These speed reading exercises will test how quickly you can skim a text to get an idea of what it’s about (its theme). In many cases all that is necessary is to find the topic sentence of the one or more paragraphs in the text. The topic sentence is the sentence that gives the reader information about what the paragraph will contain. In many cases the topic sentence is the first sentence in the paragraph. So if you want to find out what a text is about very quickly, just read the first sentence in every paragraph.
Beware, however! Not every paragraph has an obvious topic sentence, and not every topic sentence is the first sentence in the paragraph.
#What is this text mostly about?^How to quickly find out what a text is about by reading the topic sentences.~The increasing importance of online quizzes in learning English.~The importance of reading in learning a language.~How to write well so that readers can quickly understand what you are saying.'); q('We cannot drink sea water, for two reasons. First, the bacterial count may be too high for our health. The second and main reason is that the salt content of sea water (about a quarter-pound of salt to a gallon of water) is too great for the human body. Even though a certain amount of salt is necessary for body cells to stay healthy, an excess leads to dehydration, and death.
#What is this text mostly about?^Why it is dangerous to drink sea water.~Why it is easier to swim in ea water than fresh water.~Why the human body needs salt.~How much salt is contained in sea water.'); q('There are four basic "ingredients" that go into the "recipe" for making soil: tiny pieces of rock, decayed plants and animals, water, and air. When small pieces of rock break off larger ones, they form the basis of all soil. This breaking can occur in several ways: through the action of glaciers pushing rocks along the ground and grinding them against other rocks; through the action of chemicals in water eating away at rocks; through changes in temperature causing water to freeze in rocks and crack the rock open; through the force of wind throwing sand and pebbles against rocks; and through the movement of plant roots splitting rocks apart. This rocky, ground-up material is called the parent material of the soil.
#What is this text mostly about?^How rocks break down to form soil.~The grinding of rocks by glaciers.~The importance of worms in creating soil.~The composition of different kinds of rocks.'); q('Sound waves are movements, or vibrations, in the air made by sounds. When these sound waves enter the canal of your outer ear, they hit your ear drum, a thin, tough sheet of tissue stretched tightly along the canal that separates your outer ear from your middle ear. As the sound waves hit, the ear drum begins to vibrate, much the same way that a drum does when it is hit with a stick. This vibration of the ear drum causes three tiny bones in your middle ear to vibrate too. They, in turn, send vibrations to a liquid that fills the deepest part of your inner ear. The moving liquid presses on the nerve cells which control your hearing, and these, in turn, pass the sound message on to your brain.
#What is this text mostly about?^The process by which we hear sound.~The structure of the ear.~The importance of protecting the ear drum.~How deaf people can be helped to hear sound.'); q('There are some activities your body automatically continues whether you\'re awake or asleep. Without them, you could not go on living. For example, your heart beats and you breathe; your blood continues to flow, bringing food and oxygen to all the cells in your body. Sleep is also the time when those body cells that have worked hard all day and become worn out are repaired, replaced, and build up new supplies of energy for the following day. This is also the time when you grow the most. During sleep, your brain, which pays attention to the outside world when you\'re awake, now takes a rest. Your eyes close so that your brain does not get signals about things you see when you\'re awake. Ordinary sounds also do not disturb you now. Your brain is still active to keep you alive, but you lose the sense of being yourself. This is called consciousness.
#What is this text mostly about?^What happens when you are asleep.~The automatic processes of the body.~Consciousness.~What happens to the body when it is deprived of sleep for long periods.'); q('Even though the zebra is a member of the horse family, its unusual color pattern sets it apart from its relatives. The zebra\'s parallel stripes of black or brown on a white or almost-white background are like a design which covers the whole animal, even its tail, mane, and ears. Zebras have stripes to make them blend in with the scenery and to keep them safe from attack. This is very much like what soldiers do in wartime, as they cover their helmets with leaves and attempt to hide their artillery by drawing leaf-covered nets over them to blend them in with the scenery. This is called camouflage. Though the zebra doesn\'t know this word, it practices camouflage very effectively. Since zebras live in the same grasslands as lions, their main enemy, this protection is very necessary.
#What is this text mostly about?^How zebras protect themselves from their predators.~How zebras find food.~Why zebras are not good zoo animals.~Why zebras cannot be ridden like horses.'); q('Billions of dust and water particles are constantly floating in the air. The sky gets its color from the sun, whose sunlight is a mixture of violet, blue, red, green, yellow, and orange rays - all the colors of the rainbow. When the sun is high in the sky, these red-orange-yellow light rays stream down to earth from the sun, and we see the sun as yellow. But the violet-blue-green rays behave differently - they do not stream down directly to earth. Instead, they are scattered by the dust and water particles in the air. So when we look up, we see the blue light rays reflected by the particles, or a blue sky. When the sun is sinking low near the horizon at sunset, the violet-blue green light rays follow an even longer, scattered path in the atmosphere than during the day. So we see more reds and yellows, which make the sunset look red.
#What is this text mostly about?^Why the sun and the sky have different colours at different times of day.~The importance of the sun for life on earth.~How rainbows are made and why they form an arch.~The dangers of certain types of sunray.'); q('Blood looks as if it is solid red, but it really is not. If you look at blood under a microscope, you will see that it is made up of four different parts: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The plasma, which is the actual fluid, is a yellowish-white liquid. It contains the red blood cells, the white blood cells, and platelets, along with proteins, minerals, digested food, and wastes. However, there are more red blood cells in the blood than any of these other substances, and it is the hemoglobin - a red pigment - in the red blood cells that gives your blood its color.
#What is this text mostly about?^Why blood looks red.~The function of blood.~What happens when the body loses blood.~Why people are in different blood groups.'); q('The weight of air pushing against the earth is what weathermen call air pressure. This weight changes from place to place and from time to time in the same place. These changes are sometimes caused by changes in temperature. When the sun\'s heat warms the air, it makes the air currents rise skyward. Since warm air weighs less than cold air, the warm air pushes less against the earth, or exerts low pressure. When the heavier, cold air pushes with more weight against the earth, it exerts heavier, or high pressure.
#What is this text mostly about?^The influence of temperature on air pressure.~How clouds form.~The different kinds of cloud.~How weather forecasters can predict the next day\'s weather.'); q('Your blood has special cells in it that fight disease and infections. These cells, called white blood cells, are produced in your bone marrow - the soft tissue that fills the inside of your bones. White blood cells work like an army to attack and kill harmful germs that get into your body. When an infection develops on your skin, for example, the bone marrow produces more white blood cells than usual. These white cell "soldiers" move to the area where the germs are and actually chew them up and destroy them. They also eat away at the tissue around the germ, and soften and liquify it. The white cells then break apart and, along with the destroyed germs and liquified tissue, form the thick yellow-white substance called pus. The pus oozes out of the infection slowly and dries up as the wound heals.
#What is this text mostly about?^The function of white blood cells.~The four components of blood.~Why blood looks red.~What white blood cells are made of.'); q('The elephant uses its trunk in more ways than any animal uses any part of its body. The trunk is both amazingly strong and very delicate. With it an elephant can pull down a mighty tree or gently take a peanut from a child\'s hand. The elephant smells, drinks, and feeds itself with its trunk. No animal has a better nose, and the elephant depends heavily on its sense of smell. When the elephant does find food, it lifts up the food with its trunk and brings it to its mouth. An elephant does not, however, drink through its trunk. Rather it sucks up the water through the trunk and then squirts it into its mouth, swallowing with a loud, gurgling sound.
Elephants also use their trunks to give themselves showers. Though elephants belong to the group of mammals called pachyderms, which means "thick-skinned," actually their skin is very tender. Even though their skin is 1-inch thick, elephants have no layer of fat under their skin, so they are very sensitive to cold and to extreme heat. On hot days, elephants cool off by giving themselves a shower with their trunks. An elephant\'s trunk can hold six liters of water. Elephants can also feel the shape of objects with their trunks, as well as determine whether these objects are hot or cold, rough or smooth. The mother elephant guides her babies along with her trunk, and also uses it to caress her mate. Trunks are also used in fighting. Here, the elephant grasps its enemy with its trunk and then uses its tusks as a weapon.
#What is this text mostly about?^How elephants use their trunks.~How elephants find food.~How elephants protect their babies.~How elephants keep cool in the hot sun.');