The world celebrates the magic of reading with World Book Day on April 23. Books give us more than just new worlds to explore and characters to meet. Some have gone on to inspire people to achieve great     1    (succeed) in their respective fields.

South African leader and Nobel laureate (获奖者) Nelson Mandela     2    (shape) by the novels he read. Imprisoned for many years, Mandela read the works of English playwright William Shakespeare. He even wrote his name next to a quote from     3     play Julius Caesar: “Cowards dies many times before their deaths / The valiant never taste of death but once.” Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was another one of Mandela’s favorite     4    (book), according to China Daily. It is     5    (wide) recognized as one of the most famous military books in the world, having helped Mandela to develop both his strategic and tactical thinking.

English actress Emma Watson has been expressing her love     6     reading too. She once hid 100 books in London and New York’s subways     7    (encourage) people to read more. Her favorite book is Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, which tells the story of a prince living alone on a tiny planet. “I like books     8     aren’t just lovely but that have memories in themselves. Just like playing a song,     9    (pick) up a book again that has memories can take you back to another place     10     another time,” Watson told Time magazine.

Whatever their careers or life experiences, notable people throughout time always enjoy reading books. Pick up a book and join them on this World Book Day.

What a fantastic horse! Even after more than a thousand years     1    (pass), we can still feel the power within its burning eyes and kicking hooves(马蹄). Night-Shining White is regarded as one of the     2    (important) horse paintings in the history of Chinese art.

Its artist, Han Gan, was born into a poor family in the early Tang Dynasty. His talent was discovered by the poet Wang Wei, who sponsored him to study painting. Due to Han Gan’s natural talent and years of hard work, he     3    (choose) to serve Emperor Xuanzong in the royal palace.

The Tang emperors were fond of horses,     4     meant that the animal was a frequent subject for artists. At that time, the most common way to study horse painting was by copying the works of other painters. Han Gan’s method,     5    , was different. He moved to live in the horse stable (马厩) and watched the animal itself. The horses,     6     resting or on the move, offered him plenty of inspiration. The more time he spent     7    (watch) these animals, the more his understanding grew. It is said that when Han Gan was asked to take a master of horse painting     8     his teacher, he replied, “All the horses are my teachers.”

Those who saw Han Gan’s horse paintings all expressed their     9    (admire) for him, saying that the horses     10     (paint) by Han Gan are real.