Books are the Most Precious Fortune

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 not very glad to accept. He saw what I was thinking and said kindly: "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.

我的十歲生日即將到來，我很高興的想象我爸爸會給我什么樣的禮物。令我驚奇的是，父親給我一套的書，我并不是很開心。他看出我在想什么就和藹地說：“親愛的，記住書是世界上最寶貴的財富，我相信一旦你讀完第一本書，你就會急于讀第二本，第三本，第四本……”聽了我爸爸的話，我不得不試著閱讀一下。事情真的想他所說的那樣。書的確對我產生了深刻的影響。從那以后，書給我展開了一個新的、美好的世界。

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.

無論一個人是讀歷史書還是數學書，細細的讀還是快速的瀏覽。如果他真的關心閱讀，他會欣賞書的樂趣。經驗告訴我閱讀的歡樂在于尋找的過程，享受它并從中學習。
In the first place, you will be feeling excited when you find a good book which is suitable for yourself. Reading is something of a paradox. 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, superstition. People who are taken up by such books might be misled and dispirited. Therefore, choosing an appropriate book not only improves your ability to discriminate and leads you to read effectively, but also gives you the fulfillment of knowing a good book.

首先，當你找到一本適合你自己的書時你會很興奮。閱讀是一種駁論。書是很有意義的。但事實上，在某種意義上他們中的許多是無用的。特別是色情暴力、迷信的書。這樣的書可能會使人們被誤導和意志消沉。因此,選擇一本合適的書不僅能提高你的區別能力、引導你有效率的閱讀，而且還讓你知道一本好書。

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 marvels of engineering are all opened to our wonder and appreciation. Moreover, it really builds up a full comprehension of love, hatred, happiness and sorrows in our heart. We are able to experience various kinds of lives---what more is there to desire than that?

其次,閱讀將提供取之不盡的精神營養。好的書籍教我們、幫助我們做的更好。他們是我們的真正的伴侶。他們都是有益的和鼓舞人心的。通過閱讀到大自然的美、藝術的奇跡、建筑的宏偉、和驚人的工程都讓我們感到驚奇和感激。此外，它真的我們的心建立起一個完全理解的愛、恨、開心和痛苦。我們可以體驗各種各樣的生活————更有什么更渴望的事嗎?

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 beset us. Gradually, we come to know how to be a real person and how to observe the world.

第三，讀完一本書后來學習書中的知識是富有成效的。書是我們的朋友，他們帶我們去世界上所有的國家，他們告訴我們所有年齡段的故事，他們教給我們真理。讀書，我們可以學到無數我們不知道的事情，知道發在過去的事情以及未來將要發生的事情以及這個困擾著我們急需解決的問題。漸漸地，我們開始了解到如何成為一個真正的人，如何觀察世界。

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.

總之,人類在積累知識中取得了非凡的進步。寫作的發明讓知識不僅可以溝通而且也可以存儲。現在，我很幸運成為4EW的會員，我有信心我會好好的利用我的4EW.向它學習它，永遠感受閱讀的樂趣。