College English Graded Timed Reading (Level 4)

Author: Foreign Languages Press
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-06-01
Features: The content is widely sourced and appropriately challenging; language phenomena progress from simple to complex, and vocabulary range expands from narrow to broad; the difficulty of the texts gradually increases, with both depth and breadth expanding. The "College English Graded Timed Reading" series consists of six volumes and is a supplementary textbook for fast reading designed for college students and readers with equivalent qualifications. It can be used in English classes alongside intensive reading textbooks or for self-timed reading by college students after class. As you can see while using this series: its content is widely sourced, appropriately challenging, and progresses in steps according to the objective differences in English proficiency and comprehensive knowledge among college students at levels 1-6. Language phenomena become more complex, vocabulary range expands, text difficulty increases, and both depth and breadth gradually expand. The writing is rigorous, engaging, and knowledge-rich, offering philosophical insights to readers.
I. The Structure of This Series
This series consists of six volumes, each corresponding to one level of English teaching in college (levels 1-6), with one volume per level. The length and difficulty of the texts increase progressively with each volume, aligning closely with the corresponding level differences. The number of new words in each text does not exceed 3% of the core syllabus requirements—e.g., in a 500-word text, no more than 15 new words are allowed. Regarding grammar, since high school students have already studied grammar extensively, there are no strict restrictions on grammatical phenomena in each lesson. However, the length and complexity of sentence structures are strictly controlled. Each volume of this series contains 50 texts, with lengths ranging from approximately 300-400 words in the first three volumes to 600-700 words in the fifth and sixth volumes. Every 10 texts are grouped into a unit, with answers to the exercises provided at the end of each unit. To facilitate learning and deeper comprehension of the texts, each lesson includes 10 multiple-choice questions on reading comprehension and 5 on vocabulary usage. Each text is accompanied by a translation that closely matches its content. The purpose of these exercises is twofold: to help readers assess their actual reading comprehension progress and accuracy, and to evaluate their understanding of key word usage in the text. If readers feel uncertain or make mistakes, they can refer to the explanations at the end of each unit, reread the text, or consult reference materials for clearer understanding. The annotations after each lesson follow the principle of simplicity and appropriateness, explaining the author's intent and relevant language phenomena (grammatical difficulties and vocabulary usage) in a way that suits the reader's level, laying a solid foundation for improving reading skills and passing corresponding proficiency exams.
II. Controlling Reading Speed and Depth of Comprehension
III. How to Fully Utilize the Potential of This Textbook to Develop Multiple Reading Skills
IV. Three Rules for Using This Textbook
V. Requirements for Reading Comprehension in the Syllabus and Reading Speed Requirements for This Level
VI. How to Control Training Speed When Using This Book for Timed Reading Practice
This book is the fourth volume, equivalent to the English proficiency level of second-year college students in their second semester of their sophomore year. Its goal is to prepare students for the CET-4 exam. To meet the fast-reading training needs of students at this level, the texts selected in this volume are slightly less challenging than those in the official College English textbooks. The "College English Graded Timed Reading" series consists of six volumes and is a supplementary textbook for fast reading designed for college students and readers with equivalent qualifications. It can be used in English classes alongside intensive reading textbooks or for self-timed reading by college students after class. As you can see while using this series: its content is widely sourced, appropriately challenging, and progresses in steps according to the objective differences in English proficiency and comprehensive knowledge among college students at levels 1-6. Language phenomena become more complex, vocabulary range expands, text difficulty increases, and both depth and breadth gradually expand. The writing is rigorous, engaging, and knowledge-rich, offering philosophical insights to readers.
I. The Structure of This Series
This series consists of six volumes, each corresponding to one level of English teaching in college (levels 1-6), with one volume per level. The length and difficulty of the texts increase progressively with each volume, aligning closely with the corresponding level differences. The number of new words in each text does not exceed 3% of the core syllabus requirements—e.g., in a 500-word text, no more than 15 new words are allowed. Regarding grammar, since high school students have already studied grammar extensively, there are no strict restrictions on grammatical phenomena in each lesson. However, the length and complexity of sentence structures are strictly controlled. Each volume of this series contains 50 texts, with lengths ranging from approximately 300-400 words in the first three volumes to 600-700 words in the fifth and sixth volumes. Every 10 texts are grouped into a unit, with answers to the exercises provided at the end of each unit. To facilitate learning and deeper comprehension of the texts, each lesson includes 10 multiple-choice questions on reading comprehension and 5 on vocabulary usage. Each text is accompanied by a translation that closely matches its content. The purpose of these exercises is twofold: to help readers assess their actual reading comprehension progress and accuracy, and to evaluate their understanding of key word usage in the text. If readers feel uncertain or make mistakes, they can refer to the explanations at the end of each unit, reread the text, or consult reference materials for clearer understanding. The annotations after each lesson follow the principle of simplicity and appropriateness, explaining the author's intent and relevant language phenomena (grammatical difficulties and vocabulary usage) in a way that suits the reader's level, laying a solid foundation for improving reading skills and passing corresponding proficiency exams.
II. Controlling Reading Speed and Depth of Comprehension
III. How to Fully Utilize the Potential of This Textbook to Develop Multiple Reading Skills
IV. Three Rules for Using This Textbook
V. Requirements for Reading Comprehension in the Syllabus and Reading Speed Requirements for This Level
VI. How to Control Training Speed When Using This Book for Timed Reading Practice
This book is the fourth volume, equivalent to the English proficiency level of second-year college students in their second semester of their sophomore year. Its goal is to prepare students for the CET-4 exam. To meet the fast-reading training needs of students at this level, the texts selected in this volume are slightly less challenging than those in the official College English textbooks.