Unit 6 Free Time Activities 闲暇活动 passage (3/4)

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But in calm and unbiased way we find the most of ourselves, our strength, our weakness, our limitations, our opinions, our tastes, our harmonies and discords, our poetic and prosaic qualities, in books. We form many of our opinions from our favorite books. The author whom we prefer is our most potent teacher. We look at the world through his eyes. If we habitually read books that are elevating in tone, pure in style, sound in reasoning, and keen in insight, our minds develop the same characteristics. The best books are those which stir us up most and make us the most determined to do something and be something ourselves. Libraries are no longer a luxury, but a necessity. A home without books and periodicals and newspapers is like a house without windows. Children learn to read by being in the midst of books, they unconsciously absorb knowledge by handling them. No family can now afford to be without good reading.