【推荐1】China is facing a reading crisis, with more than 50% of people surveyed believing they don't spend enough time reading and only 20% satisfied with their reading time, China Daily said.

According to Xu Shengguo, head of the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication, the country's reading rate last year was 78.6%, which means that percentage of people read books, periodicals or newspapers or were involved in online reading, while 21.4% read nothing at all.

The Academy launched an annual survey on the reading quantity of Chinese people in 2005 and found that each read 4.5 to 4.7 books on average per year between 2005 and 2014. Last year, Chinese people read only 4.56 books, compared with 12 in France, 11 in South Korea, 9 in Japan and about 7 in the United States. In addition, more than 40% of Chinese people read less than one book throughout the year outside of textbooks.

A training meeting on reading supported by Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television was held in Beijing last week. It was the first meeting for the Leading Reader project, a training series for teachers, officials, college students and bookstore owners to promote nationwide reading. It will be held on weekends during September and October.

In addition to factors such as the large population base in China and imbalance of regional economic development, the shortage of public libraries is widespread. Reading parties in the community are in need of greater promotion. If we want to promote the nationwide reading rate, we have to encourage more grassroots reading programs.

【推荐2】It seems that you can hardly go to any bookstore without encountering Charles Dickens. From Oliver Twist to A Tale of Two Cites, Dickens’ works still enjoy great popularity today and are placed on notable shelves.

As someone who teaches Dickens, the question of why we still read him is often on my min. Nearly 10 years ago, I told my students that Dickens, works started crazes in Victorian readers. Then a hand shot up in the middle of the room. “But why should we still read his stuff?” A student asked. I was speechless because I had never considered the question myself. The answer I gave was only acceptable. “Because he teaches you how to think,” I said.

The question annoyed me for years, and for years I told myself answers, but never with complete satisfaction. We read Dickens because he not only was a man of his own times, but also is a man for our times. We read Dickens because his exploration of the human mind is deep. We read Dickens because we can learn from the experiences of his characters. These are all wonderful reasons, but not exactly the reasons why I read Dickens.

My search for an answer continued in vain, until one day a text message came from a student of mine. “We still read Dickens’ novels,” she wrote, “because they tell us why we are what we are.” Simple as it was, that was the explanation I had thought for years.

Like most people, I think I knew who I was without knowing it. I was Oliver Twist, always wanting and asking for more. I was Nicholas Nickleby, convinced that my father was watching me from beyond the grave. I was Pip, in love with someone far beyond my reach. I was all of these characters, and I began to understand more about why I was who I was because Dickens had told me so much about human beings. Dickens shines a light on who we are during the best and worst of times. That’s why we still need to read him today.

【推荐3】There are numerous benefits of reading good books.     1    . Whatever your field might be, it’s very important to create a good habit to read beyond your horizons. Here are tips to help you cultivate a better and consistent reading habit:

Determine your reading goal.     2    . This goal should be clear and backed up with a purpose. Start by thinking about how a consistent reading pattern can help you grow indifferent areas of your life-spirit, academics, career, relationships and more.

    3    . Once you’re done setting your reading goal for the year, you’ll need a list to back it up. Write out a list of the amazing books you want to read. Ask for recommendations from friends and instructors. It’s important to keep a journal listing the books you’ll like to read for each month.

Get a responsible reading partner to promote your reading. Goals need to be backed up in order to help put a check and encourage you during times you don’t feel motivated.     4    , and create a plan to help you achieve your reading goals.

To develop a reading culture, you must first analyze your current reading habits. Do you read at all?     5    ? In order to truly achieve your reading goals and build a consistent reading habit, you’ll need to set up simple systems, find responsible partners, and generally be hungry to grow beyond your comfort zone.

【推荐2】Tennis great Billie Jean King is a great athlete and a pioneer in sport and she won four singles titles at the US Open between 1967 and 1974. Now, the same tennis officials with whom she often competed with have paid her a special honor. US Open organizers named their venue (会场) the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at the beginning of this year’s championship. The decision came as a surprise to the star.

Billie Jean King had her first tennis lesson at the age of 11, and became interested in it. Six years later she made herself known winning the first of 20 titles at Wimbledon in the doubles championship. King went on to become the first female athlete to earn $100,000 in a year. But her greatest achievements may have been off the game. She devoted herself to fighting for equal status (地位) for women and women in sports that went far away from tennis.

A unique chance arrived and it proved a perfect way for King to further change the place of women in sports in 1973. She was challenged to play a man-tennis great Bobby Riggs. The men organizing the event expected it would provide great fun and the event was reported by sportscaster (体育评论员) Howard Cosell. But King found he focused on her appearance, never mentioning her athletic achievements. King saw it as a crossroad in her fighting for women’s equality in sports. She did win, further opening chances for girls in sports.

But some young female athletes now don’t take these chances seriously. When asked what they knew about Billie King, they looked puzzled. “They’ve got many chances to play and it’s a good thing. However, we still have a long way to go for girls and women in sports and that’s what I want-- I want the dream to be equal” She said.

【推荐3】I must have looked deep in thought, or as deep in thought as an 11-year-old man could, when my grandmother glanced up from her weeding to ask, "You have something on your mind, don’t you?”

“Yes, I was thinking that someday I want to be an Olympic speed skating champion like my hero, Eric Heiden, I want to be a doctor like my parents and I want to help children in Africa.”

I immediately knew I had confided (吐露) in the right person when a knowing smile broke across her face. “Johann, of course! You can do anything you want to do!” she said simply. And with my grandmother’s support, I set out to pursue my passions.

14 years later, I was well ready to take hold of my first dream: becoming an Olympic champion. The Olympics in 1994 was in my home country, Norway. As I entered the Olympic stadium, I wasn’t the best athlete, and many had doubts about my ability to perform well. But I had something special working for me. I had a woman in the first row who believed in me following my passions just as much as I did. For the first time ever, my grandmother was going to see me skate.

It happened. Breaking a world record, I won the gold.

As I stood on the podium (领奖台) that I had dreamed about my entire life, a curious question popped into my head. Why me? Why did I win, given all the other incredible competitors out there? The reason had to be more than a grandmother who shared a belief in her grandson’s dream. The question led me to only one answer: because I wanted to make a difference in the world, and with all the media attention on my success, I could. I immediately knew what that difference had to be: hope in the lives of the children in Africa.

Six months earlier, I’d been invited to Eritrea as an ambassador(使者) for Olympic Aid.

【推荐3】Emily Bhatnagar has always loved reading. Growing up, she was really shy, so she always turned to books. They sort of became her best friends when she didn’t have one.

In 2019, when Bhatnagar was in her second year of high school, her dad was diagnosed with cancer. The news was difficult for the family. Books became an even bigger comfort, and she started thinking about families in similar situations. When her father recovered, she came up with a plan to help others. “The idea came from just deep gratitude that the doctors were able to save her father,” she says. “But also a hint of sadness that there were kids who were fighting the same battle.”

Bhatnagar started a book drive in her hometown, Gaithersburg, Maryland. The goal was to collect books and give them to kids being treated for cancer in local hospitals. Her father was not surprised by this plan. “She was always interested in books, and she always wanted to do things for the neighborhood,” he says. Since the start of the book drive, which she calls For Love & Buttercup, Bhatnagar has collected more than 10,000 books.

Bhatnagar had no idea how much attention her work would get. She started by posting on social media, asking people in her area to donate. “I was expecting maybe two or three responses from neighbors,” she says. “But it ended up blowing up,” especially when news stations began reporting it. The public response has been super great.

Bhatnagar continues to run the book drive and hopes to one day expand the project to reach more kids. The memory of the first time she visited children who’d received her books sticks with her. “It was the best day of my life,” she says. “I realized I wanted to do this type of work forever.”