I was wandering in the park when I spotted my friend, John,     1     (read) novels, which was why his writing skills were amazing. Those     2     (scene) described in his latest novels were always so vivid and the     3     (plot) were always beyond our expectation. However, though his mother was patient     4     him, she didn’t permit him     5     (spend) much time reading novels for fear that it would affect his studies. Indeed, he was always willing     6     (spend) large amounts of money on books every month. Moreover, once he learned about a book, he would never hesitate     7     (get) it.

Through teaching myself to love reading, I gathered some tips to motivate you     1     (take) up reading.

Don’t give up after the first book. To be     2     (honesty), if I quit reading after my first book, I would never have become the reader I am today. Surely, you won’t love every book you read. Some will bore you while others will get you to occupy     3     (you) in reading every page. If you don’t like the first book you read, put it aside and switch     4     another one.

Track your progress. If you track the books you read, you will definitely feel a greater sense of achievement after each book. It is appropriate     5     (create) a routine. Whether that is early in the morning or before bed,     6     (come) up with a routine is of necessity. What’s more, choosing a place where you are unlikely to     7     (distract) from your reading.

Overall, reading is a lifelong hobby. Don’t equip yourself     8     complicated books; invest your time in the books which interest you.

As is known to all, reading is of much benefit to    1     (we) in many ways. The necessity of it has been stressed by many scholars (学者) for     2     long time. Above all, reading is a perfect way to spend our spare time. Meanwhile, we can gain more knowledge by    3     (take) advantage of our tiny time. Remember that every little step     4     (bring) a thousand miles. Besides, reading allows us    5     (learn) from great minds and live a better life. Just as the saying goes, “There     6     (be) houses of gold in books.” It is necessary and important to have regular reading. Here are some tips     7     how to form a regular habit of doing necessary readings. First, it is advisable to make a    8     (detail) reading plan or to-read list in advance. You can make a decision based on the advice of successful people or your teachers. Second, you can share books with your friends. It will be a    9     (please) to both. In addition, you can also swap your opinions about books you read with others,     10     makes it easier to start a topic while chatting. Fainally, making reading part of your daily life, and it will certainly do you a lot of good in return.

Qimin Yaoshu is the most completely preserved of the ancient Chinese agricultural texts. It     1    (write) by the Northern Wei Dynasty official Jia Sixie. The book is believed to have been completed in the     2    (two) year of Wu Ding of Eastern Wei, 544 C.E., while another account gives the     3    (complete) between 533 and 544 C.E.

The text of the book is divided into 10 volumes and 92 chapters, and     4    (comprehensive) records 1,500-year-old agricultural science and technology in the north of China. The book quoted (引用) nearly 200 ancient     5    (source). Since the publication of the book,     6    (history) Chinese governments have long attached great importance     7     it. Since the book spread overseas, it has been considered a classic text     8    (study) changes in species. When Charles Darwin was researching the theory of evolution, he made reference to (参考) an Encyclopedia of Ancient China,     9     is said to be the book Qimin Yaoshu. The book’s name “Qí mín yào shù” can be explained as either “techniques by which common people make their livelihood”     10     “techniques to harness (利用) the people’s livelihood”.

China has a long history of more than 5000 years. In the vastness of history, Chinese traditional culture constantly shows     1     (it) unique charm and is deeply loved and appreciated by people around the world. Among the ancient Chinese literature, the Four Great Classical Novels, also referred to as the four greatest and most     2     (influence) novels written in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, stand out.

    3     the four novels have in common is that they were written in the vernacular (白话文) of their times,     4     most ancient literature that was written in the classical style of writing. Most Chinese are familiar with the figures, plots and scenes in the four novels. They have     5    (dramatic) affected the mentality, ideas and values of Chinese people. They were widely read by people and contained philosophical ideas, history and viewpoints about human society that     6     (define) part of the worldviews of the scholar and the     7     (political), which had     8     significant effect on the development of Chinese societies in past eras.

Nowadays, they have already been adapted into movies or TV series,     9     (favor) by lots of audiences. Being high in artistic standard, the Four Great Classical Novels are precious heritage of Chinese nation and     10     (strike) works in the history of Chinese literature.

Science fiction, or sci-fi, has     1    (explosive) grown in popularity since the 21st century. Its impact on media, art, pop culture, film and technology has consolidated sci-fi as     2     unique storytelling genre.

Before the 2000s, Chinese science fiction was a lesser-known and community-oriented genre. Few works were translated, and the western world took no interest     3     it. But the once subgenre has become internationally recognized, mainly because of Ken Liu, a writer,     4     (translate) and computer scientist. Liu has done more work than anyone else to translate Chinese sci-fi. After he translated The Three-Body Problem, it became the first contemporary Chinese sci-fi novel in English.     5     (publish) in 2014, it proved to be a raging success.

Writing in Chinese is, of course, different from writing in English. The meanings and references used in Chinese sci-fi are unique to the genre. In the works Liu translated, multiple footnotes are used     6    (describe) the complexity western readers can’t understand, and they explain why a word or sentence     7    (write) in a certain way. The cultures and languages within China each have their own subtle differences, giving translated works a foreign and distinct feel     8     no western novel can match.

The use of traditional and cultural objects, words and places in Chinese science fiction makes the genre a cultural and     9     (history) analysis of China. After reading The Three-Body Problem, for example, western readers discover some differences and     10     (similarity) between western and Asian cultures.