Ⅰ. Reading Str ategy: Mak in g Infer en ces
Writers often tell you more than they say directly. They give you hints or clues that help you“ read between the lines ”. Using these clues to give you a deeper understanding of your reading is called inferr ing. When you infer ，you go beyond the surface details to see other meanings that the details suggest or imply ( not stated) .
When the meanings of words are not stated clearly in the context，they may be implied - that is，suggested or hinted at. When meanings are implied，you may infer them.
Inference is just a big word that means a conclusion or judgment. If you infer that something has happened，you do not see，hear ，feel，smell，or taste the actual event.
But from what you know，it makes sense to think that it has happened. You make inferences every day. Most of the time you do so without thinking about it. Suppose you are sitting in your car stopped at a red signal light. You hear screeching tires,then a loud crash and breaking glass. You see nothing，but you infer that there has been a car accident. We all know the sounds of screeching tires and a crash. We know that these sounds almost always mean a car accident. But there could be some other reason，and therefore another explanation，for the sounds. Perhaps it was not an accident involving two moving vehicles. Maybe an angry driver rammed a parked car.
Or maybe someone played the sound of a car crash from a recording. Making inferences means choosing the most likely explanation from the facts at hand.
In making inferences，you are really getting at the ultimate meaning of things - what is important，why it is important，how one event influences another，how one happening leads to another . Simply getting the facts in reading is not enough - you must think about what they mean to you.
When you are doing reading exercises or a test for reading comprehension，youmight often encounter questions and statements as follows:
What is the author??s purpose in this passage?
What can be concluded from this paragraph?
The passage suggests that . . .
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
It can be easily guessed that . . .
It can be inferred from the last sentence that . . .
What information is probably in the paragraph preceding the passage?
What information does the paragraph following the passage most likely contain?
Ⅱ. Applying the Read ing Str ategy
In this part，you are required to use the reading strategy you have just learned.Read the following paragraphs and answer the questions after them.
( 1)
In the fall of 1973，Bill Gates left home for Harvard University. Gates took thestandard freshman courses with the exception of signing up for one of Harvard??s toughest math courses. He did well but just as in high school，his heart was not in his studies. After locating the school??s computer center，he lost himself in the world of computers once again. Gates would spend many long nights in front of the school??s computer and the next day he would fell asleep in class.
It can be inferred from the sentence“ his heart was not in his studies”that .
A. Bill Gates didn??t like the courses offered by the university
B. Bill Gates was more interested in computer than in his studies
C. Bill Gates began his love affair with computers
D. Bill Gates showed his great talent for computer science
( 2)
Paul Allen and Gates remained in close contact even when Bill was away at school. They would often discuss ideas for future projects and the possibility of one day starting a business. At the end of Gates??first year at Harvard，the two decided that Allen should move closer to him so that they might be able to follow up on some
finish his studies because of his neglect.
Ⅲ. Reading Task
A. Pr e-r eading act ivity
Microsoft and Bill Gates are household names in today??s information age. But do you know the windows operating system of Microsoft is faced with a big challenge in Asia? Read the following passage，and try to find out what it is.
B. Reading
Microsoft Corp Chairman Bill Gates，seeking to stem the spread of Linux software，meets this week with prime ministers in Australia and Malaysia and officials in China to promote his Windows operating system in Asia，the world??s fastestgrowing personal-computer market.
Gates and Microsoft??s Chief Executive Steve Ballmer are meeting heads of state and clients such as Fujitsu Ltd chairman Naoyuki Akikusa. Ballmer yesterday said Microsoft wanted to make sure the value of Windows was“ absolutely clear to future buyers. ”
The dominance of the Windows operating system，which runs 95 per cent of the world??s PCs，is under greater pressure in Asia than elsewhere，analysts said. Linux for PCs last year sold three times as many copies in Asia as in the U. S. ，China，Japan and South Korea have agreed to develop Linux and other open-source software together as an alternative to Windows.
“ In emerging markets such as India and China，where PC growth rates are the highest，Linux momentum seems to be accelerating，”said Robert Stimson,“Leading
government organizations in these countries have resorted to Linux，and it remains to
be seen whether commercial enterprises will follow. ”
Linux is available for free over the Internet. Companies such as InternationalBusiness Machines Corp and Novell Inc also modify it to suit customers??needs and sellthe software and related services，generally at a lower price than Windows. WindowsXP Professional retails at U. S. ＄299. 99 at CompUSA Inc??s Web site. The software ischeaper on a per unit basis when bought for many users. A comparable product fromLinux provider Red Hat Inc. sells for U. S. ＄99. 99.
Gates and Ballmer want to keep Linux use from spreading across a range ofproducts，including in the more than U. S. ＄10 billion market for PC operatingsystems，where Windows provides 32 per cent of Microsoft??s sales. In Germany,Munich??s government decided this month to switch 14，000 PCs to Linux fromWindows，the biggest PC defection to Linux，according to Pacific Crest Securities inPortland，Oregon.
Microsoft shares rose 18 cents to U. S. ＄28. 57 on Friday in NASDAQ. Theyhave added 4. 4 per cent this year ，compared with an 18 per cent gain at Red Hat Inc,the world??s biggest Linux distributor.
