Skills for ReadingNi Shuying from Huzhou High School1. Background Informationso little moneyunhappy, low-spirited$ 1.87(gray)C. Della was in low spirits at the very moment1.“A gray cat, a gray fence and a gray backyard (paragraph 3)” suggests that __________.2. Context Informationan ideavery sad, hopelessexcited（上下文）2. By saying “Her eyes were shining brightly, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds” (paragraph 4) the writer shows that ____________. B. Della was excited at first but soon got desperate How can you guess the meaning of a new word, a phrase or a sentence?1. According to the background of the event2. From the context of the passage3. Detailed Informationtook pride in… but sold…deep lovefor Jimtwo hours… a nice gift for Jim 3. From the author’s detailed description of how Della sold her hair and how she hunted a gift for Jim we can infer __________. A. Della was in deep love with Jim 4. Concrete Informationangrydisappointeddisapprovingnot surehorrible4.Della was so nervous when she heard Jim’s step on the stairs, which implies__________.B. she was uncertain about Jim’s reaction to her decision How can you deal with the question with “infer” or “imply”?1. detailed information 2. concrete informationanalyzeconclusionimplyjudgmentwho:5. Key Informationwhat:(not enough money) Delladecide to sell…5. What is the main idea of the first seven paragraphs?C. Not having enough money to buy a gift for Jim, Della decided to sell her beautiful hair.who:5. Key Informationwhat:(not enough money) Delladecide to sell…6.sell hair buy a presentwhydeep love for Jim6. What does the passage mainly tell us? D. In deep love with Jim, Della sold her hair to buy a precious Christmas present for Jim.How can you catch the main idea? the whole passage or part of the passagekey informationmain idea(who, what & why)1. Why was there a strange expression on Jim’s face?2. What would Jim say about her hair?Prediction①②③④DBECDella:Jim:lovepresentMy hair grows awfully fast!They're too nice for us to use just at present.beautiful hairchaingold watchcombs⑤ How do you think Jim and Della felt on that Christmas? Happy or unhappy?Or both?Why? Although in tears, Jim and Della felt very happy.What skills have you learned?the background of the eventthe context of the passageguessinfer implydetailed information→analysis→conclusionconcrete information→imply→judgmentmain ideapassage→key information →main idea Use the skills you have just learned to finish the reading comprehension exercises.
