Abstract: This research probed into the characteristics of the information processing of students from different grades in natural reading. Two experiments were administered. In expriment 1, the result showed that the junior students needed more time to re - read the original text than the senior students when they were asked to retell the text after they had read it.lt could be concluded that the language encoding was the main information processing activity of junior students in natural reading, and the senior students could carry on both the language encoding activity and the organizing activity in natural reading, the organizing activity was decisive. ln experiment 2, the results of retainment of the text information of the students from different grades in three kinds of reading were compared natural reading, comprehensive reading and memory reading. The result showed that in natural reading showed significant difference between the senior students and the junior students in the total amount of the retainment of the text. the senior students inclined to retain more information of the text content both. in natural reading and in comprehensive reading, and the junior students inclined to retain more information of the text expression both in natural reading and in the memory reading. According to this, it could be concluded that the result of experiment 1 was brought about not by the difference of the retainment capacity between senior students and junior students, but by the difference of main information processing activity of the natural reading between senior students and junior students.

Key words: text reading, natural reading, reading with tasks information processing activity