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UNIT 4 SKIMMING AND SCANNING
called average reading speed. This speed you should use for books or reading materials that are important and require intensive reading and comprehension, but that are easier than textbooks. A large number of novels are read at average speed, depending on the enjoyment obtained from them.
The last reading speed which is the concern of this section of the unit is the fastest reading speed. This is called skimming. This reading speed is used when you do not need high level of comprehension. Skimming is used to get a general idea, impression, overview or gist of the reading materials. Skimming requires rapid reading which is often used when you want to obtain idea quickly. Let's practice this skill.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Skim through the passage entitled: IMPACT OF PETROLEUM ON THE ECONOMY to determine the general idea, overview and the impression that the author wants to give.
You have three minutes for this exercise.
You are not to go back to the passage after you have skimmed through once. Use the following questions as guide.
(a) What are the positive sides of petroleum on the economy?
(b) What are the negative sides of petroleum on the economy?
Do not turn to the discussion until you have completed the Exercise.
Have you completed the exercise? If you have done so, then go to the discussion section.
Impact of Petroleum on the Economy
In many ways the easier aspect of my tasks today is the- evaluation of the impact of petroleum on the economy. It has been both beneficial and negative. On the positive side, the exploitation of petroleum led to the dramatic explosion in government revenues between 1973 and 1981.
This enabled the Federal and State Governments to undertake a vast expansion in the development of infrastructure and the provision of social services. It also meant a faster growth of national income in the 1970s than would have been possible without petroleum. Some linked industrial development has also occurred-oil refineries, the beginning of the petrochemical industry as well as the establishment of some oil service enterprises.
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It is difficult these days, after more than ten years of economic depression and relative decline, to recapture the rising expectations and near euphoria which exploding oil revenues created in the early '70s. It is useful to recall a few figures, and I must stress that the naira used in them is the pre-devaluation naira which was worth more than the US dollar. The National Development Plan of 1955-62 was to cost £164 million. Actual expenditure was £85 million or 170 million. The size of the Second Plan, 1970-74, was 3.2 billion. By contrast, the Third Plan, 1975-1980, called for the investment of"30 billion naira. Unlike the other plans which assumed 50% dependence on foreign financing, the 1975-80 plan assumed nearly 100% financing from national savings to be made possible by oil taxation. The vision for 1980-85 was even grander.
Let me say, straight away, that the project revenues for the period 1975 to 1980 were over 90% realised ("39.50 billion compared with "43.78 billion project). However, we all know that following the military changes of government in 1975, the massive purges of the public service in 1975 and the traumas which followed, the 1975-80 plan priorities and strategies were, largely abandoned. The emerging enabling environment of political and regulatory stability was shattered. The nature and content of the rhetoric of several key personages including the manner of the execution of the second indigenisation measures frightened away foreign investment and induced capital flight etc.
Nevertheless, the country utilised the vastly increased government revenues to achieve a massive construction of new trunk roads and upgrading of existing roads and bridges, giving Nigeria a vast network of tarred road, which despite the neglect and disrepair of the past several years is still superior to what is found in many parts of Africa.
Enormous sums were also expended in expanding educational facilities, telecommunications, ports, water resources -all of which could not have come from foreign aid. The disappointing attitude towards maintenance after the commissioning of these expensive facilities is one of the negative developments.
For those interested in fixing the exact date of the so-called oil boom, we should note that oil revenue was not very significant before 1972. In 1967, it was "54 million. By 1973 it had risen to "1.4 billion, "1.6 billion in 1974, and "4.2 billion in 1975. It was still "5.8 billion in 1977-78. The greatest windfalls came following the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war. In 1980 it was US $25 billion, about US $7-8 billion over the last seven years. However, these figures in themselves are not very significant for our purpose today.
Source: NIGERIA: The Way Forward by Mahdi A, et al, Kaduna:
Arewa House.
How many minutes did it take you to complete reading the passage? If you took more than 3 minutes, then you were not skimming any longer.
You are probably reading at average speed. Let me sound a note of warning here- do not read too fast with no comprehension, or too slowly just because you want to comprehend what is read. Research studies have shown that you are not necessarily gaining lots of comprehension, simply because you are reading slowly. The slower you read, the less your comprehension rate.
Let's attempt the above exercise; going by the general idea or overview of the entire passage, the positive sides of petroleum include:
explosion in government revenue
provision of social services
industrial development
massive construction of new trunk roads and upgrading of existing ones
expansion of educational facilities
The negative sides of petroleum on the economy include:
a disappointing attitude towards maintenance after commissioning of the expensive facilities.