听力文本：

I scan the information I have in front of me.

"To scan" means to read something quickly, looking for the most important ideas.
You probably scan web pages or long articles in the newspaper, and perhaps advertisements to find the information that interests you, because reading the whole thing would take too long.

While I'm scanning for information, I take notes on the things I want to include in the report.

"To take notes" means to write down the most important points of what you hear or read.

We usually talk about taking notes in class when a teacher or a professor is speaking, but in this case, I'm taking notes as I read other documents.

Later, I'll be able to read my notes and remember the most important points, which will be faster than reading the original documents again.

Of course, to read your notes, you have to write carefully.

If you are like me, many times you can't read your own handwriting!

Well, then I say that before I analyze the data for this report, I need to skim the background information.

The verb "to analyze" means to examine something very carefully in order to understand each of its parts.

In this lesson, we're analyzing the vocabulary of the story, trying to understand what each word means.
At my desk, I'm analyzing the data for the report.

"Data" is a type of information; it often includes numbers.

We usually get data from scientific experiments or, in a business environment, from our sales reports.

Before I can analyze the data for the report, I need to skim the background information.

The verb "to skim" (skim) has the same meaning, or similar meaning as the verb "to scan."

"To skim" means to read something quickly, looking for the most important ideas.

When I don't have a lot of time in the morning, I may just skim my newspaper rather than reading every story.

I'm skimming it to look for the most important or interesting stories.

We often skim a report to understand how the information is organized and then we go back and read it in detail.