1 . Books are excellent gifts. Here are four of the year’s most talked-about titles.

Ordinary Monsters | By J. M. Miro

Miro has temporarily abandoned literary fiction in favour of a new series of historical fantasy novels. Ordinary Monsters is about a group of children with magical gifts who come together and pool their powers to escape the bad shape-shifting man that’s going after them.

Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces | By Elamin Abdelmahmoud

The soundtrack to The O. C., a drama series, and the strange beauty of Highway 401 were important factors in developing selfhood of Abdelmahmoud. This book describes his own experience of moving from Khartoum, Sudan, to Kingston, Canada, in the early 2000s at age 12.

A Magic Steeped in Poison | By Judy I. Lin

Harry Potter has his magic stick. And Ning, the heroine of Lin’s first novel, has tea, which in her world carries magical properties. Lin has created a pleasing Young Adult fantasy rich in Chinese mythology (神话). In this book, Ning enters a competition to find the most gifted tea master, Shennong.

A Ballet of Lepers | By Leonard Cohen

Unlike many other posthumous (死后出版的) works, you can count on Cohen’s to be worth your wait. Before his death, he said that the novel contained in the book, which was never published, was likely better than The Favourite Game, a novel he published during his lifetime. This book also includes a radio play script (剧本) and a handful of short stories.

1. Which book is a mirror of the author’s life story?

A．Ordinary Monsters.	B．Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces.
C．A Magic Steeped in Poison.	D．A Ballet of Lepers.

2. What do the first and third books have in common?

A．They are about teamwork.

B．They are based on an imaginary world.

C．They both involve Chinese characters.

D．They draw inspiration from other novels.

3. What can be inferred about A Ballet of Lepers?

A．It is a collection.	B．It is Cohen’s best novel.
C．It is a fantasy novel.	D．It is adapted from a play.