Describe a book you like. You should say:
What book it was
What the book was about Why you read it
What you learned from this book
And explain why you would like to read it again.
Sample：
I like reading biographies because we could always learn a lot from other people's life, especially famous and successful ones. I recently read the biography of Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Inc. I think it's an inspiring book and I would like to read it again when I have time.
The book started with Steve's life as an unborn baby. Actually his life wasn't very smooth because his biological parents gave him up and a nice couple adopted him. As a young man, he was full of energy and also very rebellious. He quit college and started his own company in the garage. It was hard to
imagine how bad the workingcondition must be, but because of his dream and hard work, eventually his company became successful and influential all over the world.
However, the book didn't stop here. It also talked about how Steve was driven away by his own company and how he started other companies and eventually went back to Apple Company and made it even more successful.I think I've learned a lot through this book. Although Steve didn't live a long life, he really impacted the world and had great contribution to the computer industry. I think this biography is a must keep one and I would recommend it to my friends in the future.
Sample2:
The kind of book I like most is Chicken Soup for the Soul, a series of books released since June 28, 1993, by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. The books, usually featuring a collection of short and dense inspirational stories and motivational essays, became a holiday favorite by the end of December that year in America. There are now over 100 million copies in print and in 54 languages worldwide. I like the book, for it helped me in improving my writing and pronunciation.
Studying in university, I read a lot, especially novels, the reading of which benefited me a lot in my reading speed and vocabulary accumulation. In spite of that, I was afraid of writing and there were many mistakes in my composition. So I turned to my teacher, Mr. Li, for help. Hearing my problem, Mr. Li gave me a book, Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul, suggesting me to read a story everyday out loudly, and to retell the story to him after his class. I had no difficulty in understanding the article, but I was not good at reading aloud. Gradually, I become more fluent in reading and got better in pronunciation, what's more, I made up sentences by imitating the sentences I read in the book. My writing improved unexpectedly. Later I read out the books of the series on reserve in school library.
Whenever I go to bookstores and libraries here in Hangzhou, I will spare some time to look at some stories in those books, some I have read before, some are newly published. I am always deeply touched by the stories and they remind me of thehappy moments of my
schooling.
PART 3： Discussion topics:
1. Can you give some examples of different types of books and the reasons why people read them?
Yes, of course. There're books for studying and entertaining. There're many different kinds of books, such as novels, documentaries, science fiction, biographies, and history books. Some people reading books for fun and others want to know more about the world and their professions.
2. Can you give some reasons why people read different things?
Yeah, people have different interests and purposes. For example, some girls are interested in love stories, so they might read more novels about
that, but for some boys, they want to learn something about the world history, so they'll choose this kind of book. If a doctor wants to improve his profession, medical books will be his first choice.
3. How is reading a book on the internet different to reading an ordinary book?
I always feel reading on the screen is bad to our eyes. And it's just not as convenient as reading paper books. You can fold your books to whatever waysbut not your laptop. Also, I guess a lot of people just got used to reading actual books, they may feel reading from the screen is a little unreal and weird.
4. What's the influence of the internet on book publishing?
Well, the advent of the internet does exert tremendous influence on the book publishing industry. For example, in many cases, people may like to obtain information on the internet, rather than read books, and so the decrease in demands for books will surely lead to the decline in book publishing.Also, to cater to the readers, publishing companies may also publish electronic books. In this way, the influence is great.
5. Do you need to choose carefully of the information you get online?
Well, it's a must. The internet provides us with so much freedom that almost anyone can put forward their opinions, by which some may be misleading, profit-oriented, cheating, eye-catching, or truly informative. To seek out the one we are really in need, a picky eye is surely needed.
6. What books do old people and young people read?
Well, the old and the young do have some difference in their choices of reading material. For instance, the old may like to read newspapers to keep up with the time, while the young may like to know about this from the articles on the internet. Also, the old may like to read something of their ages, to remind them of the past years, while the young may like to read more about fashion, about cartoons, about the future life.
7. Do you think government should build free libraries?
Yeah, it's a good idea for the government to build free libraries. In this way, the government does not only show its service to the public when using the public money, and so improve its image and win support from the citizens, but also helps to create a cultural atmosphere and enhance the quality of the citizens.
8. Do you always trust the information from the internet?
Not really. The internet provides us with so much freedom that almost anyone can put forward their opinions, by which some may be misleading,profit-oriented, cheating, eye-catching, or truly informative. To seek out the one we are really in need, a picky eye is surely needed.
9. Are there any other sources to read besides paper book and electronic books? = What are other ways to obtain information besides reading books?
Thanks to the development of technology, now various ways are available for us to obtain information. For example, the TV reports, the radio programs, the internet broadcast, and even short messages on the mobile phones, all contribute to our knowing about the world.
10. What kinds of books did you read when you were a child?
Like many other children, I liked to read books about cartoon figures, about fairy tales, about heroic deeds, about detective stories. Reading theses kind of books left me a very happy childhood, and even now, the memory about my childhood is related to many stories about those books I read.
11. What do people in your age read now?
Well, it differs widely. Some people, especially girls, may like to read about fashion, shopping, travelling, or love stories, while boys, may like to read about sports, science fiction. And in some other cases, some people may just like to read books about their major, to help them further their career.
12. What books do children, adults, or old people read?
Well, these people may have a different preference in their choices of reading material. For example, children may like to read books about cartoon figures, about fairy tales, about heroic deeds, about detective stories. The old may like to read newspapers to keep up with the time, or they may read something of their ages, to remind them of the past years. In comparison, the adults, having a strong purpose in their reading, may choose to read books to get information for their careers, to help them earn money, or solve their problems.
13. Is it illegal to download things from the internet?
Well, it depends. When someone upload the document onto the internet, if their purpose is to share their interest with others for free, downloading these kinds of things is surely acceptable. However, when others upload something, when they have a patent for their work and just hope to let more people know about their products, decoding those things and download freely is illegal.
14. What's the advantage and disadvantage of reading online?
Reading online, of course, has many advantages, such as the wide choice of reading material, the free access to the latest updated information, and the share of opinions of many other readers of the same content. However, reading online also has its disadvantages. For example, some free information online is misleading, too much exposure to thecomputer screen is harmful to our health, and it isinconvenient to continue reading when we have no access to the internet.
15. Which way do you think people prefer, reading actual books or electronic books?
To be frank, it's hard to say for sure. Some people like to read actual books because in their minds, reading in this way is quite convenient, and they can make notes and underline the highlights when reading. However, others may like to read electronic books, because with the huge volume of their gadgets, they may take a lot of electronic books with them, and so enable them to read for what they like at anytime and anywhere.
16. How old did you start reading?
Well, I am now in my twenties, so it is really something far away from my memory. I think I may start reading at 3 or 4 years old, when I started my
education in the kindergarten. I think the reading later in my childhood did bring me great happiness.
17. Do you think old people will read online or hold a book?
Generally, I think the old may like to hold a book, because they may not be used to those new things, including reading online. However, things are changingalong with the fast change of the world. Now it seems more and more old people are beginning to learn to use the internet, and read on the internet.
18. Do girls and boys read different kinds of books?
Yeah. Because of their different interests in life, girls and boys may have some differences in their choices or reading material. For example, more boys than girls like to read books about sports, detective stories, career planning and science fiction, while more girls than boys like to read books about love stories, fashion, and superstars.
19. Is it important to read extensively?
Yes, I think so. Reading is one of the important ways for us to acquire knowledge. Nowadays, the society requires us to know many things in order to be more competitive. If we read extensively, we'll definitely know more about our life and the world, which will be helpful for our future development. However, reading is time consuming, so we have to choose the most suitable materials to read so that we won't waste our time on something that's not helpful to us.
20. Why do you think Harry potter series are successful?
Basically, I think Harry potter series are very well written novels. I read most of the volumes and I like them a lot. Successful novels all share something in common. They should have good story lines and be attractive enough to the targeted audience. Harry potter is targeted to young children and teenagers. As a matter of fact, these children are curious and loveadventures and magic. Harry potter series can definitely satisfy children's need for these.