1 . Emily Bhatnagar is a shy girl who has always loved reading. She says, “The books sort of became my best friends when I didn’t have one.”

When Bhatnagar was 16, her father was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer. The news was________for the family. Books became an even bigger ________, and she started thinking about families in similar situations. When her father recovered, she ________a plan to help others. “The idea came from not just great thanks that the doctors were able to ________such a miracle (奇迹),”she said, “but also a little of ________ that there were kids who were ________ the same battle.”

Bhatnagar started a ________ in her hometown. The goal was to collect books and give them to kids being ________ for cancer in local hospitals. Since the start of the book drive, which she called For Love & Buttercup, Bhatnagar has ________ more than 10,000 books.

Bhatnagar had no idea how much ________ 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 ________ from neighbors,” she said. But it ended up blowing up, ________ when news stations began reporting it. “The public response has been super great,” her father said.

Bhatnagar continues to run the book drive, with a little help from her parents. She hopes to expand the project to ________ more kids one day. The memory of the first time she visited those children who’d ________ her books sticks with her. “It was the best ________ of my life,” she said. “I realized I wanted to do this type of work forever.”

2 . When I was young, I was a terrible student. I didn’t ________ talking with my grandmother on the phone, because she would ask me about school and about what I was reading.

Each Christmas, I would get a package from Grandmother. “Another ________. Just like every year!” I would think and then put it aside. I would ________all my latest toys on Christmas morning and for days and even weeks after.________, I would open Grandmother’s gift. I would read the book and sometimes ________ the text, but I didn’t find this interesting.

Although I was not interested in ________, I had great patience with younger children. Seeing how I ________her kid with homework, my neighbor said I should become a teacher when I grew up.

During my second term in college, I ________ in my Children’s Literature class. Our teacher________ a list of classic children’s books. It was then that I wanted to ________. I raced home and ran to the basement (地下室). There on the dusty shelf sat the most amazing collection of children’s books any teacher could ________ to have. My grandmother didn’t ________ me what my little girl mind wanted, but what she knew I ________ — a gift for the soul that would last a lifetime.

I ________ to water the seed my grandmother planted so long ago. I graduated from college, received my master’s degree and became a ________ , trying my best to plant those tiny seeds in all my students.

4 . Stories play a vital role in the growth and development of children. The books they read and the ________ they get to know can become like friends. It’s also good for children to understand that books are a useful ________ of information and that good reading skills are important for ________ in their future lives.

Children who can read well are more likely to have higher confidence levels. This will ________ them in school as they’ll feel able to participate ________ in activities. Another part of ________ confidence is to know where you ________ the world. Stories can help with this process by showing children what people’s lives are like where they live and in other parts of the world.

Stories are a great way to ________ new words and ideas into a child’s language—starting with picture books for the very young, working up to more ________ novels for teenagers. Fiction based on real life can also help children with their own life experience—it shows them how ________ the world is and that some people’s lives are greatly different from theirs. And the process is done in a ________ way. There’s no actual teaching ________ at all, but they learn from simply reading the story.

Reading helps children understand that there are other children who feel the same way and they are not alone. This helps children understand that feelings are normal and should be ________. Watching their ________ to the feelings of the characters in the stories will give you some idea of how a child feels about certain ________ and emotions. For example, how the child responds to the character in the story feeling sad or ________ will give you some idea of how the child thinks.

As you can see, children’s stories are important for a number of ________ and form a vital part of the growing process. Being part of that process can bring children a sense of ________ as well as being great fun. ________, go and get your children some wonderful books to ________ them to enjoy a relaxing bedtime story.

9 . It’s Wednesday at Lismore South Public School, in northern New South Wales, Australia. A group of eight-year-olds practise _______ with four-legged friend Maggie. Sandy-haired Charlie says he likes her “because she’s so calm”.

Maggic, too, is eight human-years old and _______ enjoys Story Dogs, which is now in 239 Australian schools. Owner, Anne Meagher, says Maggie was rather _______ and good at escaping when she first adopted (领养) her. Now Maggie can stay still and patiently allows readers to _______ books on her stomach.

“It _______ best when the children come face-to-face with Maggie,” Anne says. “I’ll _______ our rug (地毯) under a tree and we always finish with Maggie doing something fun. It’s a simple enough idea, reading to a _______, but somehow the children _______ and find reading easier.” Maggie _______ listens to the children read. She doesn’t ________ them or correct them. She’s non-judgmental. But the facts show she is helping children ________. I haven’t had one student in two years who hasn’t improved. I think we create a space where they can feel ________ to make mistakes and have a ________.

Karen Newton, the Lismore South Public School’s teacher, says ________ are satisfactory. “Parents say their children have ________ in home reading and they are more engaged with it. We’ve found comprehension (理解力) has improved.” she says.

“Story Dogs is ________,” says Janine Sigley who, with Leah Sheldon, came up with the programme, to make reading ________ for children, so they become confident lifelong readers.

“Schools have not only reported improved reading but also ________ self-confidence among readers who become more prepared to join classroom activities,” Janine says. “Story Dogs is helping to build up kids’ interest in reading, and once a child ________ to read, they can do so much ________ at school.”

10 . When Williams, once a librarian, now 54-year old, became an elementary school teacher and tutor in Danville, Virginia, she wanted her students to fall in love with ________ just as she had. But early on, she ________ some kids had limited ________ to books. To Williams, the ________ was simple: Give kids books. In 2017, she ________ gave away 900 used children’s books over three days. Most people would be ________ with that.

“I wanted to do something that’s going to ________ my faith, my work ethic, my everything.” So she ________ a new goal for herself: Give away one million books. It sounds like an ________ number, but as Williams ________ on Facebook: “Don’t complain in the bleachers (露天看台) if you aren’t willing to work hard out on the field.”

So she got down to ________, first by persuading friends to donate books.or ________ buy books. Before long, as news of Williams’s project ________, strangers started leaving packs of ________ on her front porch.

As quickly as the books come in, Williams ________ them to local schools—free of charge. She also ________ a book club for prisoners in the local jail.

In the four years she’s been doing all this, the Book Lady, as Williams has come to be known, has ________ more than 78,000 books—only 922,000 more to reach her ________! And she’s not slowing down. It’s too important for kids with ________ options. “Reading can take you anywhere. You can travel in time and ________. If you can read, you can learn almost anything.”