers. They are fantastic. — Я люблю гамбургеры. Они просто фантастика.

5. a) Look at sentences 1-4. Which express suggestions? — Посмотри на предложения 1—4. В каких делается предложение?

I think the sentences 2, 3 and 4 express suggestions. — Думаю, во фразах 2, 3 и 4 делаются предложения.

b) Match the sentences (1-4) with the responses (a-d). Listen and check. — Объедини предложения с ответами. Прослушай и проверь.

6. a) Read the first exchange in the dialogue. What do you expect to read? Read through and check. — Прочитай первую реплику в диалоге. Предположи, что ты будешь читать? Просмотри и проверь.

Tony and David are planning their evening. — Тони и Дэвид планируют свой вечер.

b) Read and listen to the dialogue and complete sentences 1-5. — Прочитай и прослушай диалог и дополни предложения 1—5.

How to Remember What You Read

Why is it that some people seem to be able to read a book once and remember every detail of it for life, while others struggle to recall even the title a few days after putting down a book?

The answer is simple but not easy.

It’s not what they read. It’s how they read. Good reading habits not only help you read more but help you read better.

“I cannot remember the books I have read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Active Vs. Passive Readers

Passive readers forget things almost as quickly as they read them. Active readers, on the other hand, retain the bulk of what they read. Another difference between these two types of readers is how the quantity of reading affects them differently. Passive readers who read a lot are not much further ahead than passive readers who read a little. If you’re an active reader, however, things are different.

The more that active readers read, the better they get. They develop a latticework of mental models to hang ideas on, further increasing retention. Active readers learn to differentiate good arguments and structures from bad ones. Active readers make better decisions because they know how to get the world to do the bulk of the work for them. Active readers avoid problems. Active readers have another advantage: The more they read the faster they read.

Think back to the books you studied in school. Despite the passage of time, most us remember a lot about them. Even if the details are fuzzy, we can doubtless recall the basic plots, main characters, notable themes, and motifs. Why? Well for one, we didn’t just passively read those books. We actively read them complete with class discussions where we took turns reading parts aloud, acted out scenes, or maybe even watched film adaptations. No matter how long it has been since we set foot in a classroom, we all probably remember Animal Farm.

Effective Reading Habits

Having a deliberate strategy to get better at anything we spend a lot of time on is a sensible approach. While we might spend a lot of time reading and consuming information, few of us consciously improve the effectiveness of our reading.

To get the most out of each book we read it is vital to have a plan for recording, reflecting on, and putting into action the conclusions we draw from the information we consume. In this article, we will show you how to get maximum benefit from every single page you read.

First, let’s clear up some common misconceptions about reading. Here’s what I know:

“Every time I read a great book I felt I was reading a kind of map, a treasure map, and the treasure I was being directed to was in actual fact myself. But each map was incomplete, and I would only locate the treasure if I read all the books, and so the process of finding my best self was an endless quest. And books themselves seemed to reflect this idea. Which is why the plot of every book ever can be boiled down to ‘someone is looking for something’.”

— Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive

A lot of success in reading boils down to preparation. What you do before you read matters way more than you think.

Filter Your Reading

There are no rules when it comes to choosing books. We don’t have to read bestsellers, or classics, or books everyone else raves about. In fact, there’s an advantage to be gained from reading things other people are not reading. This isn’t school and there are no required reading lists. Focus on some combination of books that: (1) stand the test of time; (2) pique your interest; or (3) resonate with your current situation.

The more interesting and relevant we find a book, the more likely we are to remember its contents in the future.

For older books or those that have been translated, check which version is considered to be the best. For example, the Hayes translation of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations is regarded as being truest to the original text, while also having a modern (accessible) feel.

Get Some Context

A good place to start is by doing some preliminary research on the book. Some books – for example, A Confederacy of Dunces and The Palm Wine Drinkard – have a very different meaning once we know a bit about the life of the author.

For older books, try to understand the historical context. For books written in an unfamiliar country, try to understand the cultural context. Some helpful questions to ask include:

Know Your Why

What are you reading this book for? Entertainment? To understand something or someone you don’t know? To get better at your job? To improve your health? To learn a skill? To help build a business?

You have to have some idea of what you want to get from the book. You don’t just want to collect endless amounts of useless information. That will never stick.

Intelligent Skimming

Before starting to read a book (particularly non-fiction), skim through the index, contents page, preface, and inside the jacket to get an idea of the subject matter. (This article on how to read a book is a brilliant introduction to skimming.) The bibliography can also indicate the tone of a book. The best authors often read hundreds of books for each one they write, so a well-researched book should have a bibliography full of interesting texts. After you’ve read the book, peruse the bibliography and make a note of any books you want to read next.

Match the Book to Your Environment

Although it’s not always practical, matching books to our location and circumstances can be powerful. Books will have a greater resonance as they become part of an experience rather than just supplementing it.

When choosing books, take a look at your own situation and decide on genres or authors that might help you overcome any current challenges. Whatever your state of affairs, someone has been in the same place. Someone has felt the same feelings and thought the same thoughts and written about it. It’s up to you to find that book.

If I were a Dr., I’d prescribe books. They can be just as powerful as drugs.

Remembering What You Read

You’ll remember more of what you read if you do the following seven things while you’re reading.

Take Notes

Making notes is an important foundation for reflecting and integrating what you read into your mind.

The best technique for notetaking is whichever one works for you and is easy to stick to. While there are hundreds of systems on the internet, you need to take one of them and adapt it until you have your own system. Some people prefer to record notes on index cards or in a commonplace book; others prefer a digital system. Notes are especially useful if you write on a regular basis, although everyone (not just writers) can benefit from making them.

Start by writing a short summary of each chapter and transcribing any meaningful passages or phrases. If you are unsure how to simplify your thoughts, imagine that someone has just tapped you on the shoulder and asked you to explain the chapter you just finished reading. They have never read this book and lack any idea of the subject matter. How would you explain it to them?

In The 3 Secrets That Help Me Write and Think, Robert Greene describes his notetaking process this way:

When I read a book, I am looking for the essential elements in the work that can be used to create the strategies and stories that appear in my books. As I am reading a book I underline important passages and sections and put notes … on the side.

After I am done reading I will often put it aside for up to a week and think deeply about the lessons and key stories that could be used for my book project. I then go back and put these important sections on notecards.

David Foster Wallace recommends a similar form of active reading (for more, see Quack This Way: David Foster Wallace & Bryan A. Garner Talk Language and Writing):

Not just reading a lot, but paying attention to the way the sentences are put together, the clauses are joined, the way the sentences go to make up a paragraph. Exercises as boneheaded as you take a book you really like, you read a page of it three, four times, put it down, and then try to imitate it word for word so that you can feel your own muscles trying to achieve some of the effects that the page of text you like did. If you’re like me, it will be in your failure to be able to duplicate it that you’ll actually learn what’s going on. It sounds really, really stupid, but in fact, you can read a page of text, right? And “Oh that was pretty good…” but you don’t get any sense of the infinity of choices that were made in that text until you start trying to reproduce them.

As you are reading a book, write your chapter summary right at the end of the chapter. If your reading session is over, this helps synthesize what you just read. When you pick up the book tomorrow start by reading the previous two chapter summaries to help prime your mind to where you are in the book.

Stay Focused

Decide that for the time you will be reading, you will focus on the book and nothing else. No quick Twitter checks. No emails. No cell phone. No TV. No staring into midair. Understanding and absorbing a book requires deep focus, especially if the subject matter is dense or complex. Remember, we are aiming for active reading. Active reading requires focus and the ability to engage with the author.

Referring to the time before the internet, Nicholas Carr writes in The Shallows: “In the quiet spaces opened up by the prolonged, undistracted reading of a book, people made their own associations, drew their own inferences and analogies, fostered their own ideas. They thought deeply as they read deeply.”

If you’re struggling to stay focused on a particularly difficult or lengthy book, decide to read a mere 25 pages of it a day. It takes only a few minutes to nibble away at a challenging text. Completing a long book in this manner might take months, but at least you will have read it without getting overwhelmed or bored.

Mark Up the Book

Most of us were taught as children to treat books as something sacred – no folding the page corners, and no writing in the margins, ever. However, if you want to remember what you read, forget about keeping books pristine. I’ve spent a lot of time helping my kids unlearn the rule that books are not to be written in.

In fact, go crazy with marginalia. The more you write, the more active your mind will be while reading.

Jot down connections and tangential thoughts, underline key passages and make a habit of building a dialogue with the author. Some people recommend making your own index of key pages or using abbreviations (Maria Popova of Brain Pickings writes “BL” next to any beautiful language, for example).

The first time you write in a book can be unnerving, but in the long term, it leads to a rich understanding and a sense of connection with the author.

Billy Collins has written a beautiful poem on the joys of marginalia: “We have all seized the white perimeter as our own / and reached for a pen if only to show / we did not just laze in an armchair turning pages; / we pressed a thought into the wayside / planted an impression along the verge. /… ‘Pardon the egg salad stains, but I’m in love.’”

Build a Vivid Mental Picture

Building vivid mental pictures is one of the most effective techniques for remembering anything, not least what we read. When you come across an important passage or concept, pause and visualize it. Make the picture as salient and distinctive as possible.

Make Mental Links

Books do not exist in a vacuum. Every concept or fact can be linked to countless others. Making an effort to form our own links is a fruitful way to better remember what we read.

Nicholas Carr writes in The Shallows:

The bond between book reader and book writer has always been a tightly symbiotic one, a means of intellectual and artistic cross-fertilization. The words of the writer act as a catalyst in the mind of the reader, inspiriting new insights, associations, and perceptions, sometimes even epiphanies. And the very existence of the attentive, critical reader provides the spur for the writer’s work. It gives the author confidence to explore new forms of expression, to blaze difficult and demanding paths of thought, to venture into uncharted and sometimes hazardous territory.

Keep Mental Models in Mind

Mental models enable us to better understand and synthesize books. Some of the key ways we can use them include:

Stop When Bored

As a general rule, people who love reading never, ever finish a crappy book.

As Schopenhauer once wrote, “one can never read too little of bad, or too much of good books: bad books are intellectual poison; they destroy the mind.” Life is much too short to finish a bad book.

Nancy Pearl advocates the Rule of 50. This entails reading the first 50 pages of a book and then deciding if it is worth finishing. The Rule of 50 has an interesting feature: once you are over the age of 50, subtract your age from 100 and read that many pages. Pearl writes:

And if, at the bottom of Page 50, all you are really interested in is who marries whom, or who the murderer is, then turn to the last page and find out. If it’s not on the last page, turn to the penultimate page, or the antepenultimate page, or however far back you have to go to discover what you want to know… When you are 51 years of age or older, subtract your age from 100, and the resulting number (which, of course, gets smaller every year) is the number of pages you should read before you can guiltlessly give up on a book…When you turn 100, you are authorized (by the Rule of 50) to judge a book by its cover.

Nassim Taleb also emphasizes the importance of never finishing a substandard book:

The minute I was bored with a book or a subject, I moved to another one, instead of giving up on reading altogether – when you are limited to the school material and you get bored, you have a tendency to give up and do nothing or play hooky out of discouragement… The trick is to be bored with a specific book, rather than with the act of reading. So the number of the pages absorbed could grow faster than otherwise. And you find gold, so to speak, effortlessly, just as in rational but undirected trial-and-error-based research.

“The things you’re looking for, Montag, are in the world, but the only way the average chap will ever see ninety-nine percent of them is in a book.”

— Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

The Learning Process

Most people think that consuming information is the same as learning information. No idea could be further from the truth.

The basic process of learning consists of reflection and feedback. We learn ideas gained through experiences – ours or others – that remain unchallenged unless we make the time to reflect on them. If you read something and you don’t make time to think about what you’ve read, your conclusions will be shaky.

One of the reasons that we read books is because they offer a rich tapestry of details allowing us to see the world as the author and go on the journey as they make connections and reflect. This allows our brains to learn not only the author’s abstractions but to learn when those abstractions are likely to work and when they are likely to fail (thanks to the vast amount of details).

Apply What You’ve Learned

So, you’ve finished the book. Now what? How can you use what you have learned? Don’t just go away with a vague sense of “oh yeah, I should totally do what that author says.” Take the time to make a plan and decide how to implement key lessons from the book.

Reading alone is not enough. We have to contextualize the knowledge. When does it work? When doesn’t it work? Where can I apply it? What are the key variables? The list goes on. If you can take something you’ve read and apply it immediately, it will reinforce the learning and add context and meaning.

The Feynman Technique

The Feynman technique is named after the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. You can think of it as an algorithm for guaranteed learning. There are four simple steps: choose a concept; teach it to a toddler; identify gaps and go back to the source material; and review and simplify.

Teaching others is a powerful way to embed information in your mind. This is part of the Feynman technique.

Upon completing a book, grab the nearest (willing) person and tell them about what you have learned. You’ll have to remove or explain the jargon, describe why this information has meaning, and walk them through the author’s logic. It sounds simple. After you try it the first time, you’ll realize it’s not easy.

If there is no one around who is interested, try talking to yourself. That’s what I do … but maybe I’m crazy.

And if that doesn’t work, write a review on Amazon or Goodreads, or post about it on Reddit or anywhere else where people are likely to be interested.

One of the benefits of our virtual reading group is that people are forced to actually think about what they are learning. We ask weekly questions on the assigned reading, and responses are diverse and thoughtful. The jargon goes away and people remove blind spots. It’s incredible to watch. The result is that after reading a book with us, people say “I’ve retained so much more than I would have if I did it on my own.”

It was Schopenhauer who said, “When we read, another person thinks for us: we merely repeat his mental process.” To escape this, you need to reflect on your views and see how they stand up to feedback.

Make Your Notes Searchable

There are endless ways of organizing your notes – by book, by author, by topic, by the time of reading. It doesn’t matter which system you use as long as you will be able to find the notes in the future.

Having a catalogue of everything you learn from reading creates a priceless resource which can be consulted whenever you need an idea, want inspiration, or want to confirm a thought. Over the years, you will build up a bank of wisdom to refer to in times of crisis, uncertainty, or need. It is hard to convey quite how valuable this can prove to be.

As General Mattis wrote: “Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed (successfully or unsuccessfully) before. It doesn’t give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.”

The options for cataloguing your notes include:

Schedule time to read and review these notes.

Reread (If Necessary)

Great books should be read more than once. While rereading them can seem like a waste of time because there are so many other books to read, this is a misunderstanding of the learning process. The best time to start rereading a great book is right after finishing. The goal is not to read as many books as possible; I’ve tried that and it doesn’t work. The goal is to gain as much wisdom as you can.

Rereading good books is of tremendous importance if we want to form lasting memories of the contents. Repetition is crucial for building memories. As Seneca wrote: “You should be extending your stay among writers whose genius is unquestionable, deriving constant nourishment from them if you wish to gain anything from your reading that will find a lasting place in your mind.”

There’s no better way to finish this article than with the wise words of Henry Thoreau:

Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally and rightfully on the shelves of every cottage. They have no cause of their own to plead, but while they enlighten and sustain the reader his common sense will not refuse them. Their authors are a natural and irresistible aristocracy in every society, and, more than kings or emperors, exert an influence on mankind.

How to Remember What You Read

It happens all the time. You read an amazing book, one so packed with wisdom that you think it’s going to change your life forever. Then…it doesn’t. Why? Because when you’re finally in a situation where you could use its insights, you’ve completely forgotten them. Time is our most valuable resource, so we shouldn’t waste it. The investment we make in reading should have a positive, lasting impact on our lives.

Consuming information is not the same as acquiring knowledge. No idea could be further from the truth.

Learning means being able to use new information. The basic process of learning consists of reflection and feedback. We learn facts and concepts through reflecting on experience—our own or others’. If you read something and you don’t make time to think about what you’ve read, you won’t be able to use any of the wisdom you’ve been exposed to.

One of the reasons that we read books is because they offer a rich tapestry of details, allowing us to see the world of the author and go on their journey with them. Our brains can learn not only the author’s ideas but also when their conclusions about how to live are likely to work and when they are likely to fail (thanks to the vast amount of details that authors share about their experiences and thought processes).

But if you only remember six things after reading this article, it should be the following truths about reading:

* (By the way, the book summaries we write for Farnam Street members are definitely not in the same class as the standard fare. We make a significant time investment in each one, including reading the book several times and doing background research on the author, context, and content. And we still don’t pretend they’re as valuable as reading the book!)

In this article, we’ll explore multiple strategies for getting more out of what you read. You don’t need to use all these strategies for every book. Using just a couple of them, whether you’re trying to learn a new philosophy or reading a work of fiction, can help you retain more and make deeper connections.

What you read can give you access to untold knowledge. But how you read changes the trajectory of your life.

Sections:

1) Active reading

2) Remembering what you read

3) Now what?

Active reading

“Every time I read a great book I felt I was reading a kind of map, a treasure map, and the treasure I was being directed to was in actual fact myself. But each map was incomplete, and I would only locate the treasure if I read all the books, and so the process of finding my best self was an endless quest. And books themselves seemed to reflect this idea. Which is why the plot of every book ever can be boiled down to ‘someone is looking for something.’” —Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive

Now, if you’re only reading for fun, or if you don’t want to remember what you read, this article doesn’t apply. Sometimes reading is entertainment, and that’s wonderful. But if you want to get some valuable knowledge out of a book, the first step to getting more out of what you read is being active. So what is active reading?

Active reading is thoughtfully engaging with a book at all steps in the reading process. From deciding to read right through to reflection afterwards, you have a plan for how you are going to ingest and learn what’s in the book.

Books don’t enter our lives against a blank slate. Each time we pick up a book, the content has to compete with what we already think we know. Making room for the book, and the potential wisdom it contains, requires you to question and reflect as you read.

For example, you might ask yourself:

Active reading helps you make connections within your latticework of mental models. Connections help retention.

Think back to the books you studied in school, if you did. Despite the passage of time, many people remember a surprising amount about them. Even if the details are fuzzy, we might at least be able to recall the basic plots, main characters, notable themes, and motifs. Why? Well for one, we probably didn’t just passively read those books. We were forced to actively read them, perhaps complete with class discussions where we took turns reading parts aloud, acted out scenes, or maybe even watched film adaptations. No matter how long it has been since we set foot in a classroom, many of us probably remember Animal Farm.

Your first goal when reading is to not be a passive consumer of information. You want to get better, learn something, and develop your critical thinking skills. If you had a good English teacher in school, you will have already seen this in action.

To get the most out of each book we read, it is vital we know how to record, reflect on, and put into action our conclusions.

A lot of success in reading boils down to preparation. What you do before you read matters more than you think. Here are five strategies to help you plan and get in the active reading frame of mind.

Choose Great Books

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.” —Fran Lebowitz

There are no rules when it comes to choosing books. We don’t have to read bestsellers, or classics, or books everyone else raves about. This isn’t school and there are no required reading lists. In fact, there’s an advantage to be gained from reading things other people are not reading, because you will gain knowledge and insights that not everyone else has. Focus on some combination of books that: 1) stand the test of time; 2) pique your interest; or 3) challenge you.

The more interesting and relevant we find a book, the more likely we are to remember its contents in the future. For older books or those that have been translated, check which version is considered to be the best.

Get some context

A good place to start getting context is by doing some preliminary research on the book. Some books—for example, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole and Paradise by Toni Morrison—have a richer meaning once we know a bit about the life of the author and the place and time in which the novel was set.

For older books, try to understand the historical context. For books written in an unfamiliar country, try to understand the cultural context. Some helpful questions to ask include the following:

You don’t need to do this, but if you want to get a lot out of a book it will be a major boost.

Know your why

What are you reading this book for? Entertainment? To understand something or someone you don’t know? To get better at your job? To improve your health? To learn a skill? To help build a business?

You have to have some idea of what you want to get from the book. If you don’t read with intention, what you read will never stick. If you are looking for business insights, read for that.

Periodically ask yourself questions like: What can I learn from this story? What in this book parallels or pertains to my own challenges? What are the differences? How might I apply some of the insights I’m picking up?

Intelligently skim

Before starting to read a book (particularly nonfiction), skim through the index, contents page, preface, and inside the jacket to get an idea of the subject matter. (This article on how to read a book is an introduction to more effective skimming.) Use this information to situate your expectations and refine what you are looking for as you read.

The bibliography can also indicate the tone and scope of a book. Authors often read hundreds of books for each one they write, so a well-researched book should have a bibliography full of interesting texts. After you’ve read the book, peruse the bibliography again and make a note of any books you want to read next.

Match the book to your environment

Although it’s not always practical, matching books to our location and circumstances can be powerful. Books will have a greater resonance as they become part of an experience rather than just supplementing it.

When choosing books, take a look at your own situation and decide on genres or authors that might help you overcome any current challenges or give you a fresh perspective. Whatever your state of affairs, someone has been in the same place. Someone has felt the same feelings and thought the same thoughts and written about it. Someone can offer you new and useful ideas for navigating your situation. It’s up to you to find them.

If we were doctors, we’d prescribe books. They can be powerful and healing.

Remembering what you read

“The things you’re looking for, Montag, are in the world, but the only way the average chap will ever see ninety-nine percent of them is in a book.” —Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Now that you’re actively reading, you’re engaging on a deeper level with the book. You are making connections to your own life, seeing new opportunities and possibilities. The next step is making sure you remember what’s important. Even the most diligent of us get caught up in the busyness of life, and we thus lose those still-fragile connections we make while reading. But we can help with that.

You’ll remember more of what you read if you do the following five things while you’re reading.

Takes notes

Making notes is an important foundation for reflecting and integrating what you read into your mind.

The best technique for notetaking is whichever one works for you and is easy to stick to. While there are hundreds of systems on the internet, you need to take one of them and adapt it until you have your own system. Some people prefer to record notes on index cards or in a commonplace book; others prefer a digital system. Notes are especially useful if you write on a regular basis, although everyone (not just writers) can benefit from making them.

In How to Take Smart Notes, Sönke Ahrens suggests a way of approaching notetaking to make the books you read a lasting part of your thinking. If you’ve never really done any notetaking that was effective, his book is a great place to start. But wherever you begin, you must make a system your own depending on how you work and what you like to read. Although How to Take Smart Notes focuses on nonfiction and assumes that fiction writers (and readers) have no need of notes, don’t let that stop you if you are researching a time period in which to set a novel or you’re trying to learn story structure and style from the great novelists. Adapt your notetaking system to suit your goals.

Over the years, we tested a lot of different approaches to note-taking and even created our own that we use every day called the Blank Sheet Method. Here is how it works.

The blank sheet method is effective because it primes your brain and shows you what you’re learning. When you first start with a blank sheet, you’re forced to search your memory and put on paper what you know (or what you think you know) about a subject. As you read, you literally see your knowledge grow. If you don’t know anything about a book or subject going in, don’t worry. You’ll be able to borrow the author’s scaffolding to get you started. Reviewing your ‘blank sheet’ before your next reading session not only recalls the scaffolding and key ideas but improves your memory and connects ideas. When you’re done the book put the page into a binder. Review the binder every few months. This is essential for establishing deep fluency and connecting ideas across disciplines.

Another effective technique is to start your notetaking by writing a short summary of each chapter and transcribing any meaningful passages or phrases. If you are unsure how to simplify your thoughts, imagine that someone has tapped you on the shoulder and asked you to explain the chapter you just finished reading. They have never read this book and lack any idea of the subject matter. How would you explain it to them?

As you are reading a book, write your chapter summary right at the end of the chapter. If your reading session is over, this helps synthesize what you just read. When you pick up the book tomorrow, start by reading the previous two chapter summaries to help prime your mind to where you are in the book.

Stay focused

Decide that for the time you will be reading, you will focus on the book and nothing else. No quick Twitter checks. No emails. No cell phone. No TV. No staring into midair. Understanding and absorbing a book requires deep focus, especially if the subject matter is dense or complex. Remember, we are aiming for active reading. Active reading requires focus and the ability to engage with the words on the page.

Referring to the time before the internet, Nicholas Carr writes in The Shallows: “In the quiet spaces opened up by the prolonged, undistracted reading of a book, people made their own associations, drew their own inferences and analogies, fostered their own ideas. They thought deeply as they read deeply.”

When you’re looking for results, for some tangible change to come out of reading a book, you need to engage with it as you’re reading it. And that requires focus.

If you’re struggling to stay focused on a particularly difficult or lengthy book, decide to read a mere 25 pages of it a day. It takes only a few minutes to nibble away at a challenging text. Completing a long book in this manner might take months, but at least you will have read it without getting overwhelmed or bored.

Mark up the book

Most of us were taught as children to treat books as something sacred—no folding the page corners, and no writing in the margins, ever. However, if you want to remember what you read and you have the means to do so, forget about keeping books pristine.

Go crazy with marginalia. The more you write, the more active your mind will be while reading. If you can’t mark up the book, do it on paper and note the page numbers.

Jot down connections and tangential thoughts, underline key passages, and make a habit of building a dialogue with the author(s). Some people recommend making your own index of key pages or using abbreviations.

The first time you write in a book can be unnerving, but in the long term, it leads to a rich understanding and a sense of connection with the author.

Make mental links

Books do not exist in a vacuum. Every concept or fact can be linked to countless others. Making an effort to form our own links is a fruitful way to better remember what we read.

Building vivid mental pictures is one of the most effective techniques for remembering anything, not least what we read. When you come across an important passage or concept, pause and visualize it. Make the picture as salient and distinctive as possible by connecting it to other ideas already in your brain.

Another way of building links is to hang everything on a latticework of mental models. Having a framework of deliberately constructed concepts enables us to better understand and synthesize books by allowing us to make connections to what we already know. Knowledge sticks in our memories easier if it attaches to something we already understand.

Using models while reading can also help you get more out of the book. Here are some examples of paths they might lead you down:

Stop when bored

When it comes to reading, you don’t need to finish what you start. As a general rule, people who love reading never, ever finish a crappy book.

As Arthur Schopenhauer once wrote, “One can never read too little of bad, or too much of good books: bad books are intellectual poison; they destroy the mind.” Life is much too short to finish a bad book. You need to be ruthless and heartless. Don’t let sunk costs guilt you into wasting your time.

Author and librarian Nancy Pearl advocates the “Rule of 50.” This entails reading the first 50 pages of a book and then deciding if it is worth finishing. The Rule of 50 has an interesting feature: once you are over the age of 50, subtract your age from 100 and read that many pages. Pearl writes:

“And if, at the bottom of Page 50, all you are really interested in is who marries whom, or who the murderer is, then turn to the last page and find out. If it’s not on the last page, turn to the penultimate page, or the antepenultimate page, or however far back you have to go to discover what you want to know.…When you are 51 years of age or older, subtract your age from 100, and the resulting number (which, of course, gets smaller every year) is the number of pages you should read before you can guiltlessly give up on a book.…When you turn 100, you are authorized (by the Rule of 50) to judge a book by its cover.”

Now what?

So you’ve finished the book. Now what? How can you use what you have learned? Don’t just go away with a vague sense of “Oh yeah, I should totally do what that author says.” Take the time to make a plan and decide how to implement key lessons from the book.

Apply what you’ve learned

Reading alone is not enough. We have to contextualize the knowledge. When does it work? When doesn’t it work? Where can I apply it? What are the key variables? The list goes on. If you can take something you’ve read and apply it immediately, it will reinforce the learning and add context and meaning.

Another way to reinforce the learning is to apply the Feynman technique, named after the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. You can think of it as an algorithm for guaranteed learning. There are four simple steps: choose a concept, teach it to someone unfamiliar with the subject, identify gaps in your understanding and go back to the source material, and review and simplify.

Teaching others is a powerful way to embed information in your mind. Upon completing a book, grab the nearest (willing) person and tell them about what you have learned. You’ll have to remove or explain the jargon, describe why this information has meaning, and walk them through the author’s logic. It sounds simple. After you try it the first time, you’ll realize it’s not easy.

If there is no one around who is interested, try writing a review where people are encouraged to comment and debate.

In order to think for yourself, you need to reflect on your views and see how they stand up to feedback.

Make your notes searchable

There are endless ways of organizing your notes—by book, by author, by topic, by the time of reading. It doesn’t matter which system you use as long as you will be able to find the notes in the future.

Having a catalogue of everything you learn from reading creates a priceless resource that can be consulted whenever you need an idea, want inspiration, or want to confirm a thought. Over the years, you will build up a bank of wisdom to refer to in times of crisis, uncertainty, or need. It is hard to convey quite how valuable this can prove to be.

As General Jim Mattis wrote: “Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed (successfully or unsuccessfully) before. It doesn’t give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.”

The options for cataloguing your notes include the following:

Schedule time to read and review these notes.

Reread (if you want to)

“Read a lot. Expect something big, something exalting or deepening from a book. No book is worth reading that isn’t worth rereading.” —Susan Sontag

Skim a lot of books. Read a few. Immediately re-read the best ones twice. While rereading can seem like a waste of time because there are so many other books to read, this is a misunderstanding of the learning process. The best time to start rereading a great book is right after finishing. The goal is not to read as many books as possible. The goal is to gain as much wisdom as you can.

Rereading good books is of tremendous importance if we want to form lasting memories of the contents. Repetition is crucial for building memories.

What Do YOU Want From Your Readers?

When you start your blog, you think about what you want from your blog. You think about what kind of content you want to create. You think about what kind of design you want, what kind of logo you want… all of which are very important.

But have you thought about what you want from your readers.

Is it just enough that they come to your site? That they read your blog posts?

Do you want them to comment?

Do you want them to say nice things to you or about you?

Do you want them to click on your links?

Do you want them to buy your products?

Do you want them to be your friends?

Do you want them to link to you from their blogs?

Do you want them to make you a cake and serve you breakfast in bed?

OK… the last one may be going a little too far. But it serves a purpose. We spend so much time thinking about what we think our readers might want, but how much time do we think about what we want from our readers?

It’s just as important to think about what you want from your readers as any other element of your blog. Knowing what kind of readers you want and what actions you want them to take will shape your content to help meet your goals. How are you communicating what you want your readers to do if you don’t know what you want from them?

Sooo… what do YOU want from your readers?

4 Ways to Get Actionable Feedback from Your Readers

No matter how many innovative things you want to bring to your website or blog, they might not work properly. This might happen if your ideas are not achieving the high level of expectations your readers have from your site. However, the failure of big movements can be avoided with one simple strategy: Ask your audience for their opinion.

Usually, it’s a highly neglected strategy, and under some circumstances, it can backfire. But, if used with caution, you can discover what the weaknesses of your brand are and even how you can improve them! Giving your public a chance to improve their experience on your blog or website will even make them more loyal to your content. You are putting them on the scene for the first time, and allowing them to help you will be their first step to consistency.

There are four main strategies to push your readers a little in the direction of actionable feedback. Let’s see what they are and how you can put them into practice.

1. Conduct Reader Surveys

Surveys are the best method to feel the pulse of your public. They are much better than the other approached methods for gathering feedback, and I’m talking about phone calls or chats. When asked directly, the people feel too exposed, and they resort to cushioned and brisk answers so as not to damage the relationship. However, hidden by the shadow of anonymity, people are no longer feeling the consequences of their words, so there is nothing to hold them back from the sheer truth.

Nothing but time, actually. The surveys should always have a call to action part in order for them to become more effective. Setting a deadline is a reasonably good technique to acquire a higher rate of reach. However, a deadline plus a reward at the end of the survey is a miracle worker combo.

The answers should then be collected in a spreadsheet and actually be analyzed. You may feel the need to ignore the bad feedback because there was a higher rate of good answers. However, remember that negative criticism is actually a constructive feedback which does better that the nice and friendly criticism. Even though some kind of feedback was gathered from a lower number of people, don’t forget that these people are also representing the ones that refrained from taking part in your survey, just because they came to dislike the brand too much. So, it cannot be stressed enough how important it is to consider every piece of advice from your public.

2. Monitor Your Website Activity

The best kind of feedback isn’t always supposed to come in the form of words. It can be hidden right under our noses without us noticing. In other words, your own website can gather a lot of precious information from its users.

There are many online software that monitor the activity from your website and create heat maps based on their findings on the spot. What they do is tracking the mouse movements people make with cursors on your website. Then the hot spots are registered in such maps, and you have a clear picture on any page of your site. You will know what are the most popular features of your website, what to change about it, what to replace, and what options you should just simply get rid of. You will then understand what is good and what is wrong on your site.

So, the results of marketing campaigns just got more scalable than ever. You can now read the success of a “call to action” button just by analyzing how many times it has been clicked. If the numbers tell you that the button or ad had fewer clicks than any other feature on your website, it is safe to assume that they are not as effective as you thought they might be.

3. Check Out Behavioral Insight Surveys

This innovative way of getting access to valuable feedback has opened the way to “reader-centricity” to marketers. Now, it is possible to measure the satisfaction of your website at any step of the reader’s experience.

In short, the behavioral insight surveys are short questions that pop up at certain moments of the visit. They ask the users short questions like “What was the purpose of your visit?” or some more specific questions targeting one website element “Do you find the Community column useful?”. The answers can be selected, but they also have a blank spot where users can support their answer with a comment.

The collected insights will go great with the analytics. The numbers from the analytics will tell you which element is the weakest or the most popular on your website, and then you will know at which step and which question to pop up to your users.

Such a software that can make all these is Qualaroo.com that allows you to take informative decisions. Another insightful software is Google Consumer Surveys which kind of gamifies the online surveys by rewarding the users when they answer the questions with access to premium resources, like well-researched articles.

4. Follow Up With Your Readers

Even though these are just questionnaires, this doesn’t save you from sending follow-up emails. The client should know that he is appreciated within the community of your brand and his feedback lies at the foundation of the new improvements you have in store for your website.

However, it is obviously not possible to carry out a 100% follow-up task. If your surveys are constantly sent, which is how things are supposed to be in the first place, the number of participants is too overwhelming for just a team of marketing. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t try your best. The most sensible solution is to organize a certain system that prioritizes the feedback. The answers that were actually useful should be repaid as soon as possible.

The follow-up emails will round up the bond the client created when they participated in the surveys. Seeing that their actions contributed to the greater good, and they got the attention of one of their favorite brands, the clients will become loyal to the brand. Thus, the efforts put in for follow ups will have long term and efficient returns.

All in all, these are the four best ways to get actionable feedback from your readers. Without their feedback, the company will move in complete darkness in its goal to achieve evolution. So, improve all the feeble points of the brand whenever a reader points it out for you.

What ways do you strategize to get feedback from your readers? Comment below with more tips!

Вербицкая М. В. Forward. Английский язык для 3 класса. Unit 14

Вербицкая М. В. Forward. Английский язык для 3 класса. Unit 14 Let’s watch TV! + Workbook

Let’s watch TV! — Давай посмотрим телевизор!

1. Любишь ли ты смотреть телевизор? Какие из этих программ есть на нашем телевидении?
Listen and look. – Послушай и посмотри.

1. This woman is reading the television news. — Эта женщина читает теленовости.
2. Do you like cartoons? They are funny. They make you laugh. — Нравятся ли вам мультфильмы? Они забавные. Они заставляют вас смеяться.
3. There are lots of exciting films on television. This is an adventure film. — На телевидении есть много захватывающих фильмов. Это приключенческий фильм.
4. Do you like sport? This is a football match. — Вы любите спорт? Это футбольный матч.
5. You can see your favourite pop singers on music programmes. — Вы можете увидеть ваших любимых поп-исполнителей в музыкальных программах.

TV programmes — Телевизионные программы: the television news — телевизионные новости, an adventure film — приключенческий фильм, a music programme — музыкальная программа, a cartoon — мультфильм, a football match — футбольный матч

2. Найди слова по транскрипции. Объясни их значение без словаря.
channel — канал, programme – программа, cartoon – мультфильм, television – телевидение, TV – ТВ, match – матч, film — фильм

3. Look at the television page and read. How many channels are there? — Посмотрите на телевизионную страницу и прочитайте. Сколько каналов?

5.30 The news — Новости
6.00 Film: Adventure in Space — Фильм: Приключения в космосе
5.30 Cartoon time — Время мультфильмов
6.00 The news — Новости
5.30 Music for you — Музыка для Вас
6.30 Football match — Футбольный матч
6.00 The news — Новости
7.00 Film: Where is Susan? — Фильм: Где Сьюзен?
Talk to your friend about the television programmes. — Поговорите со своим другом о телевизионных программах.
What’s on Channel 1 at half past five? The news. — Что на канале 1 в полшестого? Новости.

4. Глядя на телевизионную программу, узнайте друг у друга, что вы хотите посмотреть. Уточните время.

What do you want to watch? Cartoon time – Что ты хочешь смотреть? Время мультфильмов.
What time is it on? Half past five. – Во сколько? Полшестого.

5. Listen and read. – Послушайте и прочитайте.
Какими буквами обозначены звуки из транскрипции? Вспомни слова, где сочетание wh- читается по- другому.

[w] which — какой, where — где, when — когда, white — белый, what — что, why — почему, wind — ветер, sandwich — бутерброд, winter — зима, women — женщины, wonder — удивляться, want — хотеть, watch — смотреть, wearing — надевать, weather — погода, twenty — двадцать, Wednesday — среда

[v] TV — ТВ, television — телевидение, video — видео, Victor — Виктор, having — иметь, giving — давать, visit — посещать, favourite — любимый, adventure — приключение, Vera — Вера, eleven — одиннадцать, seven — семь, have — иметь, five — пять, give — давать, lovely – милый

6. Прочитай самостоятельно предложения, чётко произнося звуки [w] и [v],

1) I want to watch TV. — Я хочу смотреть телевизор.
2) Jill watches TV every day. — Джилл смотрит телевизор каждый день.
3) Ben wants to watch the video. — Бен хочет смотреть видео.
4) I want to watch my favourite adventure film. — Я хочу смотреть мой любимый приключенческий фильм.
5) What do you want to do in the evening? — Что вы хотите делать вечером?
6) Vera, where do you want to go at twelve o’clock? — Вера, куда ты хочешь пойти в двенадцать часов?

7. Задай по два вопроса к каждой картинке и ответь на них. Запиши вопросы и ответы. Какие формы глаголов to be и to do используются с этими местоимениями?

Who is she? – She is Sally. — Кто она? — Она Салли.
What does she want to do? – She wants to play drums. — Что она хочет делать? — Она хочет играть на барабанах.
Who is she? – She is Miss Fisher. — Кто она? — Она мисс Фишер.
What does she want to do? – She wants to play the guitar. — Что она хочет делать? — Она хочет играть на гитаре.
Who are they? — They are Cody and Jill. — Кто они? — Они Коди и Джилл.
What do they want to do? – They want to dance. — Что они хотят делать? — Они хотят танцевать.
Who is he? – He is Tom. — Кто он? — Он Том.
What does he want to do? – He wants to cook. — Что он хочет делать? — Он хочет готовить.

9. Answer the questions. — Ответьте на вопросы.

Who’s short and fat? — Кто низкий и толстый?
Who’s brown and white? — Кто коричневый и белый?
Who’s tall and thin? — Кто высокий и худой?
Who can ride a horse? — Кто может ездить верхом на лошади?

10. Song: Cold in winter. Listen and look at the pictures. — Песня: Холодно зимой. Послушайте и посмотрите на картинки.

Do you sometimes stop and wonder — Вы иногда останавливаетесь и удивляетесь
About the things that you really like? – Вещам, которые вам действительно нравятся?
Your favourite food and your favourite colour, — Вашей любимой еде и вашему любимому цвету,
The wind in your hair — Ветру в волосах
When you’re riding your bike? — Когда вы едете на велосипеде?

What things do you like? — Какие вещи вам нравятся?
When it’s cold in winter, — Когда холодно зимой,
After school when you’re home and free, I wonder … — После окончания школы, когда вы дома, и свободны, мне интересно …
Do you like the same things as I do? – Вам нравятся те же вещи что и мне?
Tea and cheese sandwiches and watching TV? — Чай и бутерброды с сыром и смотреть телевизор?

TV, tea and cheese sandwiches, a cushion to lie on the floor. — ТВ, чай и бутерброды с сыром, подушка, чтобы лечь на пол.
TV, tea and cheese sandwiches, — ТВ, чай и бутерброды с сыром,
I don’t want any more. — Я не хочу больше ничего.
But yes, there’s something I need. — Но да, есть кое-что, что мне нужно.
I must have something to read. – Мне нужно что-то почитать.
Turn off the TV. There’s nothing to see. — Выключите телевизор. Там нечего смотреть.
Please give me my tea and lovely cheese sandwiches, — Пожалуйста, дайте мне мой чай и прекрасные бутерброды с сыром,
And something exciting to read. – И что-нибудь интересное почитать.

12. What things do you like? Talk to you friend. — Какие вещи вы любите? Поговорите со своим другом.

Workbook Unit 14

A. Read and match. Write the letters. — Прочитай и найди соответствие с названиями передач на рисунках.

a — the news — новости
e — a music programme – музыкальная программа
d — a cartoon — мультфильм
b — an adventure film – приключенческий фильм
c — a football match – футбольный матч

B. Draw your favourite television programme. Write about it. — Нарисуй свою любимую телепередачу. Напиши о ней.

My favourite programme is Comedy Club. — Моя любимая программа Камеди Клаб.
It’s on Channel TNT at nine o’clock. — Она на канале ТНТ в девять часов.
What’s your friend’s favourite television programme? — Какая любимая телевизионная программа вашего друга?

C. What do they want to do? Write sentences. — Что они хотят делать? Напишите предложения.

1. They want to play football. — Они хотят играть в футбол.
2. He wants to have breakfast. — Он хочет завтракать.
3. They want to have a picnic. — Они хотят устроить пикник.
4. She wants to read. — Она хочет читать.

D. What do your friends want to do? Ask four friends. — Что твои друзья хотят делать? Спроси своих друзей.

Do you want to play football? — Вы хотите играть в футбол?
Do you want to make a cake? — Вы хотите сделать торт?
Do you want to ride a horse? — Вы хотите ездить на лошади?
Do you want to swim in the sea? — Вы хотите плавать в море?

Write about your friends. – Напиши о своих друзьях.

E. Write questions with do or does. – Напишите вопросы с do или does.

1. Do you get up at 7 o’clock? — Вы встаете в 7 часов?
2. Does your brother get up at 6.30? – Твой брат встает в 6.30?
3. Does your clock say half past seven? – Твои часы показывают 7:30?
4. Do you like tea for breakfast? – Ты любишь чай на завтрак?
5. Does your mother like tea? – Твоя мама любит чай?
6. Do your sister and you come home at 3 o’clock? – Твоя сестра и ты приходите домой в 3 часа?
7. Do your parents come home at 7 o’clock? — Твои родители приходят домой в 7 часов?
8. Do they watch television after dinner? — Они смотрят телевизор после ужина?
9. What do you want to watch? — Что вы хотите посмотреть?
10. What does your friend want to watch? — Что твой друг хочет смотреть?

F. Запиши слова в два столбика. Подчеркни буквы, которые обозначают эти звуки.

[w] where — где, watch — смотреть, twenty — двадцать, white — белый, weather — погода

[v] video — видео, seven — семь, television — телевидение, favourite — любимый, eleven — одиннадцать

G. Write about Zick and Zack. — Напишите о Зике и Заке.

1. This is Zick. He’s a robot. — Это Зик. Он робот.
He’s got big eyes, big nose. He is tall and thin. — У него большие глаза, большой нос. Он высокий и худой.
He’s wearing a swimming suit. — Он одет в купальный костюм.

2. This is Zack. He is a robot, too. — Это Зак. Он робот тоже.
He’s got small eyes and big ears. He is short and fat. — У него маленькие глаза и большие уши. Он низкий и толстый.

H. Find five differences. — Найди пять отличий.
Write sentences about picture 2. – Напишите предложения о картинке 2.

1. There are six flowers on the white cat’s hat. — На шляпе белого кота шесть цветов.
2. The black cat has a small present. – У черного кота небольшой подарок.
3. The white cat has one glove. – У белой кошки одна перчатка.
4. The white cat has small tail. – У белой кошки небольшой хвост.
5. The black cat has white tail. – У черного кота белый хвост.

I. Listen. Write the times of the programmes. – Послушайте. Напишите время программ.

5.30 Tom and Jerry (cartoon) – Том и Джерри (мультфильм)
6.00 Sport today (football match) – Спорт сегодня (футбольный матч)
6.30 News — Новости
7.30 Music machine – Музыкальная машина