Reading Skills

UNIT 2 SKIMMING AND SCANNING

Structure

2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction

2.2 Skimming as a reading strategy.

What is skimming?

2.2.1 Why do we skim?

2.2.2 What type of reading material do we skim?
2.2.3 Skim reading practice

Check your progress - 1

2.3 Scanning as a reading strategy.

What is scanning?

2.3.1 Why do we scan?

2.3.2 What type of reading material do we scan?
2.3.3 Scanning exercises

Check your progress - 2

2.4 Reference skills

What are reference skills?
How are reference skills different from scanning skills?

2.4.1 When do we use reference skills?

2.4.2 What types of reading material do we use reference skills for?
2.4.3 Practice in reference skills

Check your progress - 3

2.5 Let us sum up

2.6 Key words
2.7 Suggested reading
2.8 Answers

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2.0 OBJECTIVES

In this unit, we will be looking at three very important sub-skills in reading, namely skimming,
scanning and reference skills. People talk about these three sub-skills without really understanding
them and often confuse these sub-skills with other sub-skills of reading. Our first job is to clear the
confusion and then try to understand what using these three sub- skills really involves. We have also
provided adequate number of exercises and practice material to give you an insight into skimming,
scanning and reference skills.

Thus, this unit will deal with:i) skimming ii) scanning and iii) reference skills

We will also look at material in a text which are skimmed, scanned and what type of material we use
reference skills for.

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Skimming, scanning and reference skills are very important sub-skills of reading. The surprising thing is
that we are using these skills all the time! And further, they are not language specific. We use these skills
while reading in any language whether it is our mother-tongue or English.

Very briefly, skimming is reading fast for general understanding and scanning is searching for a specific
detail (like a date or a name). Reference skills are skills which we use when we are referring to the
dictionary or to a railway timetable.

Let us take the example of reading the newspaper. While reading the newspaper (in any language), we
are employing all the above skills. When we first take up the newspaper, we look at the headlines and turn
the pages quickly to see what is on the inside pages. We are running our eyes on the pages, not
exactly reading. This is called skimming. At this stage, we are not looking for details, we only want a
general view of what is happening in the world. This is skimming.

The next stage is to settle down and start reading what is interesting to us. We are looking for names of
people and places, dates, events, etc., which help us read the news. This is scanning.

And then, when we come to tables like the railway time table, stocks and shares, cricket scores etc., we
refer to these facts and figures given in the form of tables, charts, graphs, etc,. This is where we use
reference skills.

In this unit, we will be learning more about these three important sub-skills in reading.

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2.2 SKIMMING AS A READING STRATEGY:

What is skimming?

We skim a book or a text or an article to get a quick general idea. So, running our eyes quickly over the
page to know what the passage is about, is called skimming.
In skimming, we are reading only on the surface. We are not interested in the details. We just want to
know what the writing is about. What is the topic of the passage? What is its theme?

This first survey is called skimming. While skimming, we go through the reading material quickly in order
to get the gist (or summary) of it, to know how it is organised, or to get an idea of the tone or the intention
of the writer.

By skimming, we get a summary of the whole reading passage or text and what it is about. While
skimming, we do not read word by word or line by line but we read in a zig zag fashion so that we can
take in large chunks of matter to get a general idea of what we are reading. In short, skimming means
running your eyes on the text quickly to find the main ideas or information. And remember, skimming is
done at a fast speed.

2.2.1 WHY DO WE SKIM?

As we said in 2.2, we skim a text or passage to get the general idea, the theme or the topic of the written
text.

While skimming, we are usually answering questions like the following:

a) What is the passage about?
b) What event is being discussed here?
c) What is the relationship of the characters in this story/narrative?
d) Is this passage a real-life incident or a part of fiction? How can you say?

To do this, we read the title and sub-headings of the article and with the help of these, we predict what is
going to come next. And as we read, we confirm to ourselves what we have predicted. Skim reading is
like a first survey of the reading text.

Skim reading is also done to compare, to give or select a title for a reading passage, to draw
inferences or to make guesses about the writer's attitude or intention about a situation or topic.
For example, is the writer's attitude neutral or biased, is his intention to inform or to criticize, is the
writing formal or informal? These are some of the questions that the skimming of the passage will try to
answer.

2.2.2 WHAT TYPE OF READING MATERIAL DO WE SKIM?

We have already taken the example of a newspaper which we skim every day in the morning to know
what is happening in the world. The headings, title and sub-headings of the news reports help us to skim
and predict.

For example:
If you read a heading like:

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MESS IN MUMBAI

Would you be ready to read a passage with positive ideas or negative ideas?
Negative ideas, of course, because of the word "mess".

In addition to the newspaper, we also skim through a book in a library to see whether it is suitable to 2
borrow or not. The skim reading will help us know what the book is about and whether it suits your taste
in reading or not.

The same thing we do while choosing a book in a bookshop and the skim reading will help you decide
whether to buy it or not. And of course, the skimming of the book is done with the help of the title and the
contents page of the book, the last page of the book where the review or summary of the book (also called
the 'blurb' is given) and other chapter headings.

We also skim through advertisements in the papers, magazines, the internet, etc., to compare the features
of different brands of the same product. By skimming, we are able to get the gist of each advertisement
which helps us to compare and then choose the right product which suits us. Thus, skimming is a reading
sub-skill which we keep using all the time.

2.2.3 SKIM READING PRACTICE

In this section, we will be reading a few passages and doing some skimming activities.

Read the passages and answer the questions given after each passage.
Passage - 1

Travelling across several time zones on long-haul flights decreases the memory power
and reaction times by shrinking part of the brain. This might mean that airlines should
allow their crews at least 10 days to recover from jet lag before they work on another
long-haul flight, says the scientist who discovered the effect.

1 This passage is about:

a) the effect of long flights on passengers.
b) the effect of long flights on the aircraft.
c) the effect of long flights on the pilots.

2 You would most probably find such an article in

a) a family magazine
b) a medical journal
c) an airline magazine

Passage - 2

The vast oceans of the world are dark, deep and mysterious places where eyesight is of
very little use as soon as you dive deep into the water. For humans, who live in a world
dominated by visual images, to exist in such conditions would be impossible. But for
whales and dolphins that live in the ocean, the darkness in unimportant. What is crucial
to them is sound.

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1 This passage is about
a) the importance of the sense of sound in water.
b) the importance of eyesight in water.
c) the life of whales and dolphins.

2 Who would be interested in such an article?

a) a person who works in deep water.
b) a person who catches whales and dolphins.
c) a person who works in a sound studio.

Passage - 3

Tasmania is a beautiful island off the Australian coast, close to Melbourne. Tasmania is
well-serviced by air, but the cost of flights varies enormously, so shop around for the best
price. The over-sea route to Tasmania is covered by two fast ships from Melbourne. These
vessels offer an overnight service in both directions, all year round. Ships also sail from
Sydney and ticket prices vary seasonally. The ferry takes cars and motorbikes.

1 Which of the following would be a suitable title for this passage?

a) Travel by ship to Tasmania.
b) Melbourne or Sydney?
c) How to reach Tasmania?

2 This article would be useful to

a) businessmen
b) students
c) tourists

Please remember, reading fast to get a general idea about the passage is what you should have done, to
answer the above questions for passages, 1, 2 and 3. In other words you would have to skim the
passages.

Check your progress - 1

1 In your own words, explain the term, "skimming".

2 We also talk about "skimming milk". What do we mean by this?

3 While skimming, how do we read?

a fast or slowly?
b in detail or for a general idea?
c word by word or in large chunks?

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Skimming practice

Here are some more passages for skim reading practice.

Read the passages and answer the questions. The questions will help you in skim reading.

Passage - 1

Read the following passage about "Electric Cars". The passage has 7 paragraphs. At the end of
thepassage, you will find 8 headings. You must skim read each paragraph and choose the correct
heading. One extra heading is there which you do not need to use. The first paragraph has been
done as an example.

ELECTRIC CARS

1 Around the world, governments and their
citizens are becoming increasingly concerned about
what the motor car and its internal combustion engine
do to air we breathe. In some cities, air pollution
resulting from the internal combustion engine is so bad
that drastic action has had to be taken. In summertime,
pollution in some southern European cities is now so
serious that it is common for half the usual
number of commuters to be forbidden to
bring their cars into the city. example
5 Much of the pressure has come from the land
where the car is king-California.The United States has no
public transport to speak of (the major car-makers actively
contributed to its destruction) so the car is the average
American's only practical means of daily transport. But
some US cities, Los Angeles in particular, are paying a
high price for this over-reliance. LA's famous smogs -
trapped by the natural 'bowl' of the nearby
mountains-are the result of reactions between
H the chemicals which come from the city's millions of car
exhaust.

2 Calculating the number of people who become
unwell or even die as a result of air pollution is very
difficult. But recent studies of the effects of car
fumes suggest that the health risks may be
more severe than previously thought.
3Suddenly, urban air pollution is no longer a
subject just for environmentalists but a cause of
widespread public concern. Ordinary people
are beginning to sit up and take notice.
6 Because of this serious pollution problem
California has for over 20 years set tough pollution laws.
Even so, LA's smog problem has not been solved. So now,
the 'sunshine state' has taken the first step towards
removing the internal combustion engine altogether from its
roads. From 1998, all car-makers who sell their cars in
California will have to offer a proportion of electric cars
for sale. In 1998 the proportion of electric cars
offered must be two per cent, rising to five per cent
by 2003 and to ten per cent by 2005.

7 Environmentalists argue, with some jurisdiction,

4 There are numerous proposed ways of dealing
stop using the internal combustion engine and to use
instead the electric motor powered from a large battery
pack. A lot of money is now being invested by
car and battery manufacturers to create
'clean' vehicles.
that only by making laws like this can politicians force
change on the car industry. But others - some of them
no less committed to cleaner urban air - doubt that the
totally electric car is the right solution to the problem.
The difficulty with electric cars is that they can only
travel a short distance at a time. At the
moment there is no obvious solution to the
transport problems of the world's cities.

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Headings

A Research is being done into electric cars.

B People refuse to give up their cars in cities.
C One answer is to persuade people to buy electric cars.
D Cities where people depend heavily on cars have the worst problems
E Electric cars have a major disadvantage.
F Air pollution appears to be a cause of illness.
G Air pollution is now a worry for everyone.
H Cars are destroying the air quality in cities.

Passage - 2

Read the following passage about the London Underground Train system and match each
paragraph 1-7 with the correct heading. The first paragraph has been done as an example.

THE LONDON TUBE

1 The World's first underground railway (the Tube)
opened in London in January 1863. Today there are
11 lines serving 272 stations, the busiest of which,
Cross, sees the start and finish of around 70
million journeys a year. But the system is in crisis -
mainly as a result of underinvestment. Overcrowding
combined with poor reliability can lead to
problems for travellers, particularly those
who use the Tube during its busiest hours. Example H
2 This report looks at service and safety on the
Underground. It's based on the findings of our survey of
passengers. Last June we interviewed 1,698 Tube
travellers outside 46 Underground stations in London;
517 regular travellers (those using the Tube throughout
year on three or more days each week)
contacted again and asked more
detailed questions by phone.
4 -three per cent of regular travellers had
missed an appointment or been late for
something in the two weeks before the King's
survey becauseof delays on the
Underground.
5 -three per cent of regular travellers
mentioned graffiti, rubbish and generally
dirty conditions as one of the aspects of the
Underground's service they disliked. The
aim set by Government for train cleaning
is that carriages should be cleaned
every day they are in use. LU's figures show
it has come very close to achieving this. But
there are no standards to define or measure
how well trains have been cleaned. LU has
made progress in dealing with rubbish at the
major stations but graffiti, old coaches were
and unmodernised stations remain serious
problems.

3 Since 1981 the number of passengers using the Tube has increased by almost half. The increase in
passengers had not been matched by an expansion of the Underground system and there is widespread congestion,
particularly during the six peak hours when over 60 per cent of all journeys are made. London Underground
Limited (LU) states that over the busiest rush hour no more than one person should have to stand for each
seated passenger. But LU's own statistics show that this standard is often not met over large areas of track
on a daily basis.

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6 Well over half of the regular travellers said they
were dissatisfied with the information provided when
something goes wrong on the system; 72 per cent of
those who were dissatisfied complained that the
information was wrong or given too late; 49 per cent
couldn't hear or understand what was said. LU told us
that a new system has been installed, which should
mean clearer messages. However, the new system
applies only to messages broadcast within stations;
those coming from a central control room
may not improve for some time to come.
Reading Skills
7 Most of this report reflects the experiences of
regularTube travellers but we also asked those who do
not travel every day for their views. The most popular
type of ticket bought by these travellers was a one-day
pass. Few appeared to have had problems finding
their way around the system - 89 per cent said finding
their way around was 'easy'.

Headings

A Poor announcements
B Dirty and outdated
C Passengers' opinions count
D Occasional users
E Overcrowded
F A waste of time
G Unreliable
H Under pressure

2.3 SCANNING AS A READING STRATEGY:

What is scanning?

In simple terms, scanning means searching. Of course, scanning means searching with a purpose.
When we have a medical problem, the doctor scans or searches the part of the body which is giving us
a problem. This search is done very carefully and meticulously. And after the scanning is done, what
does the doctor do with the findings? He uses the data to diagnose the medical problem and to start
the treatment.

Scanning a reading text has the same procedure and purpose. We do not read a text or a passage in
a vacuum. We have a purpose and the scanning process helps us to realise the purpose of reading.
So, scanning can be defined as reading the text quickly to find specific information. We use scanning
as a reading sub-skill when we want to find out answers to specific questions.

Scanning means running your eyes over a text to find something that stands out, like a name or a
date. We usually scan a text for information related to specific words, names, numbers, figures,
locations, etc. Now, let us look at the process of scanning. When scanning, we only try to locate
specific information and often we do not even read the whole passage to do so. We simply let our eyes
wander over the text until we find what we are looking for, whether it be a name, a date or a less
specific piece of information.

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Scanning exercise - 1

Lets look at a simple example.

Read the short passage given below and answer the questions. The questions will help you to scan the
text.

INTERNET HELPS SHOPPING

The amount of time, people spend researching, checking prices, visiting stores and
seeking advice from friends tends to rise in proportion to the value of the product they are
thinking of buying. A new car is one of the biggest purchases people make and buyers
typically spend four to six weeks thinking over their choices. So, why are some people
now walking into car showrooms and ordering a vehicle without even asking for a test
ride? Or coming to an electrical store and pointing out the washing machine they want
without seeking advice from a sales assistant? Welcome to a new style of shopping
shaped by the internet.

1 Name two products that people buy, which are mentioned in the passage.

2 Name two types of shops where people go to buy things, mentioned in the passage.

3 What are the four things that people do before they make a purchase?

4 How much time do people usually spend thinking, before they buy a car?

5 A person who helps you in a shop to select things:

What is he/she called?

2.3.1 WHY DO WE SCAN?

We have already noted in 2.3 above, that we scan, that is search for some information in a text, with a
purpose. The purpose guides us in scanning the text.

For example , When we want to know when something happened, we scan for a date.
When we want to know the location of a place, we scan for the address.
When we want to know how much a product cost, we scan for the price.

Thus, we scan a text in order to find or locate the information that we want. Another good example is
the examination question paper. A question paper has several questions which we are expected to
answer. We scan each question to find if the question has any clue that can lead us to the answer.

If there is a reading comprehension passage given in the question paper, we read the questions

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given, carefully and then scan the passage to locate the answer. The questions help us to search and
the purpose of searching/scanning is to locate the information which will serve as an answer for
the question.

So, we can also say that scanning is selective reading. We scan not to get an overall picture of the
text, but to locate specific information.

Scanning is usually employed as a reading strategy when we want to do the following activities:
a) to find the meaning of a word/synonym given in the text:
b) to locate specific grammar features like nouns, irregular past-tense forms, adverbs, etc;
c) to find a specific advertisement in a newspaper which advertises a product that you want to buy;
d) to compare prices, product features or choice of flights available and with this information, take
a decision.
e) checking dates of departure, arrival, election schedules, birth, death, etc.,
f) scanning a shopping list of things you have bought and things you are yet to buy.

Scanning exercise - 2

Here is a small scanning activity for you. Read the inter-office memo below about an accident in
an office. Then, fill up the Accident Report Form given, with the appropriate information after
scanning the memo.

INTER-OFFICE MEMO

To Shiela Mehta, H.R. Dept.

From B.G. Shah, Office Manager
Subject Accident in Front Office
Date 23 Sept 2007

One of our secretaries, Jyothi Bhatt, was injured this morning

when a four-drawer filing cabinet fell on top of her. Apparently,
she had opened two top drawers at the same time and the filing
cabinet fell forward.

Janardhan from the Accounts Department was there and saw

what happened. He saw that her leg was broken so he called an
ambulance and she was taken to Wellington General Hospital.

Please fill in the attached Accident Report Form and send it to

the Safety Officer immediately.

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ACCIDENT REPORT FORM

Report of an accident to a person at work or on duty.
This form must be completed in all cases of accident and submitted to the Safety Officer.

Injured Person's Jyothi Bhatt

Name: _________________________________________________
Date of birth: ______________28 February 1977_____________________
1) Position held: _________________________________________________
Date and time of accident: _____________10.15am on23 September 1977___________
2) Details of injury: _________________________________________________
3) Place of accident: _________________________________________________
Was the injured person taken to hospital? Yes No
4)Ifso, to which one? _________________________________________________
5) State name of any persons who were present when the accident occurred:
_________________________________________________

2.3.2 WHAT TYPE OF READING MATERIAL DO WE SCAN?

As mentioned earlier, we do not read the entire text. We read only those parts of the text which
will answer our questions or which serve our purpose of reading. For example, when we want to
label a diagram, we read only that paragraph which gives a description of the object. The other
parts are irrelevant to us.

The reading material which we scan most often are newspapers and magazines. We scan the
newspaper for train timings, TV and radio programme timings, lottery results, stocks and shares
tables, etc. In a magazine, we scan the contents page to look for an article which might be
interesting for us to read.

And of course, we scan the question paper in an examination hall, to read the questions carefully
and choose those which we can answer easily. And once the exam results are declared, we scan the
result sheet to know whether we have passed the exam or not.

Nowadays, most people scan the Internet and websites to find information and data that they can
use for study and research purposes.

Thus, as said earlier, we skim and scan all the time, when we are reading a text, a passage, a
newspaper or a magazine.

Now, let us do a simple scanning exercise.

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Scanning exercise - 3

Look at the list of company departments. Below the list, some people have been mentioned. Scan
the list and say in which department they are working.
The first one has been done as an example.

Company departments
A Training
B Purchasing
C Accounts
D Research
E Sales and Marketing
F Technical Support
G Conference Room
H Staff Records

1 Shiela is arranging a meeting. _____G (example)

2 John is ordering some raw materials for the factory. _____
3 Sridhar is helping to develop a new product. _____
4 Navdeep is looking up information about one of the employees. _____
5 Bose is repairing a laser printer. _____
6 Mrs Singh is preparing the salary bills. _____

Check your progress - 2

1 In simple words, how would you define the term scanning?

2 When you read the newspaper, what kind of things do you scan? (Make a
list)

3 How are skimming and scanning different?

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Here is one more scanning exercise.

Scanning exercise - 4

Look at the information about the Capital Conference Centre. A list of facilities that are available
at the centre A-G are given below. Choose the facility which you need. The first one has been done
as an example.

Capital Conference Centre

Facilities available:
A Conference Room
B Accommodation
C Restaurant and Coffee Shop
D Business Centre
E Health Centre
F Technical Support
G Travel Agency

1 You want to book some rooms for your delegates: _____B (example)
2 You are feeling ill. _____
3 You want to invite some colleagues to dinner. _____
4 You want a place to hold a meeting. _____
5 You are having problems with the DVD player. _____
6 You need some documents photocopied. _____

2.4 REFERENCE SKILLS

What are reference skills?

Difference between scanning and reference skills.

Reference skills are those skills which we use when we are looking up a dictionary for
the meaning/spelling/pronunciation of a word or referring to a telephone directory to find the right
number that we want. Nowadays, many young people also refer to the Internet and websites to
locate information. When students are using "Google Search", for example, many websites and
windows will open offering various types of information. We scan through all the options and
select the one appropriate to us. Thus, looking up the dictionary and the telephone directory or a
railway timetable or the Internet - in all these cases, we are using Reference Skills.

In a way, reference skills are related to scanning skills - both are reading sub-skills which involve
searching for information. But there is an important difference.

When we scan, we are reading a passage, an article or a write up. We scan a piece of continuous
writing to locate information that is important to us. Once we have found the relevant part, we read
more slowly for the specific information or detail which we require.

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On the other hand, reference skills refer to the searching of information given in the form of a
table, a chart, a list or a graph. We are basically looking for words, numbers, figures, amounts,
percentages, etc.

2.4.1 WHEN DO WE USE REFERENCE SKILLS?

We use reference skills while studying, while preparing for exams, while working on assignments
or writing up a project report, etc. Even when we are typing on the computer and we use the spell-
check and grammar check, we are using reference skills. We usually refer to tables, charts, maps,
atlases and of course, to the dictionary. Please remember, these are all officially published
information and we refer to these to include that information or detail in order to authenticate or
validate what we are writing. We also refer to books and the Internet in order to confirm whether
what we have included in our writing - facts, figures, dates, spellings - are correct or not.

2.4.2 WHAT TYPE OF READING MATERIAL DO WE USE REFERENCE SKILLS

FOR?
As mentioned above, the most important book which we refer to is the dictionary. We refer to the
dictionary to find the correct spelling, meaning, pronunciation and usage of words and phrases. We
also refer to encyclopedias, thesauruses, grammar books, etc., to get information about language
use, synonyms and antonyms, grammatical features and so on.

The telephone directory and railway timetables along with Airline schedules and TV and
radio programme schedules are some of the other material that we refer to, for making travel plans,
to make a telephone call or find an address and to watch our favourite programmes on T.V.,
Weather charts and the index of a reference book, lottery and exam results, stocks and shares, sales
figures of major products - all these and many more are referred to for different purposes.

2.4.3 PRACTICE IN REFERENCE SKILLS

TELEPHONE DIRECTORY

Look at the information from a telephone directory.

Write the appropriate telephone numbers.

Note: You may use any number more than once.

What number would you dial if you want the following information:

Example: you want to speak to the International Operator? 123 (Answer)

1 there is something wrong with your telephone? _______

2 there has been an accident and you want to call an ambulance? _______
3 you want to find out a number in a foreign country? _______
4 you want to know how much telephone calls cost? _______
5 you want to buy an answer-phone machine? _______
6 you want to use a credit card to pay for a telephone call? _______13

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Operator Services 101

The operator is there to help you if you have difficulty making a call or if you
want to use any of our special call services. These include: Alarm calls Advice
of duration charge Credit card calls fixed time calls Freefone calls
Personal calls Transferred Charge calls subscriber controlled transfer. For
details of charges see our free leaflet. Dial 101 and ask for financial services.

International Operator 123

See Section 3 (international) for details.

Directory Enquiries 142

Tell the operator the town you require. Have paper and pencil ready.

International Directory Enquiries 130

Emergency 010
Tell the operator what service you want.

Faults 166
Any fault should be reported to the local fault repair service.

Sales 170
For enquiries regarding other purchases.

Telemessage 190
If you have something special to say and prefer to say it in writing.

International Telemessage 191

International Telegrams 192

You can send a telegram to most other countries.

Any Other Call Enquiries 111

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Check your progress - 3
1 What are reference skills?

2 What kind of material/books do you refer to regularly?

3 Fill up the following table:

Materials we scan Materials we refer to

2.5 LET US SUM UP.

In this unit we discussed three important skills of reading:

Skimming: surface reading to get a general idea.
Scanning: To search for relevant details.
Reference skills: To look up a dictionary or a table for information that you want.

We use these three skills of reading all the time, especially while reading the newspaper,
magazines, Internet and the dictionary as well as railway timetable and telephone directory.

2.6 KEY WORDS

Skim: to read on the surface.

Scan: to search for details.
Reference skills: to look up a dictionary or a directory.

2.7 SUGGESTED READING

1 Cross, David (1992) "A Practical Handbook of Language Teaching" (Herts: Prentice Hall)
2 Alderson, C and Urquhart, A.H. ed. (1984) "Reading in a Foreign Language" London: Longman.
3 Chall, J.S. (1983) "Stages of Reading Development" New York: McGraw Hill.

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2.8 ANSWERS

Skimming: (2.2.3)

Passage - 1
1) c 2) b

Passage - 2
1) a 2) a

Passage - 3
1) c 2) c

Check your progress - 1

1) Skimming is to read fast on the surface to get a general idea.

2) Skimmed milk is that milk from which the cream on the surface has been removed.
3) a) fast b) for a general idea c) in large chunks.

Passage 1 ELECTRIC CARS

1) H (example) 2) F 3) G 4) A
5) D 6) C 7) E

Passage 2 THE LONDON TUBE

1) H (Example) 2) C 3) E 4) G
5) B 6) A 7) D

2.3 Scanning Exercise - 1

INTERNET H ELPS SHOPPING

1) cars, washing machine

2) car showroom, electric stores
3) researching, checking prices, visiting stores, seeking advice
4) four to six weeks
5) sales assistant

Scanning Exercise - 2
INTER - OFFICE MEMO
1 Secretary.
2 leg was broken
3 Front Office
4 Wellington General Hospital
5 Janardhan

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 Reading Skills
Scanning Exercise - 3
COMPANY DEPARTMENTS

1) G (Example) 2) B 3) D 4) H 5) F 6) C

Check your progress - 2

1) Scanning is to read a passage, searching for specific details.
2) Weather charts, railway/air timings, stocks and shares, TV/Radio programme listings,
etc.
3) Skimming is to get overall picture, scanning is for specific details.

Scanning Exercise - 4
CAPITAL CONFERENCE CENTRE

1) B (Example)
2) E
3) C
4) A
5) F
6) D

24.3 Reference Skills

TELEPHONE DIRECTORY

1) 166
2) 010
3) 130
4) 101
5) 170
6) 101

Check your progress - 3

1 Referring to books and official announcements.
2 Dictionary, telephone directory, reference books.
3 Scan: charts, tables, reports and long texts

Refer to: dictionary, directories, encyclopedia, etc.

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