四级快速阅读从2006年6月份首次出现到现在，题型的难度一直在稳步递增，其中也包含了题型的改变(自2007年12月份起将判断题改为选择题)。这既折射出了命题者对该部分题型命制的探索与不断创新，也反映出了命题者在反复调整题型的难度系数，想要给该部分寻找到一个合适的分量。这种尝试既有成功，但也有欠考虑之处。考生普遍反映2009年12月份快速四级阅读难度过大，个别题目超出了广州英语四级甚至是广州英语六级考试大纲的要求。好在命题者也是从善如流——2010年两套试题难度都有了明显的下降，回落到了2009年6月份的水平。可以这么说，在历经了2006年到2009年四年“摸着石头过河”的经历之后快速四级阅读命题基本思路已定。据此，可以大胆断言，在未来两到三年中快速四级阅读的难度与题型都不再会有任何大幅度或者是出人意料的调整，这对应试者而言的确是个好消息。下面，将结合近两年真题为各位考生揭开快速四级阅读解题的神秘面纱：
　　两大基本考点——skimming和scanning
　　其实“快速四级阅读”这个称谓是对这部分题型名称的一种误解，甚或说是一种误译。实际上试题册上所给的题型英文名称是Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)——四级阅读理解(略读与跳读)。不少考生正是由于受到所谓“快速”两字的误导，以为单纯求快就可以万事大吉，殊不知这其中是另有“隐情”。
　　Skimming——略读
　　略读，顾名思义就是要求考生在较短时间内把握住文章某个段落的主题思想。我们首先来看一下2010年6月份快速四级阅读第一题：
　　1. What eventually made Carla Toebe realize she was spending too much time on the Internet?
　　A) Her daughter's repeated complaints.
　　B) Fatigue resulting from lack of sleep.
　　C) The poorly managed state of her house.
　　D) The high financial costs adding up.
　　一般来说快速四级阅读的第一题往往是针对文章的开头部分。以该题为例，基本上所有考生都能够定位到第一段。可是第一段到底应该怎么读就成了个大问题。
　　A few months ago, it wasn't unusual for 47-year-old Carla Toebe to spend 15 hours per day online. She'd wake up early, turn on her laptop and chat on Internet dating sites and instant-messaging programs – leaving her bed for only brief intervals. Her household bills piled up, along with the dishes and dirty laundry, but it took near-constant complaints from her four daughters before she realized she had a problem.
　　诚然，从头到尾“快速”读完确实是个办法——而且也是绝大多数考生使用的办法，但这样做完全失去了skimming的意义。换个角度来说，如果每个题目都像这样把段落读完，那么十道题加在一起所积累的四级阅读量势必将超过15分钟的大限。其实大部分文章的段落重点或者说中心都集中在首末句上。略读所要考察的就是考生是否敢于大胆抓住首末句，抛去段落中间的无效部分，从而迅速找到答案。以本题而言，该段最后一句，尤其是but之后的“it took near-constant complaints from her four daughters before she realized she had a problem”(直到她的四个女儿开始不断发出抱怨的时候她在开始意识到自己出问题了)就是答案所在位置。故而选择A选项。
　　再看2009年6月的快速英语四级阅读第六题：
　　6. What did Dale think of Mindsets LLC’s workshop?
　　A) It was well-intentioned but poorly conducted.
　　B) It tapped into the executives’ full potential.
　　C) It helped him make fair decisions.
　　D) It met participants’ diverse needs.
　　这道题在当年得分率非常低。原因就在于这道题对应的可能段落有两段而不是一段(省略号表示段落略去部分，下文同此例)：
　　“I had a management position open in my department ;and the two finalists were a man and a woman . Had I not attended this workshop , I would have automatically assumed the man was the best candidate because the position required quite a bit of extensive travel . …”Dale’s assumptions are another example of the well-intentioned but incorrect thinking that limits an organization’s ability to tap into the full potential of a diverse workforce .
　　“I learned from the class that instead of imposing my gender biases into the situation , I needed to present the full range of duties, responsibilities and expectations to all candidates and allow them to make an informed decision .” Dale credits the workshop , “because it helped me make decisions based on fairness .”
　　这道题目的要求更高。考生不仅要知道重点在两个段落的首末句上，还需要结合题目所问，对这四个句子孰轻孰重作出预先判断，然后再进行四级阅读。题目问的是Dale对这个研讨班的看法。据此看来一段第一句无效，因其起始部分讲到的是Dale在公司的position(职位)。同样该段末句也无效，Dale’s assumptions——讲的是Dale原先的一些错误想法和做法。很可惜的是当年不少考生都在这两个句子上耗费了大量时间，甚至还有个别考生通读该段，这样自然是得不偿失。
　　再来看下一段的第一句，I learned from the class that instead of imposing my gender biases into the situation(我通过学习知道不能把自己的性别比、偏见带到工作中去)。这句话有用吗?显然也不行。因为它所讲到的是Dale在学习班里的收获。最后一句说道“because it helped me make decisions based on fairness”(因为这个研讨班让我能做出公平的选择)。读到这里第六题的答案也就顺理成章的选择C了。
　　2010年6月第七题：
　　7. Andrew Heidrich now visits websites that discuss online gaming addiction to __________.
　　A) improve his online gaming skills
　　B) curb his desire for online gaming
　　C) show how good he is at online gaming
　　D) exchange online gaming experience
　　这道题和上述第六题颇有些相像。它对应的段落，也就是出现了Heidrich这个人物的段落，同样也是两段：
　　Andrew Heidrich, an education network administrator from Sacramento, plays World of Warcraft for about two to four hours every other night, but that's nothing compared with the 40 to 60 hours a week he spent playing online games when he was in college. He cut back only after a full-scale family intervention (干预), in which relatives told him he'd gained weight.
　　"There's this whole culture of competition that sucks people in" with online gaming, said Heidrich, now a father of two. "People do it at the expense of everything that was a constant in their lives." Heidrich now visits websites that discuss gaming addiction regularly "to remind myself to keep my love for online games in check."
　　如果读者朋友掌握了我们刚才所讲的方法自然就会觉得这题就比较轻松了。同样是抓住两个段落的四个重点句，然后根据题干进行判断。分析过程这里就不再赘述。很明显第二段最后一句是符合要求的。Heidrich now visits websites that discuss gaming addiction regularly "to remind myself to keep my love for online games in check."(Heidirch现在经常浏览那些探讨网友成瘾问题的网站，不时提醒自己克制对网游的喜爱。)所以答案选择B。
　　通过上面三个例子的分析，我们不难看出英语四级快速阅读略读相对而言是比较容易掌握的。在确定出对应段落后直接分析它的首末句就可以了。只不过个别难题还要求结合题干逐一对照比较分析，在若干个首末句当中挑选出最合适的。还有一点不知道读者朋友有没有发现，实际上，在首句和末句当中最后能够充当答案的往往还是最后一句。记住这个小规律了对于提高解题速度也大有帮助。