The first time you start to read a poem, you must relax and read through it without concentrating on its meaning. Imagine you are meeting a person for the first time. You will just observe him and listen to his voice, as well as watch his shapes or movements, but you have not yet known what he is all about. Likewise, you may enjoy the sound, rhythms, or wording, and form some first impressions about a poem.

On your second reading, you should concentrate more on the general meaning of the poem. This time, you will want to compare your feelings about the poem by now with how you felt before. Are they the same? What is different and why?

Your third reading will focus more on details: the words, phrases, or images. Looking up any unfamiliar words in a dictionary so that you can gain a more accurate understanding. Using the example given above about meeting someone, his image will change gradually and slightly as you meet and learn more about him. Therefore, in your additional readings, it is a good idea to compare your understanding each time with the understanding before.

A helpful approach to further understanding a poem is to summarize it in your own words. Compare your version of understanding with those of others reading the same poem, and listen to how they form such opinions. Remember, however, that there is no exact or right meaning for a poem, as most poets have admitted they themselves are not exactly sure what they meant when writing certain lines or phrases; they have even been heard to say on occasion that sometimes words just seem to “drop from heaven” and land on the page. That is what awakening the imagination is all about. If you are lucky, and if you practice enough, magical things may happen when you write and you may be able to produce a beautiful poem or other work of art yourself.

【小题1】Why does the author give the example of “meeting a person” ?

A．To arouse readers’ interest	B．To support his argument
C．To offer some advice	D．To interpret his point

【小题2】What will you gain from the third reading of a poem?

A．General meaning.	B．Rhythm beauty.
C．Deeper meaning.	D．Poetic structure.

【小题3】What does the underlined word “ that ” refer to?

A．Poets themselves don’t understand their poems.

B．Beautiful poems drop from heaven occasionally.

C．Poetic meanings are open to different explanations.

D．Writing a summary helps understand a poem.

【小题4】What can we conclude from the last paragraph?

A．Inspiration and hard work help create great poems.

B．Poetry is an expression of one’s will in words.

C．Practice and patience make a man perfect.

D．Luck marches with those who give their very best.