Editor: Chinese Toolbox READER helps you Learn Chinese while you read online or digitized Chinese texts that are interesting to you. Basically, you learn to read Chinese by reading what you want, whether it be sports, the Arts, news, space exploration, etc.
Chinese Toolbox READER is a fast, Windows-based, Chinese reading assistant for reading through simple copy and paste. You copy the text you want to read and Paste It into the reader window. Program features include: (1) a unique system of learning providing access to integrated dictionaries while promoting true reading by helping you to reduce dictionary dependence; (2) a fully customizable, exportable & importable character dictionary; (3) community supported, updatable word dictionary with over 100,000 entries; (4) automatic look up of definitions and pronunciations showing both pinyin and zhuyin (Mandarin Phonetic Symbols, Bopomofo); (5) multi-field search; (6) a system of smart character Review; (7) character time stamping; (8) setting of “understanding levels” for recognizable characters.
As you read in Chinese, the system allows you to effortlessly mark characters you already know simply by pressing the spacebar. Those characters are then marked as “known” (or recognizable), and they appear in the reader in gray to distinguish them from characters you don’t recognize. In other words, they are marked for unassisted reading. The program doesn’t automatically show you the meanings of characters marked as known. If you happen to forget the meaning or pronunciation of a known character, simply press the spacebar again to show the dictionary entry for that character.
Eventually you should begin reviewing characters previously marked for unassisted reading. You can review characters either by “date” or by “levels”. The date system allows you to review characters you haven’t seen for the longest period of time. The “level” system allows you to review characters according to your degree of understanding.
