"阅读的艺术在于明智地跳读"

Reading effectively isn’t just about absorbing every single word on the page—it’s about knowing which parts you can breeze through and which deserve your full attention. This idea is at the heart of the quote about the art of reading. Essentially, it’s saying that smart readers know how to pick and choose what to read carefully and what to skim over.

Historically, this concept likely became more prominent as the volume of available reading material exploded. Think about the early 20th century, when newspapers, journals, and books became more accessible to the general public. People didn’t have the luxury of spending hours on each piece, so they had to get good at scanning for the important bits—kind of like the way we scroll through social media feeds today, pausing only on what really grabs our attention.

Let’s take a real-life example to make this clearer. Imagine you’re a student assigned to read a 300-page book for a history class. You’ve got a week to do it, and you're also juggling assignments from other classes. If you try to read every single word, you’ll probably end up overwhelmed and miss out on the key points. Instead, you need to identify which chapters or sections are core to the subject of your coursework. Focus on those, maybe even read them twice. For the rest, skim through and look for summaries, introductory paragraphs, and conclusions that encapsulate the main ideas. This way, you efficiently gather the information you need without getting bogged down in details that might not be as relevant.

Now, how can you apply this wisdom in your own reading habits? Start by determining your purpose before you even crack open a book or article. Are you reading for pleasure, study, work, or research? Your goal will dictate your approach. If it’s for study or work, scan the table of contents, headings, and subheadings to get a sense of where the most valuable content lies. Don’t be afraid to jump around. If a particular section seems dense or off-topic, give yourself permission to skim.

Picture this: You’re at a coffee shop with a book you’ve been meaning to read. It’s a nonfiction title on a subject you’re passionate about, but as you dive in, you realize the author packs in a lot of background information you already know. Instead of slogging through, you decide to skip ahead to the chapters that deal with new ideas or case studies you haven’t encountered before. Thirty minutes later, you’ve not only saved yourself some time, but you’re also buzzing with fresh insights that you can’t wait to discuss with your friends.

By selectively focusing your attention, you make the most out of your reading time and enrich your understanding without unnecessary labor. So, next time you find yourself daunted by a mountain of text, remember: it’s not just about what you read, but how you read it. Skipping judiciously isn’t cheating—it’s smart.