1 . Emily loved reading. She used to be very shy. She _________ talking to others. So she turned to _________. In 2019 her dad got sick. It was very serious. Books became an even bigger comfort for _________.

Emily’s dad got better. And she came up with a plan to _________ others.

Emily started a book drive in her hometown. She _________ books. She took them to _________ being cared for in hospitals. _________, she has collected more than 10,000 books.

Emily and her father are very close. When her father learned of her plans for the book drive, he wasn’t surprised. “She was always interested in books,” he says. “_________ she always wanted to do things for the neighborhood.” Emily runs the book drive herself, but she gets some help from her _________. “We do the driving,” her dad says.

Emily still runs the book drive. The memory of meeting the children she helps sticks with her. “It was the ____________ day of my life,” she says. “I realized I wanted to do this type of work forever.”

2 . My parents said that I started reading tomato soup labels when I was two. But my earliest________are of The Poky Little Puppy, comics I found on the bookshelf. I quickly moved on to the library. I_________Little House on the Prairie and absolutely anything by Judy Blume.

I don’t know whether I read because I was curious or I was curious because I read. Probably________I do know,________, that books were my refuge (避难所). They gave me________and comfort when life was confusing or uncertain. They were a(n)________and a shelter. Books transported me to places I never________and exposed me to ideas I had never considered. I preferred Watership Down to hide-and-seek with the neighbor________. My father worried that I was turning into a recluse (孤独者), but I was________. Maybe they made me smarter. I know they provided me with________.

So, when I had my son, it surprised no one that I filled his room with________. With a certainty I didn’t know, I read to him for hours, hoping that I would________the magic to him. It did. Now he writes________about fire engines, policemen and flying birds. He is becoming a(n)________storyteller--just like his parents. I________to him through stories in a way I didn’t envision (想象).

3 . Grace Cogan’s favorite quote comes from American founding father Thomas Jefferson: “I cannot live without books”. The 14-year-old from Weston, Missouri thinks the same thing.

Grace was born with a disease that affected her skin and eyes, and caused kidney (肾) problems. Doctors told her parents she might not live.___________, she made it. However, she was often sick. During these 14 years, she had 22 operations and a lot of doctor’s ___________.It was reading that_________her in doctors’ waiting rooms or during long drives to appointments. “I always make sure to have a___________with me,” she said.

When Grace was little, her mother, Kelly, read Little House on the Prairie to her. Her dad, Brian,___________her more difficult historical novels like The Red Badge of Courage. Then Grace, though she had serious eye problems, started reading on her own, with her nose usually___________in a book. That’s where she sees most___________. “She wanted to know how things worked. She was so curious,” said Joyce Burch, Grace’s aunt. Maybe because of those early books, or maybe because of where she lives—a farmhouse that’s been home to five_________of her father’s family — Grace came to love history.

She asked her parents to take her to different historical places. She read historical novels, from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to 1776. She even wrote a book, The Historical House, to _________the history of the farmhouse. Because of her disease, Grace can’t go to a public school. But her____________for history meant she came in fifth in the country for the National History Day competition this summer. Grace’s grandmother said that she was not really____________when Grace called to tell her the news. “That girl does not__________.We knew she would do something great,” she said. Apart from reading, Grace also plays the piano and loves musical theater. She would like to work in theater someday. If she can’t, she wants to be an author, ____________writing about history. Grace’s bravery has____________others. “The time with Grace has been an____________journey and adventure,” said Lennie Medcalf, Grace’s private teacher. “I look forward to seeing this world with Grace Cogan in it.”

4 . We all wish we had our very own libraries at home. They’re a great way to keep what you love reading best organized in one place. Technology has taken over our lives and everything seems to be accessible _______. The sad part about online books is that the realness of holding one in your hands is lost. It may be _______ to those who often travel, but there’s nothing like printed books in libraries that you can leaf through, as opposed to clicking through.

Unlike the Internet, printed books are much more _______ than any other sources. Rarely will you find a list of references mentioned at the end of the article section on the web. Printed books are _______ carefully before they’re published so that the facts mentioned in non-fiction books are all true and necessary. Reference pages at the end of these books are also mentioned in some works that require such a section.

Unlike electronic devices that can have problems such as the loss of _______ it stores, printed books have a way of lasting for years to come if _______ with care. They can be collected as valuable books that you’d like to have in their _______ form, as well as be passed on to others who’d like to read them as well. It’s great when you have something like a book to hold on to (留存) and read, while an online book _______ that close and constant companionship.

_______, you can’t expect kids to hold up an iPad under the sheets late at night. Reading ________ books ensures that kids have access to reading without being spoiled into buying a(n) ________ product that can distract (分心) them from actual reading. Kids love picture books and the images that come with them, which is great for present authors who still ________books that are intended for kids.

Libraries are a great place that dates back to a time when ________ was non-existent and was an unbelievable idea to men back in that period. Today the ________ of libraries still exists, with many people going to them for the love of books. It is important for children to start off by reading the real thing before ________ what other media can offer. Anyway, never forget what first got you started.

5 . I was thrilled when I was pregnant. However, I quickly ______ that the hardest part of pregnancy wasn’t tiredness or swelling but, for me, listening to person after person tell me once the baby was born, I would never read a book again, which ______ me greatly.

I’m a writer and more of a reader. Books are the ______ of my life. There are many things I can ______ give up for the ______ of motherhood, but reading isn’t one of them.

My husband ______ me, “It’s OK to do whatever you want to do. Those who quit reading after they had kids never made reading a top ______ .” Indeed, he was right.

My newborn wouldn’t sleep unless she was held. But there was a great ______ in rocking a baby who’s nursing or napping in your arms: lots of time to______ . My e-reader then became my best friend as I could hold it with one hand and download library books when I was ______ in the house. I read over 100 books in my daughter’s first year and I ______ reading with getting me through those difficult early months.

Now we’re through the unstable and unrest preschool years, and she often said, “Mama, please read me a story. It’s the only way I can ______ . ” As a mother, I’m amazed how ______ she is to know so early how to care for herself.

Should my daughter one day ______ to have a child herself, I won’t tell her that she’ll never read again. ______ I’ll remind her that people do what they want to do, and good moms take care of themselves.

6 . You may know the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” It _________ the idea behind the Living Library project. Like _________ library, a Living Liberty offers readers books, except that these “books” can _________ to you. But these living books are not like anything from a(n) _________ movie — they are people like you and me.

The Living Library project was started in 2000 by a group of young people in Denmark. They wanted to reduce _________ and encourage understanding between people, and they had the idea of bringing together some very different people to communicate _________. These living books were from different cultural backgrounds, nations, educational levels, religions and _________.

Reading living books is very _________: Each book can talk with readers face to face, and sometimes a small group of readers can read one book together. The book and the reader(s) _________ and share different thoughts, ideas, lifestyles and so on.

The project began to gain in __________ in other parts of the world and was introduced to China in 2009. This past April, a wave of Living Library events was held in more than 20 Chinese cities. In Guangzhou, for example, 50 living books were presented to 200 readers.

The event was divided into four rounds; each lasted 40 minutes. In each round, __________ eight readers would read one book together. One of the living books, Tang, suffered from depression. She talked about her experience of fighting depression and also pointed out a problem: People’s __________ about mental illnesses was preventing many patients from getting treatment in time.

In Living Library events like this one, it is not one person __________ another, but someone introducing others to a different idea or way of life. Everyone can raise questions and everyone is __________.

“Everyone is a book,” said Liu Qiongxiong, the organizer of the event in Guangzhou. “By reading others we can better understand each other and__________.”

7 . I am 49 now. Reader’s Digest has been a(n) _______ part of my family since even before I was born. My father, a planter who _______ a tea estate in Sri Lanka, has _______ Reader’s Digest since the late 1950s. And then he naturally changed from a tea merchant to a writer for it.

In an era with no television or the Internet, the evenings were spent _______ the magazine. By the time I became literate, there was a cupboard full of Reader’s Digest _______ by me, which my father bought for me. With its _______, my knowledge was gathered too. At first, it was the real stories that were most _______ for me, where I learned some life lessons.

I read through them all over my school holidays. One thing I learned from Reader’s Digest is how to reverse (倒车) a car, which still benefits me today. I _______ reading a small piece of news about the tips on _______ a car up to a space in a short time, and to date, I can make it with the ________ effort and the most relaxed mind than most people.

I’ve ________ had to spend much time getting trained how to reverse a car fast. Every time I need to do it in one ________ step, I thought of the textual ________ and the vivid diagram from the Reader’s Digest. Who would have thought Reader’s Digest could be a “________”? I hope that the next generations will continue to enjoy reading and gain something ________   like me.

8 . When I was in primary school, I fell in love with reading. The books _______ me to a wonderful world. The more I read, the more I wanted to know. However, my parents _______ afford so many books. I had to solve the problem myself.

There was a book shop near my home. One day I walked into _______ shop and picked up a book. I didn’t know whether _______ there without buying any books. _______ I wasn’t noticed, I just read a few pages and then put it back. Luckily, no one noticed me. After that, I went there to read every day. Several days later, while I was reading, the owner came up and asked, “You like reading?” I looked down and replied _______, “Yes.” “Don’t worry,” he said with a smile. “You may read books here _______ you help me clean the shop.” I felt quite surprised, “Really? It’s so kind of you!” I was very happy that I _______ to read there. From then on, I spent a little time cleaning the shop. After that, I quietly read there. That way, I read lots of books. I became one of _______ writers in our school. I even won some prizes in writing.

Now studying in high school, I can borrow books __________ library. My hobby of reading is kept. It will make a big difference to my life.

9 . In 2008, first grade teacher Alvin Irby stopped by a barbershop (理发店) after school for a haircut. Before long, one of his students _________. “He seems impatient and _________,” Irby recalls. “I look at this _________ thinking, ‘He should be practicing his reading.’ But I don’t see a _________ there.”

That moment _________ with Irby, and five years later he _________ Barbershop Books, a nonprofit. “Many kids _________ reading with something they do in or for school,” Irby says. “If the only place a kid practices reading is during a lesson, the progress will be _________... Our program is about getting kids to say three words: ‘I’m a reader.’”

Irby’s program may seem _________, but there’s a lot of __________ behind it. He puts a colorful, kid-sized bookshelf in each barbershop, making it __________ to children. The books displayed are all __________ chosen based on recommendations for kids aged 4 to 8, his target audience. For Irby, the most important __________ of a book is that it should be fun to read.

Putting books in barbershops is not the finish line. Irby says, “Many kids __________ see adults reading.” So, Irby __________ the barbers in his program—training them to engage kids about reading. “We __________ barbers to use the reading spaces,” he says. “Then they can talk to the kids about how they like reading.”

Irby believes that __________ books with a barber can be __________ for the kids. “Our goal is not to __________ barbers into tutors (导师),” Irby says. “This is a good __________ to provide kids with role models.”

10 . As a writer, my pregnancy(怀孕)became marked by worry as many people predicted I’d never read a book again once the baby was born. I felt_________ by the apparent ________ people who cared about me displayed as to it, because I saw it as my upcoming misfortune. I could forgive them only by telling myself they couldn’t possibly ________ how important reading is to my well-being. I knew if I had to ________ reading, I wouldn’t be the best me.

Of course, my newborn required constant_________. She wouldn’t sleep unless she was held, and she wanted to nurse all the time. But there’s a great benefit in ________ a baby who’s nursing or napping in your arms; it gives you lots of time to read. I had ________ using my e-reader until then, but it became my best friend as I discovered that I could ________ it with one hand and ________ library books when stuck in the house. In my daughter’s first year, I credited reading with getting me through those difficult early ________.

Reading is ________ to my mental health. I have discovered this is also true for my daughter. Every time she lost her_________, I would_________ her up, carry her to the reading chair, and open a book. As we ________ the chair, she often said, “Mama, please read me a story. It’s the only way I can calm down.”_________ makes a better me and a better mother for my daughter.