⑦常識包括我們的生活經歷、經驗常識以及自己專業方面的知識，在閱讀到與自己專業相近的文章時，我們都會感到相對容易，這正是我們的專業知識在幫我們理解。例：

　　An apple falls down instead of up because of gravity.

　　An atomic clock is so precise that it can be used to check the accuracy of predictions based on Einstein’s relativity theories.

　　對付難文的閱讀需善于預測

　　預測

　　在對付難文的閱讀時，一定要善于在理解已知信息的基礎上對隨之可能出現的信息進行積極預測。預測時，應學會借助主題句、關聯詞語等篇章信息來提高預測的準確性。

　　如，有一篇短文以這樣一句開頭：

　　Many people believe the glare from snow causes snowblindness. Yet…這里根據表示轉折的關聯詞Yet，預測到下面可能出現的是主題句，又必然要否定本句中許多人的觀點，即snowblindness(雪盲)可能由glare from snow以外的其它原因引起。原文緊接著的是：Yet，dark glasses or not，they find themselves suffering from headaches and watering eyes，and even snowblindness，when exposed to several hours of “snow light”.

　　據此主題，我們可以比較有把握地預測到下文將著墨于引起“雪盲”的真正原因，原文如下：

　　The United States Army has now determined that glare from snow does not cause snowblindness in troops in a snow-covered country. Rather，a man’s eyes frequently find nothing to focus on in a broad expanse of barren snow-covered terrain. So his gaze continually shifts and jumps back and forth over the entire landscape in search of something to look at. Finding nothing hour after hour，the eyes never stop searching and the eyeballs become sore and the eye muscles ache. Nature offsets this irritation by producing more and more fluid which covers the eyeball. The fluid covers the eyeball in increasing quantity until vision blurs，then is obscured，and the result is total，even though temporary，snowblindness.

　　但預測不一定總是正確，它需要在繼續閱讀中予以肯定、否定或修正。上例中下文的內容與預測相近，表示理解過程正確。如預測與下文不一致，則可能：①對前面內容的理解有偏差;②據以預測的那部分語言信息可能有多種不同理解，因而可據以作出多種不同的預測。

　　預測有順向預測和逆向預測兩種，上面提到的為順向預測。所謂逆向預測，實為預測的一種特殊形式，應用于已知下文要推知上文的場合。閱讀中積極運用順向和逆向預測，除了上面談到的能提高對文章的理解深度外，還可幫助我們讀懂本來難以讀懂的章節。

　　判斷

　　在閱讀中，我們有時需要對文章內容的正誤作出判斷，有時需要借助上下文對個別詞語的大意作出判斷，有時需要根據關聯，對上下文進行預測性判斷，有時需要在綜合分析的基礎上，通過判斷得出結論，有時還需要對作者語氣態度、思想傾向等等作出判斷。判斷貫穿于閱讀的全過程，也滲透在各種閱讀微技能中。例：

　　(1) 判斷推測句中omnivorous一詞的大意

　　She has a wide interest and is an omnivorous reader.

　　根據句中她“興趣廣”這一上文和被修飾的reader一詞，可大概判斷omnivorous具有“興趣廣、什么書都喜歡讀”等含義。

　　(2) 根據前文，判斷下文

　　Laziness is a sin, everyone knows that. Nevertheless…

　　A) laziness can actually be helpful

　　B) laziness is a sign of mental illness

　　C) laziness is immoral and wasteful

　　D) you must be careful when you see someone lazy

　　根據第一分句的語義傾向和Nevertheless一詞，我們可得出這樣的判斷，即下文要談的內容必然與之相反，即談論Laziness也有其有利、肯定的一面，故A最有可能。

　　(3) 判斷作者觀點

　　Which of the following statements was written by someone who prefers small cars to large ones?

　　A) Their excellent gas mileage and even their improved interior design notwithstanding，today’s compact cars simply fail to provide the feel a traditional motorist yearns for.

　　B) They lack some of the size and even the character of the full-sized autos we were accustomed to; but today’s compacts more than make up for this with their excellent gas mileage.

　　本題要求我們對A、B中哪種觀點贊成小汽車作出判斷。A句中主句對小汽車予以否定，句首對小汽車的肯定性陳述又被notwithstanding一詞否定。答案是B，第一分句講到小汽車的缺陷：缺乏大汽車的空間和氣派;第二分句則認為小汽車的緊湊及其優秀的低耗油特征能遠遠彌補上述不足，前面以轉折連詞將作者觀點轉向第二分句。

　　歸納是必須掌握的技能

　　歸納

　　歸納是一種由特殊(個別)到一般的概括，從閱讀理解角度說，所謂個別即具體細節，所謂一般即章節段落的大意或主題，歸納是由特殊細節推向一般主題的概括過程。

　　我們可以借助詞的上下義關系來領會掌握并運用歸納這一方法。

　　(1) 句子的歸納

　　A) Microwave ovens have eliminated many of the inconveniences previously associated with the preparation of meals.

　　B) Many foods can go directly from the freezer to the microwave oven without being defrosted.

　　C) Many microwave ovens can be pre-set to cook food while you are away from the kitchen.

　　D) The microwave oven has greatly reduced the amount of time it takes to cook a meal.

　　題中四句話都提到微波爐的好處，其中B、C、D 分別從方便、解凍、定時三個不同的方面具體講述微波爐不同于傳統炊具的優勢，而A則從整體上覆蓋了上述三句的內容，故A是對B、C、D的概括，上述分析、尋找最具概括意義之選項的過程即為歸納過程。推而廣之，我們可用之于段落和短文主題的歸納。

　　(2) 段落大意的歸納

　　Although most universities in the United States are run on a semester system, which offers classes in the fall and spring, some schools observe a quarter system comprised of fall, winter, spring, and summer quarters. The academic year, September to June, is divided into three quarters of eleven weeks each beginning in September, January, and March, the summer quarter, June to August is composed of shorter sessions of varying length. Students may take advantage of the opportunity to study year around by enrolling in all four quarters, Most students begin their programs in the fall quarter, but they may enter at the beginning of any of the other quarters.

　　A) Universities in the United States

　　B) The Academic Year

　　C) The Quarter System

　　D) The Semester System