Are you looking for a good book to read? Do you need information about universities in the United States? Do you want to know the correct price of a used car? Would you like to read newspapers and magazines from different countries? Do you need a quiet place to study? Did you answer "yes" to any of these questions? Then you should visit "the information place" -- your local library.

     A library is more than just a place where books are stored. A library is a source of information. That information may come from books (fiction, nonfiction, or reference books), from periodicals (newspapers, magazines, and journals), from audio-visual material (records, cassettes microfilm, video tapes, etc.) or even from a computer terminal.

     Students go to libraries to study and to write research papers. The periodicals room of a university library is where foreign students often find newspapers and magazines from their countries. In the reference room, they can find catalogs from many universities in the U.S. and other countries. If you are buying a used car, the reference librarian can show you the Blue Book, which lists the prices of new and used cars. People who need information in a burry can telephone the reference librarian at many libraries.

     There are as many different library services as there are types of people who use them. Children's libraries provide materials for young readers. They sometimes have storytellers who read stories to groups of children, and a few have computers for the children to play with. Music lovers can listen to recordings of their favorite musicians in music libraries. Some libraries have painting and sculpture exhibits, and most libraries offer special services for blind people, such as books in Braille, "talking" books, and Kurzweil Reading Machines.

     Libraries provide entertainment as well as information. Novels and short stories from a library's fiction collection are a good source of enjoyable reading practice. Public libraries often sponsor lectures on topics of interest to members of the community, and a few even offer concerts and films. No matter what your interests are, you will find that a library can be a great place to enjoy yourself while you learn.

Vocabulary:

periodicals 期刊

audio-visual material 视听材料

Reading comprehension:

  1. What is another name for a library?____

[A]  A bookstore.

[B]  The periodicals room.

[C]  A reference librarian.

[D]  The information place.

  2. In the reference room of the library you can find ____.

[A]  the fiction collection

[B]  newspapers and magazines

[C]  university catalogs

[D]  materials for young readers

  3. Which of the following is NOT an example of a library service?____

[A]  Used cars.

[B]  Art exhibits.

[C]  Children's storytellers.

[D]  Kurzweil Reading Machines.

 4. "A library can be a great place to enjoy yourself while you learn." This means you can ____in a library.

[A]  talk and laugh as much as you want

[B]  find entertainment and information

[C]  play with computers

[D]  have a lot of rooms to work in

  5. What is the main idea of the whole text? Choose the BEST answer.____

[A]  There are many kinds of libraries.

[B]  A library is a place where books are stored.

[C]  Libraries provide entertainment.

[D]  Libraries offer many different services.

Key: 1-5 DCABD

Background information：

据媒体报道，中国人年均读书0.7本，与韩国的人均7本，日本的40本，俄罗斯的55本相比，中国人的阅读量少得可怜。

在这个世界上有两个国家的人最爱读书，一个是以色列，另一个是匈牙利。以色列人均每年读书64本，而以色列的犹太人更甚，占全国人口80%以上的犹太人人均每年读书达68本之多。

犹太人有个习俗，当孩子出生时，母亲就会翻开《圣经》，滴上一点蜂蜜，让小孩去舔《圣经》上的蜂蜜，通过这一舔，让孩子对书产生美好的第一印象：书是甜的。当孩子稍稍董事时，几乎每一个母亲都会问这样一个问题：“假如有一天你家里突然起火，你首先会抢救什么？”当孩子回答是钱或钻石时，母亲会严肃地告诉他：“这些都不重要，你首先应该抢救的是书！书里藏着的是智慧，这要比钱或钻石贵重得多，而智慧是任何人都抢不走的。”因而犹太人是世界上唯一一个没有文盲的民族，就连犹太人的乞丐也是离不开书的，即使在乞讨，他们的身边总会带着每天必读的书，更别说衣食无忧的人了。

在犹太人眼里，爱好读书看报不仅是一种习惯，更是人所具有的一种美德。在以色列书刊价格非常昂贵，每本书的售价在20美元以上，每份报纸也在6美元以上，但普通以色列人对购买图书和订阅报刊都十分慷慨。这个仅有500万人口的国家，持有借书证的就有100多万人，是全世界人均拥有图书最多的国家。

这里说一个最典型的例子，“安息日”是以色列犹太人一个非常重要的宗教活动日，在“安息日”所有的犹太人都要停止所有商业和娱乐活动，商店、饭店、娱乐等场所都得关门停业，公共汽车要停运，就连航空公司的班机都要停飞，人们只能待在家中“安息”祈祷。

但有一件事是特许的，那就是全国所有的书店都可以开门营业。而这一天光顾书店的人也最多，大家都在这里静悄悄地读书。

而另一个国家匈牙利，它的国土面积和人口都不足中国的百分之一，但却拥有近两万家图书馆，平均每500人就有一座图书馆，而我国平均45.9万人才拥有一所图书馆。匈牙利平均每人每年购书20本，比同地区的西欧人要多得多，而我国上世纪90年代统计，平均每人每年购书只有5本，现在还在下降。

匈牙利也是世界上读书风气最浓的国家，常年读书的人数达500万以上，占人口的1/4还多。知识就是力量，知识就是财富。一个崇尚读书学习的国家，当然会得到丰厚的回报。以色列人口稀少，但人才济济。建国时间虽短，但诺贝尔奖获得者就有8个，而诺贝尔获奖者中犹太血统的人占18.5%。

以色列环境恶劣，国土大部分是沙漠，像巴勒斯坦等阿拉伯国家的粮食不够吃，还要以石油换食品，而以色列却把自己的国土变成了绿洲，而且生产的粮食不但自己吃不完，还源源不断地出口到其他国家。他们凭着聪明和智慧，创造出惊人的物质和精神财富。

而匈牙利，诺贝尔奖得主就有14位，涉及物理、化学、医学、经济、文学、和平等众多领域，若按人口比例计算，匈牙利是当之无愧的“诺奖大国”。他们的发明也非常多，可谓数不胜数，既有火柴、圆珠笔这样的小物件，也有电话交换器、变压器、汽化器、电视显像管这样的尖端产品。