Students who study English need to have some intensive reading. But this is only a means to end, not an end in itself.

This does not show that all kinds of Intensive Reading are absolutely useless and should be scrapped. Some Intensive Reading should be kept, but it should be kept within limits. It should not be the super-power course, riding over the language curriculum and taking over most of the timetable. And what Intensive Reading we keep and teach should not be so long and so hard that the teacher is forced to the duck-stuffing lecturing method. And it should not just focus on words, words, words. It should focus on meaning, on ideas, on understanding, on communication---on forests as well as on trees.

But as long as students are forced to get good marks in order to get good jobs; and as long as teachers want their students to get good marks so that they themselves can gain fame as good teachers, then everything depends on examinations. It depends on what sort of exams we teachers set and the educational authorities demand. Until we reform our exams we can hardly reform our teaching methods.

So let"s launch a new campaign, to discuss and reform the exam system; and at the same time continue the campaign against focusing on Intensive Reading, the super-power. We need to fight on two fronts all once. Otherwise, we"ll be eggs striking rocks. (240 words)