Nowadays, a lot of young people seem to spend much of 【小题1】 (they) free time either watching television or playing computer games. Certainly, these things are entertaining, but they don’t contribute   much 【小题2】 developing their brains. Many believe   that reading   books, and 【小题3】 (especial) fiction, is a much more effective way of achieving this. Apart from being a pleasant way to relax, the most obvious benefit we get from reading a good story is a 【小题4】 (grow) vocabulary. We come across new words in reading and gradually become more confident with complex words.

Zhu Yanjun shared poetry reading experience with students at a primary school in Jingning county, Northwest China’s Gansu province, 【小题1】 April 10, 2023.

Zhu Yanjun, 50, is the runner-up of the 2023 Chinese Poetry Competition. After graduating from junior high school in 1992, he 【小题2】 (stop) his schooling and began to work as a migrant worker.

【小题3】 he was always busy working during the day, he kept on spending his spare time to pursue his passion for poetry. This year, he 【小题4】 (final) appeared in the Chinese Poetry Competition and won second place, 【小题5】 (amaze) the audience with his talent.

Zhu’s passion for poetry runs through every aspect of his life. Whenever he goes to a city for work, he first visits 【小题6】(bookstore). On rainy days when the construction site 【小题7】 he works stops work temporarily, he usually rushes to the bookstore early in the morning and spends the whole day reading books. In order to make use of his time 【小题8】(read) poetry, he always carries some notes of copying poems in his pocket.

In March of this year, Zhu Yanjun returned to his hometown and got a chance to work as a staff member at the cultural center of Jingning County. This job gives him more time to study the stories behind the poems and 【小题9】 (many) opportunities to share his experience with others. Zhu wishes to inspire more people around him to explore the 【小题10】 (hide) beauty of reading.

Reading is an important form of entertainment and rather than 【小题1】 (simple) watching pictures on a screen, it requires you to use your 【小题2】 (imagine). It has been proved that children who regularly read for enjoyment have higher test scores, develop a 【小题3】 (broad) vocabulary and a better understanding of other cultures than the non—reading ones.

So 【小题4】 (celebrate) authors, books, illustrators and, of course, reading, World Book Day was established(成立)on April 23,1995 【小题5】 a day of celebrating the joy of reading for enjoyment.

There were several ideas on 【小题6】 World Book Day should be celebrated. Originally, Valencian writer Vicente Clavel Andres suggested that the day should be on 【小题7】 day that honored the author Miguel de Cervantes. This meant that it could either be on his birthday, on October 7, 【小题8】 the day he died, on April   23. Because the day he died coincided(一致) with the date on which William Shakespeare had also died, this date 【小题9】   (choose). Surprisingly, there are several other famous authors who also died on April 23, like David Halberstam.

Around the world, there are many other dates on which World Book Day 【小题10】 (take) place. The UK, Sweden, and Ireland all celebrate World Book Day on different dates.