1 . ※ Brown Girl Dreaming

By Jacqueline Woodson

As a winner of the National Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, and a Newberry Honor Book, in her book, Brown Girl Dreaming, the author uses poetry to tell her true story of growing up as a black woman in the 1960s and 1970s. Woodson’s beautiful language explores big ideas while describing her family, her growing awareness of race and the civil rights movement, and her life in South Carolina and New York City.

※ When You Were Everything

By Ashley Woodfolk

Cleo and Layla have been best friends for years. But in their second year of middle school, everything changes. Layla starts hanging out with her new friends, and the two girls’ friendship slowly ends. Cleo is still trying to make sense of what happened as she tries to make new friends. Told across two timelines, Cleo’s story of sadness surrounding a lost friendship will be relevant for many 8th graders trying to deal with past middle school friend drama and looking forward to high school.

※ The Hound of the Baskervilles

By Arthur Conan Doyle

The famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend Watson set out to look into a new case in Dartmoor, England. A man is dead, with many dog paw prints leading to his body. Holmes and Watson arrive in Dartmoor to find several unexplainable events and clues. Together, they start to figure out a puzzle that has defined mystery and detective fiction ever since.

※ The Hobbit

By J. R. R. Tolkien

This story is an opener to the longer and more challenging The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It’s an adventure story set in a fantasy world. With dwarves (小矮人), hobbits, sword fights, wizards and dragons, the book’s plot and humor have stood the test of time.

4 . The following are our monthly top picks among the recent nonfiction publication.

Four Battlegrounds

By Paul Scharre

Scharre examines the trends and expectations for the future applications of AI, whose battlegrounds are data, computing power, talent, and institutions. This study of the struggle over AI is well-written, widely sourced, and detailed. Readers knowledgeable about computer science will find it clarifying, while others will gain understanding of an important subject.

Saving Time

By Jenny Odell

With Saving Time, Odell aims at our concept of time. The idea of making as much output as possible from our time is fully rooted in modern life. Odell mixes cited research, philosophy, ecology, and history, finding the hidden markers of time along the highways and coast of her Bay Area home. Saving Time will find a long life on any library’s shelves.

Wisdom of the Wild

By Sheri Mabry

This title provides easygoing spiritual guidance inspired by everyday wonders of the natural world. Each section concentrates on an aspect of nature with a desirable quality, consisting of a one-page, science-based observation with advice and encouragement. Readers seeking inspiration will appreciate this charming offering.

Microjoys

By Cyndie Spiegel

During hard times, Spiegel began searching for a way to gently hold sadness in one hand and joy in the other. In a series of thoughtful essays, Spiegel begins with observations about various experiences, opening her heart to share emotional events made by what she calls “microjoys”. And finally, she urges readers to open their hearts and welcome glimpses (一瞥) of joy and beauty.

5 . Let’s review some of the year’s best books so far.

The Astronaut’s Guide to Leaving the Planet

In this book, retired astronaut and pilot Terry Virts paints a lively picture of life aboard the International Space Station. And he describes what it takes to conduct a successful mission. Young space enthusiasts will enjoy this guide. Ambitious astronauts will treasure it.

Lasagna Means I Love You

In this touching realistic novel by Kate O’Shaughnessy, Mo and her grandma, Nan, live together. But after Nan dies, Mo’s uncle can no longer take care of her. To deal with these changes, she starts cooking, using family recipes that she collects from friends and through her food blog. There’s only one problem: She doesn’t have family recipes of her own. Hoping to define what really makes a family, Mo learns there’s no perfect recipe.

The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejia

In this fast-paced adventure by Alexandra Alessandri, 12-year-old Valentina and her brother Julian are searching for mysterious creatures. Falling into another world during an earthquake, they discover a different, magical Colombia. Valentina learns that all of the legends about her country are true. But will they be able to leave this place and return home?

Just Jerry

It’s written by Jerry Pinkney, who writes about his growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 1940s and 1950s. He struggled with dyslexia (阅读障碍), but he always pursued his artistic calling. When he got a job at a newsstand, his boss gave him a chance to draw and sell his work. He was able to go to college to study art, and eventually built a career in publishing.

6 . Seven-year-old Maggie Kuznia loves books, but she seems to love sharing the stories she reads even more. Qnce or twice a week, the little girl puts a few books in her backpack and gets ready to _______ the elderly at Good Samaritan Society.

Maggie’s mom, Tiffany Kuznia, works as the activity director at the retirement facility and often brings her daughter with her to _______. One day, as little Maggie was packing her bag, Tiffany Kuznia _______ her to bring her toys. Maggie quickly replied that she had _______ plans for the day. “I’m going to bring books and I’m going to read to the residents.” she _______.

With time, Maggie has become so beloved among the residents that she even has “_______” she reads to every week. She often visits each one for over an hour with her mom regularly checking in on her to make sure she isn’t overstaying her _______. Much to Maggie’s _______, the residents are more than happy to have her around for extended periods of time. The _______ usually leads to coloring books and doing puzzles with her elderly friends, who ________ Maggie a granddaughter of their own.

Maggie hopes to inspire other kids of her age to read to the elderly. ________ polishing her reading abilities and having a group of devoted ________, her senior friends are always ready to help her when she trips up on a ________ word. As for the residents, Maggie seems to ________ their day. “I think the intergenerational part is so good,” Patti Griggs, a resident Maggie has befriended, said. “Everybody likes to have the ________ of another person and be special to them.”

7 . It was a quiet morning in the library, and we librarians were enjoying a rather loud chat. Suddenly, a patron (常客) marched up to us, gave us an annoyed “Shush!” and went back to her seat. How strange for a group of librarians to be shushed by a patron! Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Well, it’s complicated. If you’re like me, a middle-aged woman, you probably remember libraries as places of silent reading. These days, however, libraries are more like active community centers.

In the past, most libraries didn’t focus much on programs for kids whose age made it impossible for them to be quiet on demand. But growing knowledge about the importance of kids and teens learning through hands-on experiences has since caused a sea change in how libraries connect with young readers. Now libraries begin offering interactive programs for kids, including crafts, board games, and story times. These types of programs certainly aren’t designed to be silent.

Along with more programs for ever-younger children, technology today has played a part in the transformation of libraries into places where both kids and adults can use computers, make something on a 3D printer and more. In addition, many libraries now offer programs for adults, who can participate in in book discussion, learn calligraphy, and even take college classes.

Of course, libraries still need peaceful phones. These days, many libraries have glassed-off study rooms or quiet areas. They are also less noisy in the early afternoons, after morning children’s programs and before the after-school kid crowd arrive.

It’s clear to me now that on the day my colleagues and I were shushed by a patron, we should have been using our “library voices” as we talked. Still, it’s unlikely that libraries will ever return to the days when they were places of silence. There’s just too much fun and learning happening.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The Zhongyong, “Doctrine of the Mean,     1     (be) a Confucian classic and part of the Four Books. It is actually     2     chapter of the ritual (礼仪) classic Liji, and     3     (take) out from this book in the Song period. There are several opinions about the authorship of the Zhongyong. It is     4     ( traditional) attributed (认为是) to Zisi, a grandson of Confucius. The text seems,     5     modern authors say, at least partially to have been compiled (编纂) during the Former Han period.

The concept of “the mean” is a core idea of Confucianism. The so-called “mean” by Confucius doesn’t mean “compromise (折中)”     6     a “just-right” way when understanding and handling objective things. This will result     7     harmony in action, and eventually in a harmonious society. Pure harmony without wandering from the central tone, and     8     (stand) in the centre without leaning towards one side will keep all social positions stable.

    9     (wise), kind-heartedness and courage are the three virtues of the mean way that will keep stable all social relations. Almost everything depends on the adequate behavior of each member of society. Another important aspect     10     (treat) in the Zhongyong is sincerity. It is the root of human behavior, and without sincerity there is no man.