不同的人有着不同的阅读方法。有人主张先看题目，后看文章；有人主张先看文章，后看题目。但其目的只有一个，那就是快速浏览文章，抓住文中考点，准确快速地答题。在这里，笔者推荐一种阅读方法，并稍加分析。
第一步：扫描题目
这里的扫描与通常所说的那种试图去浏览每个题干、并记住全部提问的内容，以便在阅读中直接找出答案的先看题目后读文章的方法是完全不同的。
后者虽然在理论上是有些道理，但在实际应用中根本做不到，只是在浪费宝贵的考试时间。因为一个人想要浏览并记住全部题目的内容，大约需要2～3分钟，当考生把这些记住的内容带入文章的阅读中，大脑又将趋于空白。常人的短时记忆容量很有限，大脑不可能在这么短的时间里记住这么多的东西，这之前所花的2～3分钟的宝贵时间也就完全被浪费掉了。本处所推荐的扫描题目仅限于去发现题干中是否有人名（因为题目中一旦出现人名很有可能是针对人物观点的提问，记住人名就可以在下一步的阅读中有意识的去关注该人物的观点）以及需要推断词义的单词或短语的出现（这种扫描大约会花2～3秒钟。事实证明，人的大脑在扫描的一瞬间去记住一两个单词是可行的，即使试题当中没有我们所需要的内容，2～3秒钟的损失比起2～3分钟的损失要小得多）。在下一步的文章阅读中我们就会有意识地去发现与题干中提到的人物或单词相关的一些信息，为我们在做题时迅速定位打下基础。与之相反的先看文章、后看题目的方法，一旦题目中出现这种问题，又必须重新回到文章中去找。事实证明，要在一篇400～500个单词的文章中去查找到一个人名或生词是要花费一些时间的，相对于提前花2～3秒钟扫描题目获得的收益小得多。
如2005年试题 Text 2，通过扫描，我们会很快发现文中有就 Bruce Alberts 的观点以及短语“paralysis by analysis”含义的提问。对于后者，由于是格言的引用，属必考内容，无需记忆。所以，在下一步的文章阅读中，我们只需有意识地去发现与Bruce Alberts相关的语句就行，不必读到题目时再回到文章中到处找Bruce Alberts的观点。
第二步：开始阅读文章
在这里，我们需要掌握两大技巧。
第一：学会跳跃和扫描式阅读，以提高阅读的速度。
第二：学会应对文中出现的一些难点，加深对文章的理解。
(一)提高阅读速度的方法
1．跳跃式阅读
跳跃式阅读所要跳过的内容自然是和文章中心没有太多联系的内容。如对某一专家身份头衔的说明，这类文字内容与文章的中心虽不相关，却会经¬常在文中出现，这些内容事实上会增加信息的复杂程度，干扰考生思路，而题目中不会考查。
如1990年的试题，Text 2
......
“but there is a growing awareness that this is not enough,”says a researcher on female labor at the government-funded Institute for the Development of Professional Training for Workers.
【分析】这里，我们只需看引号内的内容即可，至于“on female labor...”后面长长的头衔称谓完全可以跳过去。
如1998年的试题， Text 3
Until recently, the scientific community was so powerful that it could afford to ignore its critics—but no longer. As funding for science has declined, scientists have attacked “antiscience” in several books, notably Higher Superstition, by Paul R.Gross, a biologist at the University of Virginia, and Norman Levitt, a mathematician at Rutgers University, and the DemonHaunted World, by Car Sagan of Cornell University.
【分析】这句话，我们只需读到notably Higher Superstition即可, by Paul R.Gross之后的全部内容就可以跳过。
2．扫描式阅读
扫描式阅读的内容与跳跃式阅读的内容相比，与文章的联系稍稍紧密一些，但一般不是考试的重点，我们只需对其有大致印象即可。这类内容一般由用来说明中心的论据构成。当段落中心已经¬很明确时，我们可以对说明中心的具体论据实行快速扫描。
如1988年试题，Text 3
……
It might be argued that the house-proud woman would still find plenty to do about the home. That may be so, but it is certainly no longer necessary for a woman to spend her whole life cooking, cleaning, mending and sewing. Washing machines take the drudgery out of laundry, the latest models being entirely automatic and able to wash and dry a large quantity of clothes in a few minutes. Refrigerators have made it possible to store food for long periods and many pre-cooked foods are obtainable in tins. Shopping, instead of being a daily task, can be completed in one day a week. The new man-made fibers are more hardwearing than natural fibers and greatly reduce mending, while good ready-made clothes are cheap and plentiful.
……
【分析】文中第一句话“It might be argued that the house-proud woman would still find plenty to do about the home. That may be so, but it is certainly no longer necessary for a woman to spend her whole life cooking, cleaning, mending and sewing”已把中心交待得很清楚，后面的“Washing machines...are cheap and plentiful”大概扫描一下就知道是为段落中心服务的具体论据，属次要内容，可一扫而过。
如1989年的试题 Text 2
……
Possessing a car gives a much greater of mobility, enabling the driver to move around freely. The owner of a car is no longer forced to rely on public transport and is, therefore, not compelled to work locally. He can choose from different jobs and probably changes his work more frequently as he is not restricted for a choice within a small radius. Traveling to work by car is also more comfortable than having to use public transport; the driver can adjust the heating in winter and the air-conditioning in the summer to suit his own needs and preference. There is no irritation caused by waiting for trains, buses or underground trains, standing in long patient queues, or sitting on windy platforms, for as long as half an hour sometimes. With the building of good, fast motorways, long distances can be covered rapidly and pleasantly. For the first time in this century also, many people are now able to enjoy their leisure time to the full by making trips to the country or seaside at the weekends, instead of being confined to their immediate neighborhood. This feeling of independence, and the freedom to go where you please, is perhaps the greatest advantage of the car.
……
【分析】对于这一段，我们只需读完前几句“Possessing a car gives a much greater of mobility, enabling the driver to move around freely. The owner of a car is no longer forced to rely on public transport and is, therefore, not compelled to work locally”就可以大致估计出后面是对私家车所带来好处的进一步说明，此时我们就应该有意识地对后面的文字进行快速扫描，直到后面的中心句“This feeling of independence, and the freedom to go where you please, is perhaps the greatest advantage of the car”。由此，整段意思就十分明了。
3．提高阅读速度的另一途径是：熟记词汇的各种形式及其词义
由英语语法所决定，英语文章中的词汇除了少量虚词是以原¬形出现外，其他大多数单词都是以一定的变化形式出现。而我们平时所记忆的词汇均是以原形给出，在阅读时，单词原¬形和变形之间就有一个思维的转换过程，再加上有些变形的词义在原¬形的基础上有较大幅度的改变，也就增加了思维转换的难度，极大地妨碍¬了阅读速度的提高。熟记词汇的各种形式及其词义则直接省略了思维转换过程，有利于提高阅读速度。
在这里顺便给大家推荐一本词汇书：《2009考研英语易混超难词汇特训手册》。此书是通过对历年真题出现的重难点词汇和超纲词汇、词组的系统研究和规律把握，并以此为基础全面归纳整理出了最新考纲、历年真题、市面优秀考研阅读用书和词汇用书中的所有常考易混超难词汇，详加对比，有利于考生快速突破词汇提升的瓶颈。