Think about how much reading you do everyday. When you look at it, you might find that reading is the work­related skill that you use most often!   1   After all, if we can read and comprehend textbooks, then aren't we good readers? Maybe not. Given the time that reading consumes, it may be a skill that we can and should improve.
  2   It means getting faster and more efficient at reading, while still understanding what you're reading. Although you spend a good part of your day reading, have you ever thought about how you read? How do your eyes make sense of the shapes of the letters, and then put those letters together to form sentences that you can understand?
Reading is quite a complex skill. It was previously believed during reading, both eyes focus on particular letters.   3   Scientists now believe that the eyes lock onto different letters at the same time, usually two characters apart. Your brain then fuses (融合) these images together to form a word. This happens very swiftly, as we look through pages of the text!
Many people read at an average rate of 250 words per minute.   4   Imagine, then, if you could double your rate to 500 words per minute. You could read all of this content in half the time. You could then spend the saved time on other tasks, or take a few extra minutes to relax.   5   This leads to better “big picture” understanding, which can greatly benefit your work and career.
A．Recent research shows this isn't the case.
B．But what does becoming a better reader involve?
C．You need to practice to improve your reading speed.
D．It's also a skill that most of us take for granted by the time we reach age 12.
E．This means that an average page in a book or document takes 12 minutes to read.
F．Speed­reading has many benefits.
G．Another important advantage of speed­reading is that it allows one to better comprehend the overall structure of an argument.


（A）
1．D　D选项中的“also a skill”与上文中的“the work­related skill”是对应词，故选D。
2．B　设空处后解释了什么是更好的阅读者，而B项的问题与之对应，故选B。
3．A　设空处前句中的“was previously believed”与设空处后句中的“now believe”构成了一种对比，所以A项“近来的研究表明并不是这么一回事”承上启下，故选A。
4．E　由设空处前面的阅读速度推算出书本或文件的每页需要花费1～2分钟才能阅读完，故选E。
5．G　最后一段讲述的是speed reading(快速阅读)的两个好处，G项表述了快速阅读的另一个好处，故选G。