def METHOD_NAME(self, length=1):
    if self.pointer+length+1 >= len(self.buffer):
        self.update(length+1)
    while length:
        ch = self.buffer[self.pointer]
        self.pointer += 1
        self.index += 1
        if ch in '\n\x85\u2028\u2029'  \
                or (ch == '\r' and self.buffer[self.pointer] != '\n'):
            self.line += 1
            self.column = 0
        elif ch != '\uFEFF':
            self.column += 1
        length -= 1