Kids want to spend their summer vacations having fun in the sun with their friends. Reading may not even be on their list. But if you add a lovely dog, that could make reading a pleasant activity.

Now a new study found that reading to dogs helps to improve reading ability because dogs provide a nonjudgmental and supportive atmosphere(氛围).

Three educators from the college decided to look at new ways to get kids to read more after the Education Ministry expressed concern over a great drop in reading scores in fourth-grade students.

These students had reading difficulties because they did not go through school in person during the last three years. They missed out on reading practice with their peers(同龄人)during the second and third grades.

“We want to find an original way that would encourage students to practice their reading,” Har-Zvi, head of the special-education track and senior lecturer at the college said. “And to create that encouragement, we decided to do experiments with dogs.”

Reading to pets encourages kids to acquire confidence and interest in reading, according to the pet food company Purina. That’s not only because the practice of reading to dogs is used in home-schooling to help the kids acquire reading ability, but also because pets are comforting and nonjudgmental. Einat Artzi, whose daughter took part in the experiment, told Ynet that her daughter Michaela ”has loved dogs from a young age. Her experience of reading to dogs greatly increased her desire to read, and in her opinion, it improved her reading abilities. All in all, the experience of introducing dogs into the classroom made her feel comfortable and safe, and she began to enjoy going to school. Michaela is now considered one of the top readers in her class and has a very rich vocabulary. Thanks to this, we also took in a dog.“

There are a variety of things to do with old books that you no longer want, depending on their condition and content. 【小题1】 Others might be able to find a good use for them. You might choose to sell old books to a bookstore, donate them, pass them on to friends, or simply throw them out if they are in poor shape.

When you are deciding what to do with old books, assess their condition first. If it is an old paperback with torn cover and pages, sell it to the recycle bin. If the book is a hardcover and the cover is still in good shape, sell it to a used bookstore. 【小题2】

When selling old books to a bookstore it is important to be aware of the content of old books. 【小题3】 Fiction is usually a safe bet, for example: Travel guides are not.

If donating old books to charity, avoid donating books that are in truly poor condition. If a book is dirty, or missing the cover a charity cannot sell it or give it out. What’s more, it is preferred that you walk into the charity and donate the book in person. 【小题4】

【小题5】 You could simply place a shelf of old books that you don’t want by the door, and encourage your friends to take books that look interesting. If your entire social network followed this practice, a constantly circulating library of old books could be formed. You could also have a book swap party.

Congratulations! You’ve gotten to college, and now you never have to read another book in your life! 【小题1】 Instead of a book being something you have to read, think about college literature classes as your opportunity to get to read. Here are some ways to get the most out of the literature class.

Take a lecture course. 【小题2】 Even if you haven’t taken other literature courses, specialized lectures can be a great place to start. If you’re considering a literature lecture, consider one on a single author, or a single genre, or a single time period. Even if you don’t come in with a lot of background knowledge, that’s okay, because the topic is narrow enough so that you can launch right into the material without mastering everything under the sun first.

【小题3】 Don’t just rely on your friends for this; instead, you should turn to people who are juniors and seniors in departments with a lot of literature courses and ask them which professors they’ve had very positive experiences with.

Take a literature class with a book on the syllabus that you’ve read before but hated. You know you should like The Sound and the Fury, which you read in junior year of high school. But somehow, you just couldn’t get into it then. Or you knew that Walt Whitman is supposed to be great, but you’ve never clicked with “I Hear America Singing.” This is your opportunity to re-discover the books and authors that you’ve completely written off. 【小题4】

In short, don’t be afraid to take a college literature class. 【小题5】 Instead, give yourself a chance to explore!