Skim Reading Exercises

Skim reading exercise: 1

Look at the first sentences in a paragraph to get the main idea

Click here to see Exercise 1 and start your timer (25 seconds)

There is a long history of recreational use of thecountryside. In the North York Moors the Royal Hunting Forest of Pickering was established in 1106 by King Henry I, but areas such as this were exclusively for use by their owners - the aristocracy, and also served to provide food.

The concept of access to the countryside for alltook a long time to become firmly established. Thereality took even longer.

Each National Park is run by an Authority. The North York Moors National Park Authority consists of a committee of 26 members who meet regularly to make key decisions about planning applications, how the Park is managed and future policies. The Authority is assisted in its work by a National Park Officer and around 75 full time staff.

main idea

key words

key word

clueLook for key words (names, places, technical terms)

Look for clues in the text (eg italicised words)

Do Scan your eyes down the middle of the text column rather than reading along every line.

In England and Wales there are 11 National Parks.Together they cover 13,877 square kilometres (5360 square miles) - nearly 10% of England and Wales. They include our finest landscapes.In our National Parks you could find moorland, mountains,lakes, woodland, farmland, coastline, scenic villages and much more.Our National Parks are working landscapes where people live and where most of the land is privately owned, for example by estate owners and farmers. In some countries, National Parks are uninhabited, wilderness areas under state control.

Every year the National Park Authorities in England and Wales each submit their plans for expenditure to the Government.The Secretary of State for the Environment approves a grant for each National Park; 75% of this is provided by the Government (a National Park supplementary Grant) and 25% is provided by the relevant

Local Authorities. National Parks are, therefore, funded by taxpayers. In 1998/99 the North York Moors National Park Authority received almost £3 million in this way. The work of the National Park Authority is limited by funding and therefore each National Park raises additional incomethrough, for example, fees for planning applications, sale of publications and car park charges.

Skim reading test: 1

Time’s up!

Now try to answer the following points based on what you have read.

National Parks

How many are there?What %

or what area (km/miles)?

What might you find in a National Park?

Who owns them?

Who pays for them?

Next exercise

Skim reading exercise: - 2

Reminder:For effective skim reading

Scan your eyes down the middle of the text column rather than reading along every line.

Look for key words (names, places, technical terms)

Look for clues in the text (eg italicised words)

Look at the first sentences in a paragraph

Click here to see Exercise 2 and start your timer (25 seconds)

In exercise 1 you probably felt you could have “got into” the article more quickly if you had known what sort of questions you might look for.

This is where “active reading” is a more effective way of learning. Before starting to read, make a note of the kinds of things you hope to find out, then quickly skim through to look for them.

In the next extract, you will be looking to answer the following questions. Note these questions down and then continue to Exercise 2.

• How much does tourism bring SE England?

• What are the main attractions?

• How many visitors does the region receive?

Tourism is an important economic activity in the South East, contributing about £5.1bn to the economy of the region as a whole . The region has a strong rural tourism product, with visitors attracted by the diverse and nationally important landscape, attractive market towns and villages, seaside resorts and coastal scenery, high quality paths and trails, along with a wealth of historic sites and properties.

The gateway status of the South East attracted 4.25m overseas visitors to the region in 1997, along with 21m overnight UK visitors and 150m day visitors.

Farm-based serviced accommodation is provided by, amongst others, the members of the Farm Holiday Bureau - nationally they have over 1,000 members. Farmhouse accommodation is generally available for an average of 6 guests. Many more bed spaces are provided in rural areas by non-farm accommodation, ranging from modest bed and breakfast and guest houses through inns to large, expensive country house hotels.

There are major tourist attractions in the rural areas of the region. For example, Thorpe Park in Surrey and Legoland in Berkshire both attract nearly 1.5m visitors a year. Some small towns in the region, such as Woodstock, Oxfordshire, attract over a million visitors each year - 400,000 paying to visit the adjacent Blenheim Palace. It is estimated that the villages and countryside of the region offer around 200 major attractions (such as historic houses, gardens and steam railways), catering for 11.5m visitors a year. Farm attractions are represented by a number of county based networks and range from part-time, seasonal ventures to major attractions.

Skim reading test:2

Time’s up!

Now try to answer the following points based on what you have read.

Tourism in South East England

How much does tourism bring SE England?

What are the main attractions?

How many visitors does the region receive?

Well done! You’ve now completed the skim reading

exercises.