Appendix 1
Answers to comprehension questions

Introduction

  1. False.
  2. As ‘the aggregation of marginal gains’.
  3. Practice (the more you use them the more natural the techniques become).
  4. Simply by changing the distance that you hold your book you can improve the efficiency of your vision, reduce eye strain, fatigue and improve both speed and comprehension.
  5. Skimming and scanning.
  6. Use of a guide, once mastered, is one of the most important techniques in speed reading.
  7. The flexibility to alter text to suit your own preferences.
  8. Latin and Greek.

Chapter 1

  1. $900 billion.
  2. Spam filtering and intelligent internet search tools.
  3. The average reading speed is in the region of 200 to 240 words per minute (wpm) with about 60 to 80 per cent comprehension.
  4. 400 words per minute.
  5. 4,000 words per minute.
  6. Any two from: Fear, Overload, Frustration, Guilt and Social Pressure, Lack of Focus, Boredom.
  7. Ask yourself questions.

Chapter 2

  1. Phonics/Synthetic Phonics and Look-Say.
  2. Recognition, Assimilation, Comprehension, Understanding, Storage, Recall, Communicating, Applying and Creating.
  3. Any one from: Physical wellbeing, Environment, Emotional state.

Chapter 3

  1. Between a quarter and one-and-a-half seconds.
  2. Pausing on individual words, skipping backwards and wandering.
  3. True.
  4. With training, an average person can identify minute images flashed on the screen for only one five-hundredth of a second (2 ms).
  5. With practice your eyes can focus on four to six words in a single fixation, depending on length.
  6. ‘Read this passage slowly and carefully’.
  7. b) Continue reading.
  8. Backskipping and regression account for a 10 to 20 per cent reduction in potential reading speed.

Chapter 4

  1. Everything is in some way connected to everything else.
  2. Delta (0.5–3 Hz), Theta (4–7 Hz), Alpha (8–12 Hz), Beta (13–25 Hz).
  3. The best state for learning is in the Alpha to Theta range.
  4. False.
  5. Any two from: Listening to baroque music, Anchoring, Visualisation or Audio Visual Entrainment.
  6. Imagine something valuable is at stake, consider your goals or think about why you are reading.

Chapter 5

  1. We have a wider field of vision horizontally. From an evolutionary point of view, it was important for our hunter-gatherer ancestors to be sensitive to potential predators from either the left or right.
  2. Cones support daytime vision and the perception of colour and are more densely packed in the centre of the macula region of the retina in a small pit called the fovea.
  3. About 50 cm from your eyes.
  4. 80 per cent.
  5. Comprehension is improved if you have a general idea of the structure of a page; making use of peripheral vision also helps you remember what you read and leads to a reduction of eyestrain, headaches, neck and back pain.
  6. True.

Chapter 6

  1. True.
  2. It is believed to control sleep, wakefulness, and the ability to consciously focus attention on something. In addition, the RAS acts as a filter, dampening down the effect of repeated stimuli.
  3. Skimming differs from scanning in the important respect that it is less pre-directed.
  4. Skimming is ideal for newspapers.
  5. Being selective with your reading can multiply the time saved from reading faster by a factor of four.
  6. When reading scientific papers, you generally only need to read the title and abstract.
  7. Just read the title to see if it is relevant to continue, skim the contents and if you think it is important, read the executive summary.

Chapter 7

  1. Two of the following: adding up a column of figures in your head, scanning classified ads in a newspaper, finding a phone number in a printed directory, looking up a word in a dictionary, reading stock prices in the financial pages of a newspaper.
  2. Focus on the page; reduce the duration of fixations; take in groups of words in meaningful chunks; only move forwards and avoid backskipping.
  3. Using your finger as a guide has one major disadvantage, that the rest of your hand partially covers the page.
  4. A knitting needle, chopstick, pen, pencil or even a conductor’s baton.

Chapter 8

  1. False.
  2. ‘Of’ is what is known as a function word. It does not convey information in itself so the brain glosses over it.
  3. If you get to the end of a chapter and really have no clue what the author was saying then it is worth looking up unfamiliar words.
  4. 80 per cent.
  5. We remember approximately 10 per cent of what we read compared with 30 per cent of what we see and up to 90 per cent of what we do.
  6. Pay particular attention to graphs, charts and diagrams. Try to imagine pictorial representations or analogies.
  7. False.
  8. When you read something important turn the volume of subvocalisation right up so you are shouting the words in your head.

Chapter 9

  1. Asking questions before you begin enables your subconscious to go to work as soon as you open the book. You will be on the lookout for particular facts and will be more likely to spot relevant information.
  2. Most information tends to be concentrated at the beginning and end of chapters.
  3. Just jump over them and continue reading.
  4. Images promote creativity and imagination. A central image is more interesting, keeps you focused, helps you concentrate, and gives your brain more stimulation.
  5. The brain filters out the mundane and ordinary. Exaggeration makes things extraordinary.
  6. If you miss a connection the chain breaks and it is very difficult to continue. The Method of Loci lets you carry on even if you miss one or more items in a list.
  7. We naturally remember more from the start of a learning session and a reasonable amount from the end.
  8. Five.
  9. 20 minutes (one third).

Chapter 10

  1. Set aside a specific time each day devoted to answering important emails.
  2. Full spectrum halogen light bulbs that burn brighter, whiter and hotter and are much closer to daylight than other bulbs.
  3. Colour combinations that differ widely in luminance.
  4. For online reading, sans serif fonts seem easier on the eyes.
  5. 1.5 spacing.
  6. False.
  7. 50 cm (the same as a page of text).
  8. Blinking, stretching and focusing eyes on distant objects.
  9. Approximately every 15 to 20 minutes.

Chapter 11

  1. Neophilia – a tendency to like anything new; love of novelty.
  2. Spheroid – shaped like, but not exactly, a sphere.
  3. Geochronologist – one who studies the ordering and dating of events in the earth’s history, including the origin of the earth itself.
  4. Polycyclic – having more than one cyclic component.
  5. Controvertible – capable of being disputed as true or opposed by reasoning.
  6. Heptad – a group or series of seven.
  7. Whitherward – in what direction.
  8. Semicentennial – A fiftieth anniversary or its celebration.
  9. Polyphony – having many tones or voices; a style of musical composition employing two or more simultaneous but relatively independent melodic lines.
  10. Chronophobia – fear of time.
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