In today’s knowledge-exploiting world, we no longer want for things to see, hear, read or learn as our ancestors did . Indeed, so many things are emerging everyday, but most of which just flash past, disappear, and are never remembered again. And the same can be said of books. If you enter any bookstores or libraries, you will find it more and more difficult to choose what you want to buy or read, each book on the shelves seeming to be waving towards you and trying to convince you that he is a better choice. Gradually, I incline to be a little conservative when confronting the embarrassment and hesitation on choosing books, that is to pick up a classic-only attitude. If a book can preserve itself for more than a century, there must be some reasons to go through it . On the contrary, a best-seller today may have a life for no more than a decade. I don’t think someone can be more intelligent or wiser than history itself, which thus may be a better guide for what should read or whom we should listen to. Yet this may take the risk of missing the original rising of contemporary classics, I still think it deserved considering another risk of contributing my time to something worthless or even bad. Forgive me ,my dear teacher, for saying so much as irrelevant to the required “book report”. In fact, I am always swimming in books as you kindly expected. And the above feeling is just my little happy and also miserable story between me and books.

Well, back to the theme, the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is here what I would like to reflect on, which demonstrates my principles as for choosing books -----“the older, the better”.

Benjamin Franklin ,as we all have already known, was a most successful thinker, politician, diplomat, scientist and entrepreneur in American history. In his Autobiography, which was originally written by him to his son as an education for all his posterities, Franklin showed all of us how he emerged from poverty and obscurity to a state of affluence and reputation all over the world. He was born in a soap-boiling family and was bred a soap-boiler by his father and brother all through his childhood. Unlike his brothers ,sisters and most of other contemporaries, Franklin’s curiosity was not in the career his family had designed for him. In fact , like any children, he interested himself in so many things ,most in reading. Many who have read his Autobiography will say, that what separated him from any others was reading and thinking, this answer being not enough to satisfy myself . Personally, I concluded that it was his constant unsatisfaction with contemporary being and pursuit of truth that fundamentally led to his great success: It was for this reason that he made use of all his leisure time to read books of history, philosophy, literature, natural science and economics etc., and to learn by himself French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Latin language; it was for this reason that he escaped home to Philadelphia to make his own living before adulthood and finally set up his own printing-house; it was for this that he could list thirteen virtues as a lifelong pursuit to continually perfect himself when he was just twenty-three years old; it was for this reason that he established so many organizations such as Junto , proposed so many reforms of the city and made so many inventions which all improved people’s living standards; and most importantly, it was for this reason that he , along with such great figures as George Washington and Thomas Jerferson, led the Americans through the Independence Revolution and laid the foundation of prosperity for America.

Great books won’t fade away with time passing by. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin has long been a best-seller in the world’s publishing history for its over 200-year existence, during which it has influenced countless people and helped them to change their life road forever. Maybe that is where the force of classics lies, so old ,so strong……

Written by Yangxiaoqiang

 

第二篇：英文读书报告《傲慢与偏见》

A Reading Report of Pride and Prejudice

Class 7 ,20xx

BOOK INTRODUCTION

Pride and Prejudice is one of the representative works of Jane Austen, first published in 1813. It's very popular among modern readers, continuing near the top of lists of most loved books and has been produced into movie form. The latest movie version of 20xx won over 100 million booking office.

The author ,Jane Austen，English writer, was the seventh of eight children and she was born in the village of Steventon in Hampshire in 1775 and died in 1817. Jane Austen accept her education at home and begin to write at her early age. Austen was widely read in her lifetime,and wrote many novels.In 1793,Jane Austen began to write Elinor and Marianne,a novel later reworked into Sense and Sensibility.Three years later,she wrote first Impressions,which was an early version of her masterpiece Pride and Prejudice.In 1797,she wrote Susan, later it become Northanger Abbey. In 1811, she wrote Mansfield Park.She wrote Emma in 1814 and Persuasion in 1816. Clarity, economy, skillful, use of dialogue and tight plotting are the main features of Jane Austen's style.There is always a neat, round and rather satisfying completeness to her plots. Besides, she is possessed of a neat humor and a satirical touch.

Although the most urgent preoccupation of her bright, young heroines is courtship and finally marriage, Austen herself never married. Virginia Woolf called Austen "the most perfect artist among women."

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Pride and Prejudice has been considered the most important and famous novel among all her works.

The narrative begin with Mr Bingley, a wealthy, charming and social young man moving into Netherfield house in the neighborhood of the Bennet family which has five marriageable daughters. The first scene is at a ball after Mr Bingley's arriving.At ball the daughters are introduced to the new comers. Mr Bingley singles out Elizabeth's elder sister, Jane, for particular attention, and it soon becomes apparent that they have formed an attachment to each other.However,Mr Bingley's friend, Mr Darcy makes a less favorable first impression by appearing proud and condescendin. Especially, Jane really get a revolting feeling on him. Mrs bannet want Jane to pay a visit to Mr Bingley's sister,in order to increase come-and-go. Unfortunately, Jane is caught in a heavy downpour, catches cold, and is forced to stay at Netherfield for several days. Elizabeth arrives to nurse.Every coin has two sides,all this unfortunate create an opportunity for the two sisters to get closer to two man. The relationship between Mr Bingley and Jane has been improved,while that of Jane and Mr Darcy make no difference as before.

Latter, Mr Collins, a clergyman, pays a visit to the Bennets to choose a wife from among the Bennet sisters and Elizabeth has been singled out. Mr Collins proposes marriage to Elizabeth, who refuses him, much to her mother's distress, because she dislikes his greasiness for the upper class. Mr Collins recovers and promptly becomes engaged to Elizabeth's close friend Charlotte, a homely woman with few prospects. Elizabeth forms an acquaintance with Mr Wickham, a militia officer who claims to have been very seriously mistreated by Mr Darcy, despite having been a ward of Mr Darcy's father. Therefore Elizaberth's attraction to Mr Wickham, adds fuel to her dislike of Mr Darcy. Moreover, Mr Bingley leave for London without saying farewell to the Bannets and Elizabeth is convinced that Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley's sister have conspired to separate him from Jane.Jane is heart-broken and Elizaberth becomes more dislike Mr Darcy.

In the spring, Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr Collins in Kent. Elizabeth and her hosts are frequently invited to Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr Collins sponsor as well as Darcy's aunt. Darcy come across Elizaberth again and finds himself attracted to Elizabeth since their first meet and impetuously proposes to her. However, Elizaberth has just

learned of Darcy's role in separating Mr Bingley from Jane from his she charges him with destroying her sister's happiness, with treating Mr Wickham disgracefully, and with having conducted himself towards her in an ungentleman behavior. So Mr Darcy is rejected. Mr Darcy, shocked, ultimately responds in a gentleman way with a letter giving a good account of (most of) his actions Elizabeth later came to acknowledge the truth of Darcy's assertions. The prejudice of Elizaberth against Darcy's pride disappeared.

Turning point Some months later, Elizabeth and her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner visit Pemberley, Darcy's estate, during his left . He returns unexpectedly, and he treats the Gardiners with great civility; he introduces Elizabeth to his sister, and Elizabeth begins to realise her attraction to him.Their reacquaintance is cut short. Then Lydia, Elizabeth's sister, has run away to elope with Mr Wickham.Mr Darcy take the responsibility to find the couple and to negotiate their marriage—at great expense to himself. Elizabeth is shocked but does not dwell further on the topic due to Mr Bingley's return and subsequent proposal to Jane, who immediately accepts.

However, Lady Catherine de Bourgh later bursts in on Longbourn, intending to thwart local rumour, she warns Elizabeth against marrying Mr Darcy. Elizabeth refuses her demands. Disgusted, Lady

Catherine leaves and drops by to inform her nephew on Elizabeth's abominable behaviour. However, this lends hope to Darcy that Elizabeth's opinion of him may have changed. He travels to Longbourn and proposes again; and now Elizabeth accepts.

Four youth finally find their true love and marry them. The narrative meets the happy ending.

Pride and Prejudice are two common weak points usually seen in our daily life.Humans are easily be trapped by the appearance of the thing . Different classes with the discrepancy of wealth have their social disease-the upper class with good wealth sometimes behave indifferent to the poor and pride of themselves,while the poor form a prejudice to the upper class in order to protect their self -esteems.