1 . A new study has found that a child’s reading speed can be improved by simply increasing the space between letters within a piece of text. The research, led by Dr Steven Stagg of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), examined the benefits of letter spacing and coloured overlays (颜色标注) among children.

Two groups of children, dyslexic (有阅读障碍的) and non-dyslexic children, were asked to read four texts with either standard or extra-large letter spacing, both with and without a coloured overlay. They were instructed to read the text out loud while being recorded. The recording was used to measure the number of errors they made — specifically missed words, added words, wrong words, and pronunciation — as well as the participants’ reading time.

The study discovered that text with increased space between letters provided a benefit for both groups. On average, the dyslexia group showed a 13% increase in reading speed, while the group of non-dyslexic children showed a 5% increase. In addition to improving reading speed, it also resulted in a significant decline in the number of words missed by the children with dyslexia. However, the study found that coloured overlays had no significant impact on reading speed or the reduction of errors for either group.

Dr Stagg, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at ARU, said, “We believe extra-large letter spacing works by reducing what is known as the ‘crowding effect’, which can hamper the recognition of letters and reduce reading speed.”

“Our findings strongly suggest that teachers can be confident that all children would be helped by increased letter spacing in reading materials.” Dr Stagg added. While we found that coloured overlays provided little benefit, we suggest children should be encouraged to use overlays if they find these help their reading. Coloured overlays may not increase reading speeds, but they may extend reading stamina (持久力). Previous research suggests their benefits may not become apparent if reading time is less than 10 minutes and the short reading duration of the tests in our study may have put coloured overlays at a disadvantage.

3 . I am not sure how many books I have reread, but perhaps it is fewer than the average person.    1    The reading material, though, is of course not new.

I used to take the same approach to books as I did to travel: don’t go to the same place twice. Life is too short.     2    Then I realized that the fact that life is short might work the other way around too: if you know you enjoy something, or somewhere, then why not return?

Recently I reread Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. I was inspired to do so when reminded of how he’d respond when people rudely asked him why he’d never written anything as good: “Who has?” Catch-22pretty much saved my life when I first read it.    3    I had dropped out of school twice, didn’t leave the house at all and didn’t have a life. It felt as though I hadn’t laughed in such a long time.

    4    It managed to take me out of the dark world, and though its themes are, of course, serious its cleverness cheered me greatly. I related to its characters who are themselves trapped. I am now planning to reread the sort of books that inspired me in my own writing.

I won’t take a break altogether from reading the most recent releases. I love the smell of new books fresh from the printers.    5    .

6 . A few weeks ago, I surfed the Internet and came across a book called The Debt to pleasure. At first sight, I_________, immediately, to own it. Its structure was novel and it had won wide _________among readers.

But before I could_________ the Buy Now button, a tiny inner voice _________the library, the library, which was simply three blocks from my apartment. I searched the catalog （目录）of the library and sure enough, " _________" now. However, by the time the book was borrowed, I couldn't say with _________that I would love it. This worn, yellow-papered object was just so _________. However promising our first _________was, my initial desire _________sank. When the book was __________, I walked to the library and __________it into the Returns box. Once reshelved, it would __________for others. I sighed and walked off. It had never __________me from the very beginning.

One thing I should mention：I did end up loving The Debt to Pleasure, I loved it so much that I finally ordered a copy of my own. The library book does __________me the cost of a paperback, but it just delivers a __________satisfaction, one that can't promise permanent ownership. Live your life fully, for our lives are only lent to us and can't be owned forever.

8 . I start every summer with the best of intentions:to attack one big book from the past, a classic that I was supposed to have read when young and ambitious. Often the pairings of books and settings have been purely accidental: "Moby Dick" on a three-day cross-country train trip: “The Magic Mountain” in a New England beachside cottage with no locks on the doors, no telephones or televisions in the rooms, and little to do beyond row on the salt pond. Attempting "The Man Without Qualities" on a return to Hawaii, my native state, however, was less fruitful: I made it through one and a quarter volumes (册), then decided that I'd got the point and went swimming instead.

But this summer I find myself at a loss. I’m not quite interested in Balzac, say, or “Tristram Shandy.” There’s always War and Peace, which I've covered some distance several times, only to get bogged down in the "War" part, set it aside for a while, and realize that I have to start over from the beginning again, having forgotten everyone’s name and social rank. How appealing to simply fall back on a favorite-once more into “The Waves” or “Justine,” which feels almost like cheating, too exciting and too much fun to properly belong in serious literature.

And then there’s Stendhal’s “The Red and the Black,” which happens to be the name of my favorite cocktail (鸡尾酒) of the summer, created by Michael Cecconi at Savoy and BackForty. It is easy to drink, and knocking back three or four seems like such a delightful idea. Cecconi's theory: "I take whatever’s fresh at the green market and turn it into liquid." The result is a pure shot of afternoon in the park, making one feel cheerful and peaceful all at once, lying on uncut grass with eyes shut, sun beating through the lids...

10 . Reading can be a social activity. Think of the people who belong to book groups. They choose books to read and then meet to discuss them. Now, the website Book Crossing.com turns the page on the traditional idea of a book group.

Members go on the site and register (登记) the books they own and would like to share. Book Crossing provides an identification number (识别码) to stick inside the book. Then the person leaves it in a public place, hoping that the book will have an adventure, traveling far and wide with each new reader who finds it.

Bruce Pederson, the managing director of Book Crossing, says, “The two things that change your life are the people you meet and books you read. Book Crossing combines both.”

Members leave books on park benches and buses, in train stations and coffee shops. Whoever finds their book will go to the site and record where they found it.

People who find a book can also leave a journal entry describing what they thought of it. E— mails are then sent to the BookCrossers to keep them updated about where their books have been found. Bruce Pederson says the idea is for people not to be selfish by keeping a book to gather dust on a shelf at home.

Book Crossing is part of a trend (趋势) among people who want to get back to the “real” and not the virtual (虚拟).The site now has more than one million members in more than one hundred thirty—five countries.