This brief
book is aimed at high school students, but speaks to anyone learning at any
stage of life.
Its formal, serious style closely matches its content, a school-masterly book
on schooling.The
author, W.H.Armstrong, starts with the basics:
reading and writing.In his
opinion, reading doesn’t just mean recognizing each word on the page; it means taking
in the information, digesting it and incorporating it into oneself just as
digests a sandwich and makes it a part of himself.The goal is to bring the information back to life, not just to
treat it as dead facts on paper from dead trees.Reading and writing cannot be completely separated from each
other; in fact, the aim of reading is to express the information you have got
from the text.I’ve seen
it again and again: someone who can’t express an idea after reading a text is
just as ineffective as someone who hasn’t read it at all.
Only a
third of the book remains after that discussion, which Armstrong devotes to
specific tips for studying languages, math, science and history.He generally handles these topics
thoroughly(透徹地) and
equally, except for some weakness in the science and math sections and a bit
too much passion(激情)
regarding history.Well, he
was a history teacher — if conveyed only a tenth of his passion to his
students, that was a hundred times more than my history teachers ever got
across.To my disappointment,
in this part of the book he ignores the arts.As a matter of fact, they demand all the concentration and study
that math and science do, though the study differs slightly in kind.Although it’s commonly believed that the
arts can only be naturally acquired, actually, learning the arts is no more
natural than learning French or mathematics.
My other
comment is that the text aged.The first
edition apparently dates to the 1960s — none of the references(參考文獻)seem newer than the
late 1950s.As a result,
the discussion misses the entire computer age.
These are
small points, though, and don’t affect the main discussion.I recommend it to any student and any
teacher, including the self-taught student.
1.According
to Armstrong, the goal of reading is to________.
A.gain knowledge and expand one’s view
B.understand the meaning between the lines
C.express ideas based on what one has read
D.get information and keep it alive in
memory
2.The
author of the passage insists that learning the arts_________.
A.requires great efforts
B.demands real passion
C.is less natural than learning
maths D.is as natural as learning a language
3.What is
a shortcoming of Armstrong’s work according to the author?
A.Some ideas are slightly contradictory.
B.There is too much discussion on studying
science.
C.The style is too serious.
D.It lacks new information.
4.This
passage can be classified as________.
A.an advertisement B.a book review
C.a feature story D.a news report