1. vt.撇去　 remove floating matter from the surface of a liquid
2. vt. & vi.掠过；轻轻擦过　 move lightly over a surface, not touching, or only lightly or occasionally touching it
3. vt. & vi.略读；跳读　 read quickly, nothing only the chief points

　～ a book　略读一本书
　～ the milk of its cream　撇去牛奶上的奶油
　～ a newspaper　略读报纸
　～ carelessly　粗心地快读
　～ critically　挑剔地跳读
　～ hastily　草率地跳读
　～ rapidly　速读
　～ away　把…撇去，掠过，轻轻滑开
　～ off　把…撇去，提取精华
　～ across　掠〔滑〕过
　～ the cream from the milk　从牛奶上撇去奶油
　～ over　掠〔滑〕过，略读
　～ over a newspaper　浏览报纸
　～ over the water　掠过水面
　～ over the waves　从浪尖上掠过
　～ little stones over a lake　抛小石子使之掠过水面
　～ through　浏览
　～ through an article　浏览一篇文章

　She skimmed the milk of its cream.　她撇去牛奶上的奶油。
　The swallows skimmed the water.　燕子掠过水面。
　The dragonflies skimmed the treetops.　蜻蜓掠过树梢。
　The low-flying plane seemed to skim the rooftops.　低飞的飞机就好像从房顶掠过一样。
　Don't read the report word for word now, just skim it.　现在不要逐字读报告，大致地看一下就可以了。

 ♣ skim across　(v.+prep.)
　掠〔滑〕过　move across a surface or some place quickly
　The skier skimmed across the snow.　滑雪者飞快地滑过雪地。
　Facer was skimming flat stones across the surface of the lake.　费塞正用扁石子在湖面上打水漂。
 ♣ skim away　(v.+adv.)
1. 把…撇去 remove sth floating on the surface of a liquid
　Strain the sauce and skim away any fat that rises to the surface.　把酱汁滤一下，然后撇去飘浮在面上的油脂。
2. 掠过；轻轻滑开 move away slightly
　She is skimming away.　她轻盈地滑开去了。
 ♣ skim off　(v.+adv.)
1. 把…撇去 remove sth floating on the surface of a liquid
　Remember to skim off the fat from the soup before you give it to our guests.　别忘了把汤上的浮油撇去，然后再端给我们的客人。
2. 〈非正〉提取精华 take the best, the most able part of a group
　He tried to skim off the best players from the local school teams.　他试图从当地学校的球队中选拔出一批最好的球员。
　Does private education skim off all the best students from the state system?　私立教育会从国立教育中把最优秀的学生都选走吗?
　The country's best scientists have been skimmed off for military purposes.　该国选出了第一流的科学家为军事目的服务。
 ♣ skim over　(v.+prep.)
1. 掠过，滑过 move quickly along a course near or touching (a surface)
　The little bird skimmed over the waves looking for food.　那只小鸟掠过波浪寻找食物。
　Look at the way those insects skim over the water.　看看这些昆虫掠过水面的方式。
　The motor-boat skimmed over the water.　汽艇飞掠过水面。
　He skimmed little stones over a lake.　他抛掷小石片，使之掠过湖面。
2. 〈非正〉略读；速读 read quickly to get the main ideas
　Haas skimmed over the list, looking for his name.　哈斯粗略地看了一下名单，寻找自己的名字。
　I've skimmed over the report but I haven't had time to look at it in detail.　我已浏览了这份报告，但还没时间细读。
 ♣ skim through　(v.+prep.)
　〈非正〉略读；速读 read quickly to get the main ideas
　You can skim through the catalogue first.　你可以先略读一下目录。
　It took me an hour to skim through that thick book.　我花了一小时才把那本厚厚的书大致浏览了一下。
　It's important for you to skim through the text.　浏览课文对你来说很重要。
　If you skim through the play too quickly, you'll forget the plot.　如果你剧本读得太快，就会忘记剧中的主要情节。

　［同义词］ float, glide, skip
　［反义词］ examine carefully
　［词源］中古英语skimmen, skymen（泡沫状物）