When my tenth birthday was coming up, I was happy imaging what kind of present my father would give me. To my surprise, Father gave me a set of books, which I was very glad to accept. He saw what I was thinking and said kindly¹: "Dear, remember, books are the most precious fortune in the world, I am sure that once you finish reading the first book, you will be anxious to read the second one, then the third, the forth…" According to my father's words, I have to give reading a try. And things really happened as he expected. Books indeed exerted a strong influence on me. From then on, I stepped into a new and wonderful world that books spread open for me.

Whether a man reads history books or mathematical books, reads them in detail or just skims them, if he cares about reading at all, he will appreciating the pleasure of books. Experience tells me that what composes the joys of reading lies in the process of finding a good book, enjoying it, and learning from it.

In the first place, you will be feeling excited when you find a good book which is suitable foe² yourself. Reading is something of a paradox³. One thinks that books are always meaningful. Yet the fact is that many of them are useless in some sense. Particularly, pornographic books describe violence, superstition⁴, and sex. People who are taken up by such books might be misled and dispirited. Therefore, choosing an appropriate book not only improves your ability to discriminate⁵ and leads you to read effectively, but also gives you the fulfillment of knowing a good book.

Secondly, reading would offer inexhaustible mental nutrition. Good books teach us and help us to do well. They are our real companions. They are both instructive and inspiring. Through reading, the beauties of nature, the miracles of art, the spectacles of architecture, and the marvels⁶ of engineering are all opened to our wonder and appreciation⁷. Moreover, it really builds up a full comprehension of love, hatred⁸, happiness and sorrows in our heart. We are able to experience various kinds of lives---what more is there to desire than that?

Thirdly, it is fruitful for us to learn from the book after reading it. Books are our friends; they take us to all the countries in the world; they tell us stories of all ages; they teach us the truth. With reading, we can learn innumerable things we do not know, be aware of what has happened in the past as well as what is going to happen in the future, and solve the urgent problems that beset⁹ us. Gradually, we come to know how to be a real person and how to observe the world.

In all, mankind has made extraordinary progress in the accumulation of knowledge. With the invention of writing, knowledge could then not only be communicated but also be stored. Now, I am lucky for being one member of 4EW, and I am confident that I will make good use of it, learn from it, and feel the joys of reading forever.