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Using these books

Follow these steps when you use the books. Your teacher can help you with this.

Step 1: Fill in the charts at the beginning of each set of passages. Make sure you know
these words well before you begin reading.
Step 2: Before reading each passage, look at the time or start a timer. If you are reading
in class, the teacher will tell you when to begin.
Step 3: Read the passage as quickly as you can while trying to understand it.
Step 4: As soon as you finish reading, write down how many minutes and seconds it took
you to read the passage.
Step 5: Turn the page and answer the questions. While you are answering them, do not
look back at the passage.
Step 6: Check your answers to the questions.
Step 7: Write your speed and question score the Reading Speed Chart at the back of the
book. Every passage in the book has the same number of words, so your reading
time can tell you your reading speed.
Step 8: Look at your reading speed. You should try to read at around 250 words per
minute. You may have to practice by reading many passages before you can get to
this speed, but this should be your goal. When you read the next passage, try to
go a little faster.

A few things to think about

Your goal is not to be the fastest reader in the world, but you should learn to read at a
normal, comfortable speed. For most people, this is around 250 words per minute, but
some people can read faster. Reading faster is only good if you also understand what you
read. That is why there are questions after each story. If you get an answer wrong, that
is not a problem. Your main goal is to read faster. You will check your own questions and
measure your own speed. Of course, it would be easy to cheat if you wanted to. However,
if you cheat, you know that your speed and question score is not really your score. Use
these books honestly and properly, and with time, you will see your reading get better.

About the Authors

Paul Nation is Professor Emeritus in Applied Linguistics at the School of Linguistics and
Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He has
taught in Indonesia, Thailand, the United States, Finland, and Japan. His special interests
are language teaching methodology and vocabulary learning. Marcos Benevides has
written and edited many international award-winning books for language learners. He
teaches at J. F. Oberlin University in Tokyo. James Broadbridge is a doctoral candidate in
TESL, an award-nominated graded reader author, and a curriculum coordinator at J. F.
Oberlin University. Joseph Siegel holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and has researched
various aspects of ELT. He teaches at 횜rebro University in Sweden.

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