What do you read when you’re travelling by train or bus? What are other passengers reading? Perhaps a woman     1    (sit) near you is reading a romantic novel (言情小说). A man is reading a serious book about a famous person. And there     2    (be) a student reading an English textbook.

What do their     3    (choice) say about them? Do you judge (判断) them by what they’re reading? I have got to tell you that     4    (you) impressions of them may be     5    (complete) wrong. The woman reading the romantic novel is a banker. She just wants a light read     6    (take) her mind off work. The man reading the serious book wants you to think that he is well     7    (educate). The student     8     is reading the textbook isn’t a student at all. She’s an English teacher.

Book companies know some people care     9    what they read on public transport, so they put out different versions (版本) of a cover. For example, books about Harry Potter have     10     bright cover for young readers and then another more serious version for adults.

Here is a saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

These days, more and more Chinese people enjoy sending and receiving messages on the phone, which can help them to get the latest news and communicate with friends. But I think I should read more books besides the texts. The more,     1     better. It can improve my language skills and also can help me to get good grades.

Before you start reading, ask     2    (you) why you are reading this book. Most people read for two main     3    (reason), pleasure or knowledge. Clearing about your reading purpose can not only help you choose the books you really need to read, but also remind you why reading the book is of great     4    (important) to you, so you will decide     5    (read) and finish the book faster.

No matter what you are reading, it is important to enjoy     6     you read. Your friends may tell you the books they are interested     7    , but those books might not be the ones you enjoy. Whenever you realize that you aren’t enjoying the book you are reading, give it up.

It is true to read the books that     8    (borrow) from libraries     9    (fast) than those I buy. The reason is that I don’t need to return those books I buy. Having a reading goal     10    (help) you work out how much reading you need to do in a week or even a day. Before you read each book, you should know what time you need to complete this book by.

A book club can be an enriching, satisfying way     1    (develop) new friendships and an appreciation for reading. Or it can be a big, fat failure. The direction it takes really depends on how it     2    (plan) and managed. Right out of the gate, talk with potential members about what they want from a book club. If their interest is purely social, think about forming a group to do social     3    (activity) together, instead.

Davina Morgan-Witts, a book club expert at Book Browse, conducted     4    survey in 2019 of thousands of book club members. In that survey, Book Browse found that the longer a group spends talking about a book, the     5    (happy) they are in the club. In fact, 81 percent of those in book clubs that     6    (general) discussed a book for 75 minutes or longer marked     7    (they) as “very happy”, compared to just 55 percent in groups that discussed for 20 minutes or less!

“It’s not that they say social time is unimportant but it’s secondary,” Morgan-Witts explains. “It’s because of the open discussion and the sharing of opinions     8     the friendship forms.” If you want to discuss books without all of the small talk, she suggests     9    (turn) to a public library group. Those groups tend to be much more focused     10    book discussion, rather than the social elements he says.

World Book Day falls on April 23 every year. It     1    (set) up by the UNESCO (联合国教科文组织) in1955 to encourage people to discover the pleasure of reading.     2    (read) for pleasure plays a more important role in one’s growth     3     one’s family background. However, computer games, online videos and Internet are pushing books off the shelf. Some experts feel     4    (worry) about this trend. Each Chinese reads 0.38 more books in 2013 than 2012 but still far fewer than those in major developed countries. Even     5    (badly), many bookstores have closed their doors.

However, many people do still prefer reading because it has been part of their life. It can benefit people     6     many ways. It gives us information about other countries and     7    (place) of the world. It has     8     strong influence on the forming of our personality and     9    (make) us more intelligent. It’s never too late     10    (start) reading. So jump into the wonderful world of books now!