Books And Reading Essay Example for Free

Books And cultivation EssayTopical Vocabulary 1. Categorisation Childrens and adults halts travel accommodates and biography romantic and historical sassys thrillers investigator stories science fiction/fantasy non-fiction pulp fiction. absorbing adult amusing controversial labored depressing delightful dirty disturbing dull intrigue gripping moralistic obscene outrageous profound whimsical unputdownable. 2.Books and their parts paperbacked and hardback binding cover jacket title epigraph preface the contents list fly leaf deemplate blurb a beautifully printed track record a tome bound in leather a book with dense print/ with loose pages. 3. Reading habits to form a rakeing habit early in life to allege silently/incessantly/avidly/voratiously to firevas curled up in chair to read a child/ 1self to sleep to be lost/absorbed in a book to guttle books to dip into/glance over/pore over/thumb through a book to browse through news programpapers and periodicals to scan / skim a mag an avid/alert/keen reader.4. Library facilities recitation rooms and reference sections the subject/ reference/title/on-line catalogue the enquiry desk computer help reference service to borrow/renew/loan books CDs and video tapes r ar books to keep books that are overdue books vulnerable to theft to suspend ones membership to be banned from the library. I. Use the thematic vocabulary in answering the following questions 1. Which books are you reading now? 2. Where is your preferred place to read? 3. Who is your favourite novelist? 4. Who is your favourite character? 5.Which contemporary author do you most admire? 6. Which is the first book you can recommend reading? 7. Which school textual matter did you most enjoy? 8. What is your favourite childrens book? 9. Which book would you same to see filmed? 10. What is the most difficult book you have ever read? II. Work in groups. Find out most the last book for each one of your partners has read and make notes on th ese points Author and title Type of book and whats it well-nigh Reason for liking it Reason for recommending it to otherwises III. Work in pairs. Choose the crush alternative to complete these sentences1. Oliver Twist is a classic operate of English . Literature non-fiction letters translations 2. The plat of the story was very exciting, further I didnt find the . Persons people characters figurers 3. This book is a special edition for foreign readers, so thithers a(n) . Appendix glossary introduction preface table of contents 4. A novel is usually divided into some(prenominal) . Chapters units sections passages 5. If you need to find some breeding in a non-fiction book, look in the .Atlas blurb catalogue diary index review 6. Cambridge University express is the of the book youre reading. Author editor printer publisher 7. A great novel has a well(p) plot and a strong . conversation meaning message significance 8. The book was marvelously and it was a joy to read. Stylistic tedious well-written wonderful 9. Ernest Heming modality is one of my American writers. Best favourite exalted most popular 10. The thriller was so exciting that I couldnt .Let it down look it up pick it up put it down 11. redden the characters in the book are really interesting. Less minor small tiny 12. Id like to that book when youve read it.Borrow betroth change loan IV. In these sentences three alternatives are correct and two are wrong. Choose the best three alternatives for each 1. The character in the book is called Oliver. Central main principal principle top 2. I enjoy her books because her style is so very . Dull entertaining readable tedious true-to-life(prenominal) 3. I found that the characters in the story were very . Amusing believable informative likeable thrilling 4. There were so many twists in the plot that I didnt really think it was . Accurate authentic convincing realistic true-to-life 5.She doesnt read any fiction because she prefers rea ding . Biographies in brief stories textbooks non-fiction science fiction 6. I cant books like those they just send me to sleep. Bear carry enjoy stand suffer V. Fill in the gaps in these sentences with suitable words 1. You can borrow books from a or buy them from a . 2. A writer can also be called an . 3. I cant afford to buy the book in hardback, so Ill wait till it comes out in . 4. I cant remember the of the book, but I know it had a yellow . 5.A book that tells somebodys life story is called a . VI. Match each word in the column with the explanation Ballad, biography, novel, drama, poem, fairy tale, poetry, story, rhyme, novelette a) a story in prose, long enough to fill in one or more(prenominal) volumes, about either imaginary or historical people b) piece of creative writing in verse form, especially one expressing cryptical feeling or noble thought in beautiful language, composed with the desire to glide by an experience c) simple song or poem, especially one that tells an old story d) the art of a poet, poemse) tale about fairies of imaginary origin f) branch of literature dealing with the lives of persons g) play for the theatre, radio or TV h) verse for small children characterized by sameness of sound of the ending or two more words at the ends of lines of verse i) short novel (story in prose) j) account of past or imaginary events. VII. Read the following extract and make with your groupmates the list of the books you would like to read while travelling The Book- Bag somewhat people read for instruction, ad some for pleasure, but not a few read from habit.I belong to that company. Let us admit that reading is just a drug that we cannot draw off along without. Books are necessary to me and I never traveled far without enough reading matter. But when I am starting on a long journey the problem is really great. I have learnt my lesson. Once I fell ill in a small town in Java and had to stay in bed for three months. I came to the end of all the books I had brought with me and knowing no Dutch had to buy the schoolbooks from which intelligent Javanese, I suppose, got knowledge of French and German.So I read again after twenty-five years the plays of Goethe, the fables of La Fontaine and the tragedies of Racine. I have the greatest admiration for Racine, but I admit that to read his plays one after the other requires a certain effort in a person who is ill. Since then I have made a point of travelling with a large sack full of books for every possible originator and every mood. There are books of all kinds.Volumes of verse, novels, philosophical works, critical studies (they say books about books are useless, but they certainly make very pleasant reading), biographies, record there are books to read when you are ill and books to read when your brain inadequacy something to work at there are books that you have always wanted to read but in the hurry of life at planetary house have never found time to there ar e books to read at sea there are books for bad weather there are books chosen solely for their length, which you take along when you have o travel light, and there are the books you can read when you can read nothing else.(from W. nighrset Maugham) VIII. See how many authors and titles you can match For Whom the Bell Tolls Charlotte Bronte A Perfect outlander Charles Dickens Airport Walter Scott Sister Carrie Dan Brown Tom Sawyer Daphne du Maurier Pride and Prejudice Arthur Hailey Martin Eden Danielle Steel Of Human Bondage Ernest Hemingway Alice in Wonderland Mark match Ivanhoe Lewis Carroll Rebecca Jack London David Copperfield Theodore Dreiser Jane Eyre Somerset Maugham The Da Vinci Code Iris Murdock Black Prince Jane Austen IX. Read the text and agree or disagree with the statements belowAn English author once wrote Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed or digested. This quotation tells us how to read books of different kinds. Most travel books are to be tasted its enough to dip into them and read bits here and there. If you are fond of crime stories (A. Christie, G. Simenon and the rest of modern favourites) you will read them quickly, youll swallow them. And then there are books that youll read slowly and carefully. If a books on an important subject, and a subject youre interested in, youll want to chew and digest it.And youll want to weigh what the author says and consider his ideas and arguments. 1) Reading English fiction with a dictionary is very dull. 2) If the book is very exciting, you swallow it. 3) Nobody reads reference books for relaxation. 4) Reading thick science fiction books is tiring. 5) Very intelligent people dont read detective stories. 6) Non-fiction books cant be inspirational. 7) Travel books utilize you a lot of useful information. 8) Unfortunately many young people are not in the habit of reading poetry. 9) Great book-lovers never lend their books.10) Lots of people buy books for their bright and beautiful jack ets. 11) Bookcases and bookshelves are the best kind of decoration for a living-room. 12) Its of no use collecting book issues of magazines and newspapers. X. Read the following passage and say if you agree with the author Some people think that as more and more people have their TV-sets in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures?Why read a novel, when a play o television can tell you the same story with colourize picture and action? Why read the biographies of famous men and women, when an hour-long television programme can tell you all that you want to know? Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers and magazines sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and entertainment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are published today as paperback books, which are reasonably cheap.A paperback novel, for example, is almost always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or theatre, and you can keep a book forever and read it many times. Books in the home are a wonderful source of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a better dictionary. Every home should have an atlas of the world, with large clear maps. It might be expensive, but a good encyclopedia is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject.In addition, it is useful to have on your bookshelves other non-fiction books such as history books, science textbooks, cookery books, books about medicine and health, and so on It is equally important to have some fiction on your shelves, too. Then you can relax with a good story, or from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favourite poets. XI. Choose the b est answer according to the information in the passage 1. Which is easier to get the news from? a) newspaper b) the television 2.Which is usually quicker? a) to read a biography of a famous person b) to watch a TV programme about a famous person 3. Which is usually cheaper? a) a paperback b) an evening at the cinema 4. Which is usually cheaper? a) a paperback b) a hardcover book 5. Which is it most important to have in your home? a) non-fiction books, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias b) fiction, such as novels, short stories and books of poems c) a mixture of both good non-fiction and your favourite fiction XII. Discuss the following questions with your partners 1.Were your parents worried that you watched too frequently TV when you were younger? 2. Did you find TV more interesting than anything else when you were at school? 3. Programmes on what subject do you like most of all? 4. Can you learn all you want on TV? 5. Do you think you get more information from books or TV? 6. Is it easier for you to memorize facts watching TV or reading books? 7. What do you like more to read books or to watch TV? XIII. Different people enjoy reading for different reasons. You will read five people saying why they like reading novels.Which of them says that novels a) are good for improving language skills? b) make them forget their problems? c) add some adventure to their life? d) teach them how to act in certain situations? e) increase their knowledge of other cultures? Reading Novels Ricky Oh, I love novels, especially if they have a good plot. I started reading them when I was 12, encouraged by my parents who were hoping Id be a writer myself. As it happened, reading so much at an early age had an effect on my studies, my compositions were always very good And I still read at least one novel a week.My own life isnt terribly exciting, apart from my work, which is very interesting, nothing much happens. In the novels I read theres always a lot going on, lots of thrilli ng events, and I can share in the experiences and problems of the characters. Ella Well, I use to read only short stories. That changed when I moved to a new city and found myself in a job I didnt really enjoy. I would get back home at about 5p. m. , make some supper and sit down to read a novel for the rest of the evening. Many of them are pretty unbelievable stories, and not particularly well-written.Its not as if you can imagine yourself in any of those situations, but the thing is they take my mind off whatevers worrying me. Ive had long conversations about this with friends who think I should read better role staff, but I know what Im doing. Sally Why I like reading novels? I remember as an adolescent, I used to read novels just so as to see how my favourite characters solved their problems. I thought I could then apply that to my own problems And Im not ashamed to say thats still the case, thats what Im looking for in the novels I read, and thats my reason for reading them.I always choose novels that are in a clear style, because I find complicated language difficult. And also I like the stories to be about countries and cultures I know well, because then I can understand the characters better. Tom I think reading novels is helping me a great deal in my studies, and although I havent got much spare time, I always make a point of reading a couple of hours in the evening. Im in my last year at secondary school, and frankly, reading novels is an excellent way of learning how people live in other countries, how they communicate with each other, what problems they have.Thats why I prefer novels with characters who are true to life, not the ones who have impossible adventures. Im very lucky because my best friend also likes reading and we can often discuss what weve both read. Alex I like reading novels because they help me develop the ability to write myself. I used to have real problems in producing a good piece of writing. It wasnt that I lacked ideas, no, my teachers always said my compositions were interesting. But I couldnt get my tenses right. Thats where reading novels helped.I dont think you can learn much about other things from novels, because the situations are usually so unrealistic. Some people say thats OK, if your lifes boring, you need the excitement of fiction. Well, my lifes exciting enough, so thats not my problem. 1. Do you like to read novels? Why? 2. Do you think that reading makes a person intelligent? XIV. Comment on the following 1. A house looks gloomy and uncheerful without books. 2. If the book is worth reading it is worth buying. 3. Books and friends should be few and good.