The popular TV program Readers has prompted more people in China to practice reading aloud in booths(亭) set up in big cities across the country.

As the latest TV show to help peopleˈs love for literature recover, CCTV program Readers invites people from all walks of life to read aloud their favorite poems, essays and books, or even personal letters they wrote to their loved ones. Just as the weekly show has been well-received, its reading booths, equipped with professional recording devices and cameras, have become instant hits.

A crowd of more than 200 people were pictured lining up outside the Shanghai Library at 11 am on March 4 – the first day of the boothˈs opening to the public in Shanghai. The deadline for registrations was brought forward to 2 pm instead of the scheduled 5:30 pm, as the number of waiting readers continued to grow. Some waited more than nine hours for a try-out in the booth, according to library management.

"There is an old photo in the late 1970s capturing people lining up outside the Shanghai Library before it opens. If that was a spring of reading in Shanghai, now I think another spring has arrived again," library manager Zhou Deming, told the Shanghai-based The Paper.

The reading booth is the only one of its kind in the city of economic center at the moment, but more are expected to be put into use in the coming months, according to the libraryˈs website.

The Readers program has also led to booths in other cities including Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Xiˈan to appeal to more people to read and share their life stories.

With the recent boom of culture-themed TV shows such as Readers and Chinese Poetry Competition, some are optimistic that this will help the country love literature and reading again in general.

Many years ago, three soldiers, hungry and tired of battle, arrived at a small village. The villagers, suffering a poor harvest and years of war, quickly   (1)  the food they owned. They met the three at the village square.   (2)   about the lack of food.

The first soldier then approached the village elders, "Your tired fields have left you   (3)   to share, so we shall share what we have: the  (4)   of how to make soup from   (5)   ."

Naturally the villagers became   (6)   and soon a fire was put to the village's greatest pot as the soldiers carefully   (7)   three stones. "Now this will be a fine soup," said the second soldier,"   (8)   some salt and parsley(西芹) would make it more wonderful!"A woman   (9)   , crying "What luck! I remember I've got some at home!" Off she ran,    (10)   with a handful of parsley. As the pot boiled on, carrots, beef and cream had soon   (11)  their way into the pot before everyone set out to   (12)   .

The soldiers ate and danced and sang well into the night,   (13)   by the meal and their  (14)   friends. The next morning, they awoke to  (15)   the entire village standing before them with their best bread and cheese. "You have given us the greatest    (16)   ," said an elder,"and we shall never forget it. "The third soldier turned to the    (17)   and said,"There is no secret but one thing is   (18)   : it is only by   (19)   that we may make a feast. "And off the   (20)  wandered, down the road to their next destination.

        My kids and I were heading into the supermarket over the weekend. On the way ,we spotted a man holding a piece of paper that said, “   (1)    my job. Family to Feed.”

      At this store, a    (2)   like this is not normal. My 10-year-old noticed him and made a      (3)   on how bad it must be to have to stand    (4)   in the cold wind.

       In the store, I asked each of my kids to     (5)    something they thought our “friend” there would    (6)     . They got apples, a sandwich and a bottle of juice. Then my 17-year-old suggested giving him a     (7)   . I thought about it. We were     (8)      on cash ourselves, but… well, sometimes   (9)   from our need instead of our abundance is   (10)    what we need to do! All the kids   (11)    something they could do away with for the week.

       When we handed him the bag of    (12)   , he lit up and thanked us with   (13)     eyes. When I handed him the gift card, saying he could use it for    (14)    his family might need, he burst into tears.

         This has been a wonderful      (15)    for our family. For days the kids have been looking for others we can     (16)    ! Things would have played out so    (17)   if I had simply said, “No, we really don’t have   (18)   to give more.” Stepping out not only helped a brother in   (19)    , it also gave my kids the     (20)    taste of helping others. It’ll go a long way with them.

When my kids were small, I started a tradition in our house of giving eight gifts over the course of the eight days of Hanukkah(光明节). I liked the idea of   (1)   a candle every night and giving my children a gift to unwrap to  (2)  . It was easy to go into a toy store and pick up something   (3)   less than $10 each, or even $1 each (at the Dollar Store). My children didn't ask for anything much in particular and they   (4)   whatever they got.

    As the years progressed, I  (5)   the tradition of eight gifts for each night of Hanukkah.

    But this year, Hanukkah   (6)   something else. My special -needs son decided that he wanted to  (7)   a computer, and it was up to me to buy all the parts of it. When I wouldn't   (8)   that, he decided he wanted a PlayStation. Then Amazon gift cards. Then money. And it became clear that it wasn't going to happen, he got   (9)  .

    I keep   (10)   him that Hanukkah isn't about greed or materialism. It's about the miracle of an oil lamp that   (11)   for eight days. It's about being   (12)  of our heritage. It's about freedom.

    But he   (13)  . I know deep down that his obsessions(迷恋) are out of his  (14)   , and definitely out of mine. Having a special -needs child is as  (15)   as it gets. Some days are better than others and not all holidays  (16)  the way I hope. But despite his unrealistic requests, he's a(n)   (17)   child who is showing me the true meaning of life.

    And as we enter a new year and light the  (18)   approaching the time, I welcome his differences  (19)   I learn how to turn negative requests into  (20)  ones.

Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a famous concert. After they were seated, the mother       (1)       a friend and walked over to greet her. Seizing the        (2)       to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy got up and explored his way       (3)       a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE（禁止进入）”. When the lights became less bright and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her     (4)      and discovered that the child was missing.

Suddenly, the curtains      (5)      and the lights focused on the stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard,    (6)       Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

At that moment, the great piano master, Paderewski,     (7)       on the stage, quickly went to the piano and     (8)      in the boy’s ear, “Don’t     (9)      Keep playing.”

   Then, leaning(倾斜) over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began    (10)        in a bass (低音的) part. Soon his right arm reached       (11)        to the other side of the child and he added a beautiful piece of music.     (12)      , the old master and the boy     (13)       a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative      (14)       

   That’s the way it is in life.     (15)      we can complete on our own is    (16)        noteworthy(值得注目的). We try our best, but the    (17)      aren’t exactly graceful or flowing music.    (18)       when we put our trust in the hands of greater power, our life can be truly beautiful.

The next time you set     (19)       to create great performances, listen carefully. You can hear the   (20)   of the master whispering in your ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”

I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled (贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.

War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.

The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled (爬) under her covers, sobbing. Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart.

Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t notice Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me, ‘Thanks.’

Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.

 A Heroic Driver

Larry works with Transport Drivers. Inc. One morning in 2009. Larry was   (1)   along 165 north after delivering to one of his   (2)  . suddenly, he saw a car with its bright lights on.   (3)   he got closer, he found   (4)   vehicle upside down on the road. One more look and he noticed   (5)   shooting out from under the   (6)   vehicle. Larry pulled over, set the brake and   (7)   the fire extinguisher (灭火器). Two good bursts from the extinguisher and the fire was put out.

The man who had his bright lights on   (8)   and told Larry he had   (9)   an emergency call. They   (10)   heard a woman’s voice coming from the wrecked (毁坏的) vehicle.   (11)   the vehicle, they saw that a woman was trying to get out of the broken window. They told her to stay   (12)   until the emergency personnel arrived,   (13)   she thought the car was going to   (14)  . Larry told her that he had already put out the fire and she should not move   (15)   she injured her neck.

Once fire and emergency people arrive, Larry and the other man   (16)   and let them go to work. Then, Larry asked the   (17)   if he was needed or   (18)   to go. They let him and the other man go.

One thing is   (19)  —Larry went above and beyond the call of duty by getting so close to the burning vehicle! His   (20)   most likely saved the woman’s life.

One day, while we were visiting my parents on a farm in late summer, Dad mentioned heˈd always wanted a Crimson King Maple Tree for the yard. Mom agreed that the trees were  (1)  

Like many other parents, mine were hard to   (2)  for, so I figured this was a great opportunity to get them something theyˈd  (3)  . I also thought two would be even better. I checked the  (4)  at work and decided it was a bit more than I could  (5)  —— but all of my siblings(兄弟姊妹) agreed to give some money to buy the trees.

In northern Ohio, you donˈt plant maple trees at Christmas, so we decided to  (6)  Mom and Dad with a special Christmas in October before the ground  (7)  . We asked my aunt if sheˈd help us with the"  (8)  ",and she called my parents  (9)  to say she was coming for a Sunday visit. Then my sisters and sisters-in-law went into  (10)  planning a big holiday turkey dinner.

On the  (11)  Sunday, we all met at my house and  (12)  the trees into a truck. I  (13)  as Santa Claus. When we arrived at my parentsˈ house, Dad was  (14)  something was wrong first. He and Mom were amazed when we told them  (15)  we were there.

When Christmas  (16)  , of course, we couldnˈt go to our parentsˈ house empty-handed, so Mom and Dad got    (17)  presents that year. Almost half a century later, I  (18)  drive by the old farm and smile when I see those big, handsome  (19)  and remember giving a special  (20)  to special people at Christmas in October.

Some people collect stamps. Other people collect works of art or musical instruments. But a man in the American state of Maryland collects secrets.

For the past 10 years, people have been sending Frank Warren postcards and other objects with secrets written on them. He now has a million secrets. “It’s a drawing of a lift. And the secret says: ‘I feel guilty when I take lifts for one floor, so I limp(跛行) when I get out.’” Frank said.

Ten years ago, Mr. Warren created an art project called PostSecret. People then began to send him postcards, other objects and emails telling their secrets. Every Sunday, he chooses 10 secrets and puts them on the website.

Mr. Warren says he created PostSecret so people could share their secrets in a safe place. “I was struggling with secrets in my own life. And it was by creating this safe place where others could share their secrets with me, I think that space was something I needed just as much as they did.”

He has published six books full of the secrets whichpeople have shared with him. One secret in each book is his. Eric Perry delivers mail for the U.S. Postal Service. He has brought thousands of secrets to Frank’s home over the past three years. “I have a couple of the books that Frank’s given me and I’ve read them all and my family has read them all and it’s wild!”

The project itself was once one of Frank’s secrets. His wife Jan didn’t know exactly what he was doing until the first book was published. The publisher told him that the address was going to be on the book, and he refused. However, the address was there just because of the contract between them. Actually Warren wasn’t very happy about that.

Some people tell Frank of their secret desire to kill themselves. So he and the PostSecret community have raised more than $1 million to help prevent suicides（自杀）.