Passage Three
A good reader becomes sooner or later a good book buyer. The sooner, the better. Of course, we all read many more books than we have room for in our homes, even if we could afford to buy them all; yet the reading done in a book drawn from a library cannot be so pleasant at the moment nor so permanently useful as the reading done in our own copy.
A book which is worth reading is likely to be read more than once, and at each reading some idea or some statement makes such an impression that we wish to refer to it again. Some readers underline the page as they read, but I find that a page which I have underlined cannot give me so many fresh impressions as one which has no marks on it. If I come on a passage already marked up, I remember the thoughts and feelings which prompted those first markings, and I have them again, with no additions. But a clean page may always give me something new.
My habit is to make my own index of a book as I read. I put down the number of the page and a word or two to identify the thought or the fact which I get from it. On a second or third reading I am likely to double or triple the size of this index. This is my substitute for underlining. Most of the books in my library are so indexed that I can find quickly the passage which from time to time I wish to look up.
To use a book in this way, organizing it for continued usefulness year after year, we must, of course, do our reading in a copy which belongs to us. If a reader were wealthy enough, he could buy his books always in new and expensive edition, with only best paper and in the kind of binding he prefers. I never could afford such luxury, and I have known few serious and devoted readers who could. The books I buy are chiefly those of less expensive editions.
In the last few years a new convenience and economy has come to the American book—buying public: the twenty—five—cent book now widely available at newsstands, drugstores, etc. Bantam books, Signet books, and Pocket books together offer many hundred different titles of more or less respectable literary merits. These inexpensive books give hours of pleasurable reading with broadened knowledge and stimulated thought.
As I have grown older and the number of books on my shelves has increased, I appreciate editions which do not take much room. When I began reading years ago, I was proud of my small collection of two or three hundred books. By the time I owned a thousand, my little study held all it could. Now, in my late years, I must squeeze books into a city apartment. By careful and continuous selection I keep my library clown to ten thousand books. This would be, of course, too large a number for any but a professional scholar or writer. But my advice to a booklover is to weed out his library at least once every two years, giving, away the books which are not likely to be read again.
You can start a good library of your own with only a few dollars, buying good books in cheap editions or in finer editions secondhand. Buy at least a book a month. But never, never buy a book which you will not immediately read. A library bought only for looks is not literature, but interior decoration.
Questions 11—15 are based on Passage Three.
11. According to the author, it is ______.
A. important to read critically rather than memorize the facts
B. useful to underline some important ideas
C. beneficial to take notes while reading
D. good to leave no marks on pages
12. If you are fond of buying books, it is better to
A. buy those you like B. seek those which are popular
C. seek some new editions D. buy those which you can afford
13. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the author?
A. The more books you buy, the faster your library will grow.
B. The clearer the index, the more quickly you will find the passage you want.
C. The longer you read a book, the more you will benefit from it.
D. The more expensive the editions are, the more valuable the books are.
14. The first four paragraphs of this passage deal with ______.
A. why we should take notes while reading
B. how we choose a good book to read
C. why we should have a book of our own
D. how we can read efficiently
15. Why does the author write this passage?
A. To explain how to become a good reader.
B. To give advice through his experience.
C. To indicate that a private library is also an interior decoration.
D. To tell readers that buying cheap books is a good way to start one’s library.
