Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - reading

~ n 1 »THE ACTIVITY/SKILL« the activity of understanding written words  (Children are taught reading and writing in their first years at school.) 2 »UNDERSTANDING« your opinion of what a particular statement, situation, event etc means; interpretation  (What's your reading of this response?) 3 »BOOKS« the books, articles etc that you read  (Her main reading seems to be mystery novels. | light reading (=books that are easy and enjoyable)) 4 »TO A GROUP« a) an occasion when a piece of literature is read to a group of people  (a poetry reading) b) a piece of literature or part of the Bible that is read to a group of people  (The first reading is from Corinthians I, Chapter 3.) 5 »MEASUREMENT« a number or amount shown on a measuring instrument  (take a reading)  (Thermometer readings were taken every two hours.) 6 »THE ACT OF READING STH« the act of reading something  (Even a casual reading of the text gives you an idea of the theme.) 7 »IN PARLIAMENT« one of the three occasions in the British Parliament or the US Congress, when a bill (=suggested new law) is read and discussed  (the second reading of the Industrial Relations Bill) 8 make good/interesting/boring etc reading to be enjoyable, interesting etc to read  (Your report made fascinating reading.)