Novels. Why do I read them? I was most ____ to read when I was a kid. I suspect this was because my only purpose was ____ and escapism. From all 21 Famous Five stories — in order, naturally — to Anna Karenina, ____ into a basket on a cycling holiday, I was ____ to another world. Then, for A-levels and a degree, I read to pass ____. Slowly, tellingly, the joy ____. And I was no good at the exams either. When those last exams were done, more than 30 years ago, I was done with novels. I had ____ love.

Gradually, it has come back, but it’s all ____ now. I find I’m reading whole novels mainly to ____ intelligence to help understand what I’ve been feeling; feelings that I’ve been ____ to express myself. For some reason I ____ The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. The _____soon starts to fade, and all you are left with is how it made you feel. This is nice, but what makes it all worthwhile is those specific ____ that I make sure to harvest and go back to. ____, Helen says of her new life in the big city: “At first, I was ____ with the novelty and excitement of our London life, but soon I began to be tired of its ____.”

A few months later, I ____ Anne Bronte’s resting place in Scarborough. Standing there, I____ this little passage and appreciated anew how ____ it resonated (产生共鸣) with my own feelings about London. And there the poor young woman lay, gone 173 years and still making ____ friends. That’s quite something.

Those youngsters were a great concern for Ngurang Meena. The social-science teacher found many children _______ to online games. She runs the Ngurang Learning Institute — an adult literacy centre. She says that she feels _______ every time she reads student papers. “The graph of student _______ is falling every year. It _______ my heart whenever I see answer sheets — basic grammar skills are missing and there’s a/an _______ of any cohesive(连贯性的) expression. They lack proper _______ and reading culture is almost zero,” Meena says. When her school and the centre she _______ had to close due to the Covid-19 Lockdown, she was determined to do something to _______ the problem.

Searching for ideas online and _______ by a similar proposal, __________ Meena set up a bookshelf with around 80 books on the side of the road, where __________ could spend time reading. The __________ include motivational books, biographies and novels as well as comics for young children. “I often __________ the younger ones with sweets to sit and read, but that is okay,” she laughs.

Meena’s library became __________ among youngsters who spend hours in the reading corner. Within two months, her effort became the __________ of the town. Generous contributions of books flood in from the public and she is even __________ receiving requests to set up such libraries in other parts of the state.

“I never __________ this would become such a big hit,” Meena says. “Since childhood, we have been told that books are our best friends and the __________ of success. I don’t want the present generation to __________ games and head on the wrong track. This library is a reminder that knowledge is __________ power.”

Danay Ferguson loves to read. Her parents often find her ________ past her bedtime racing to the end of a story. “If you’re ________, you can be in your own world and do almost anything you ________,” she says.

Danay wanted to open a bookstore, so she did some ________. She learned that in low-income neighborhoods, there may be only 1 book for every 300 kids. She decided that needed to ________. So at age eight, Danay started an organization. Reading Heart collects books that are donated (捐赠) by people. Then Danay and her friends ________ the books to kids in schools and low-income neighborhoods.

On visits to ________, Danay turns the book giveaway into a ________. With dancing, free T-shirts, and tables of books, her “Book Tour” has visited more than 150 schools in her area to get kids ________ about reading at her reading party. After kids choose their books, Danay gives them a ________.

“They can keep their book, ” she says. “But when they’re done with it, they share it with a friend.” By ________ books, Danay explains, kids get to read ________. “It’s like building mini libraries for each kid. When we give 500 kids a free book to ________, each kid has the ________ to read 500 books! It’s a(an) ________ feeling to see a kid’s smile when they get a book for the first time.”