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What kind of books do you prefer? Make sure you read good books because a man may usually be known by the books he reads. 你喜欢什么类型的书？要读好书，因为通常看一个人读什么书就可以知道他的为人。
A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps;for there is a companionship of books as well as of men; and one should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men.①
A good book may be among the best of friends. It is the same today that it always was, and it will never change. It is the most patient and cheerful of companions. It does not turn its back upon us in times of adversity or distress. It always receives us with the same kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age.②
Men ofte discover their affini to each other by the mutual love they have for a book just as two persons sometimes discover a friend by the admiration which both entertain for a third. Ther is an old proverb, “Love me, love my dog.” But there is more wisdom in this, “Love me, love my book.”Th book is a truer and higher bond of union. Men can think, feel, and sympathize with each other through their favorite author. The live in him together, and he in them.
A good book is ofte the best urn of a life enshrining the best that life could think out;for the world of a man’s life is, for the most part, but the world of his thoughts.③ Thu the best books are treasuries of good words, the golden thoughts, which, remembered and cherished,become our constant companions and comforters.
Books possess an essence of immortality. They are by far the most lasting products of human effort Temples and statues decay , but books survive. Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they firs passed through their author’s minds, ages ago.④ What was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed page. Th only effec of time has been to sif out the bad products; for nothing in literature can long survive but what is really good.
Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived.⑤ We hear what they said and did; we see them as if they were really alive; we sympathize with them, enjoy with them, grieve with them; their experience becomes ours, and we feel as if we were in a measure actors with them in the scenes which they describe.
Th great and good do not die, even in this world. Embalmed in books, their spirits walk abroad. Th book is a living voice. It is an intellect to which on still listens.
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① A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps;
for there is a companionship of books as well as of men; and one should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men. 通常看一个人读些什么书就可知道他的为人，就像看他同什么人交往就可知道他的为人一样，因为有人以人为伴，也有人以书为伴。无论是书友还是朋友，我们都应该以最好的为伴。
② It always receives us with the same kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age. 它对我们总是一如既往的亲切；在我们年轻时，好书能陶冶我们的性情，增长我们的知识，到我们年老时，它又给我们以慰藉和勉励。
③ A good book is ofte the best urn of a life enshrining the best that life could think out; for the world of a man’s life is, for the most part, but the world of his thoughts. 好书常如最精美的宝器，珍藏着人生的思想的精华，因为人生的境界主要就在于其思想的境界。
④ Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author’s minds, ages ago. 对于伟大的思想来说，时间是无关紧要的，多年前初次闪现于作者脑海的伟大思想今日依然鲜活无比。
⑤ Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived. 书籍介绍我们与最优秀的人为伍，使我们置身于历代伟人巨匠之间。
1. Where can we probably fin this passage?
A. In a novel.B. In a science book.
C. In a travel guide.D. In a magazine.
2. Th writer wrote this essay in order to.
A. persuade us to make friends with great people
B. introduce us some good books
C. inspire us to make friends with good books
D. instruct us how to fin good books
3. Why does the author say “A good book may be among the best of friend”?
A. A book will never change.B. A book is patient and cheerful.
C. A book always receives us.D. All of the above.
4. Good books will never die, so what’s the effec of time to them?
A. To make great thoughts freshly.
B. To describe good books vividly.
C. To separate good books from bad ones.
D. To cherish good words constantly.
5. How do books bring us into the presence of the greatest minds?
Books are the ladder of human progress. Do you have any good books to introduce and why? First talk about it with your partners, then write it down.