To celebrate the joy of reading, LEH Foshan held its annual Book Week from 28 February to 4th March, an activity-packed week filled with a wide variety of events where classes came down to join in book related activities such as the book dating game where they promote their favourite book, modeling characters from descriptive passages, a selection of quizzes and both pupils and staff were invited to dress up as a character from a book. Book Week was an awesome opportunity for students to enhance their creativity and literacy levels, but most of all, it reminded everyone of the importance of reading.

为了庆祝世界图书日，佛山霍利斯于2月28日至3月4日举办了一年一度的图书阅读周。这一周的活动丰富多彩，所有学生都参加了一系列阅读主题活动，例如图书约会游戏、打扮成自己喜欢的书籍角色、图书谜语等等。图书周对同学们来说是个很好的机会，可以提高他们的创造力和文学素养，并让大家更加重视阅读。

Here at LEH, we are very lucky to have Mrs Ruth Farnsworth, our librarian. She can recommend and guide your children to books that they will enjoy reading. Please enjoy this week’s Spotlight on Education provided by Mrs Farnworth – The Importance of Reading.

我们学校非常幸运地聘请到了专业的图书管理员Mrs Ruth Farnsworth，她总能根据孩子们的个性特点，推荐不同的书籍，让每位孩子都爱上阅读。请您阅读本期的教育焦点 —《阅读的重要性》，感谢Mrs Farnsworth撰文。

Spotlight of Education 教育聚焦

The Importance of Reading

阅读的重要性

These days we are easily distracted by T.V. gaming and social media during our spare time and quite often forget that we can easily relax with a good book. There can be nothing better than being drawn into an exciting story with a gripping or interesting plot that captures the imagination.

如今大家都习惯于通过电视、游戏和社交媒体来打发时间，却忘记了一本好书能带给我们的简单快乐。其实，沉浸于扣人心弦的情节或激动人心的故事，让想象力得到飞翔，也不失为一种最美妙的体验。

We should not forget how important reading can be and how it can play a role in learning during our leisure time and not think of it as tedious or something we are forced to do. Young people are more likely to read if they see adults around them reading. As a parent or carer, you play an important part in encouraging your child to read from early an age, reading with them or finding time to read as a family, take them to a library, ask them about what they are reading and show an interest.

我们不应忽视阅读的重要性。闲暇时光的轻松阅读也对学习起着非常重要的作用，所以大家千万不要将阅读视为一项乏味之事，或是被迫要做的事情。父母和家人良好的阅读习惯会对孩子产生积极的影响：当孩子看到家长手捧书籍阅读时，他们也更倾向于拿起书本加入其中。所以作为父母，您在孩子的早期阅读启蒙上发挥着非常重要的作用。您可以通过抽时间与他们一起阅读，组织家庭阅读活动，带他们去图书馆，或与他们讨论一本好书以培养孩子对阅读的兴趣。

Within books we experience detailed descriptions of people and places the perfect way to visit an unknown country in your mind, be drawn into a fantasy or place of adventure. Subconsciously as we read, we learn, we see new words and build on our vocabulary, improving spelling and grammar at the same time, experience different styles of writing, the formation of paragraphs and chapters, without the structure and discipline of a classroom environment.

在阅读的过程中，我们可以根据书中对人物和地点的详细描述，在脑海中构造出一个未知国家，展开一次精彩的冒险之旅。阅读实际上是一个潜意识的学习过程，我们会在阅读的过程中学习到新的单词，增强拼写能力，提高语法水平，同时还可以体验到不同作者的写作风格。

The benefit of a book is you can read and learn at your own pace, go back and re read chapters you are not sure about, or you didn’t quite understand. Fictional books can be thought provoking, we can analyse characters, think about motives and consider emotions, all of which are reflected in everyday life.

阅读的其中一个好处是你可以按照自己的节奏来进行阅读和学习。当你疑惑的时候，你可以翻到前面的章节重新阅读。虚构类小说则可发人深省，我们通过对小说中的人物进行分析，思考他们的动机，理解他们的情感，从而对自己的日常生活有了反思。

One of the primary benefits of reading books is the ability to develop critical thinking skills. For example, figuring out how a story is going to end, what elements are there in a story to make this or that conclusion. If a book is non-fiction, you may sometimes ask yourself if the author is right, is there further information. Critical thinking skills are crucial when it comes to making important day to day decisions. Reading requires an individual to think and process information in a way that watching television can’t.

阅读还有助于批判性思维的培养。例如，我们可以推想一个故事的结局，并寻找相关线索佐证结论。当阅读非虚构类书籍时，我们还可以问一下自己，书中作者的观点是否真的正确？是否还有进一步的信息？批判性思维对于日常决策至关重要，而这些，都是看电视这样的休闲方式所不能带给我们的。

There are times in the day when we need to put work to one side, forget emails, looking at WeChat and other social media and de-stress. Reading is a perfect solution as our minds focus on the content of the book and this helps with the ability to concentrate on only one thing and not be distracted by events around us.

有时候我们需要把工作放到一旁，暂时忘记邮件和微信等社交媒体，彻底地放松下来。这时，阅读就是很好的解压方式。当我们把注意力集中到书上，就不容易为其它事情分心。

We need to encourage young people to read more socially which will help if they have a voice and a choice in their book selection rather than parents or carers pushing classics or other highbrow literature that we think our children should read, quite often when we haven’t read the books ourselves to form opinions. However, there are many classics that have stood the test of time, shouldn’t be ignored and are loved by many readers today.

作为家长，我们应鼓励孩子们根据喜好选择自己想要阅读的书籍，而不是一厢情愿地强迫他们阅读经典之作或严肃文学。很多时候，那些我们认为是经典的文学作品，我们自己也不一定都有读过。当然，也有很多经典之作经受住了时间的考验，在今日仍能收获众多读者的喜爱。

The choice of reading material is endless, from action and adventure, fantasy or sci-fi through to non-fiction and exploring factual information of interest. Reading material is easily accessible from local libraries and school libraries where there is always help and advice, through to family, friends and the internet, where you can also find recommendations, book lists and new publication. There are no excuses for not reading.

书籍的种类繁多，从动作、冒险、科幻到阐明事实、讨论观点的非虚构作品，相信每个人都能找到适合自己的类型。另外，校内外图书馆以及互联网都可以提供有关阅读的专业建议，您还可寻求家人朋友的推荐，查阅书单和出版社的建议。总之，没有借口，没有理由，从此刻就开始阅读吧！

Book List Recommended 

by Maths Department

数学科组荐书

It’s book week and in the mathematics department we recognise how important it is for children to learn mathematics and understand mathematical concepts. Some students are gifted and can pick up on maths and math concepts quite easily. Other students, including the verbally gifted may have a harder time. Fiction books based on maths are perfect for both kinds of students. They will enjoy the stories, wordplay, and riddles, and since the maths concepts are presented in story form, they can find it easier to understand the concepts.

作为数学老师，我们认为学习数学以及理解数学的概念对学生们来说尤其重要。有一些学生很有天赋，可以很快理解一些数学问题，而有些学生则可能需要多花费一点时间。借着图书日的活动，我们也想向学生们介绍一些与数学相关的书籍。以下这些关于数学的虚构类小说对上述两类学生们来说都是非常合适的，作者们通过故事、文字游戏以及谜语等方式来呈现数学概念，通俗易懂，也便于学生们理解。

Book List Recommended 

by Science Department

科学科组荐书

And while maths may play a crucial role in the plots of these books, science has a whole literary genre named after it! Science fiction covers a whole range of themes: classics like Frankenstein, War of the Worlds, Journey to the Centre of the Earth and The Time Machine; the vastness of the Dune series (and what a great film the first half of the titular book turned out to be); answers to the deepest questions (’42’) in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the Holistic Detective Agency; Isaac Asimov and Iain M. Banks’ imagined worlds and hundreds of other authors who create new worlds, new technologies, new species and new adventures for their characters. What they write about in the fictional future may come true! Or, if time travel is possible, may already have done so…

尽管数学作为主题贯穿了以上书籍，但我们可有科学虚构这整整一个专门的书籍类别呢！这些小说拥有一系列的丰富主题，包括《科学怪人》、《世界大战》、《地心之旅》和《时间机器》等经典作品；《沙丘》系列（前半部分还被拍成了一部非常棒的电影）；《银河系漫游指南》以及《全能侦探社》里对宇宙最艰深问题的解答；以及包括Isaac Asimov和Iain M. Banks在内的许多作家为他们笔下的角色创造出的全新世界、科技、物种和冒险，或许有朝一日他们对未来的幻想都有可能成真！又或许，如果时间旅行真的存在的话，他们是否有可能是从未来穿越而来的人呢……

Special thanks to Mrs Ruth Farnsworth for her effort in organising and running the activities on World Book Day.

感谢我们经验丰富的图书管理员Ruth Farnsworth女士在世界图书日组织了一系列阅读活动。

Mrs Ruth Farnsworth joins LEH Foshan as the school librarian. She has had experience in various departments within public libraries before moving to manage the library in a large secondary school in Lancashire for the last ten years. She has developed reading schemes, supported literacy and promoted reading throughout the school with various activities and reading clubs.

Ruth Farnsworth女士以图书管理员一职加入佛山霍利斯。过去十年，Farnsworth女士曾在英国兰开夏郡的一所中学负责图书管理，在公共图书馆也有丰富的工作经历。在学校里，她开展过丰富的阅读项目、帮助学生提高读写能力，并通过不同的活动和阅读俱乐部让学生们爱上阅读。

Students need to be allowed to explore many different texts and topics, in order to find something that truly engages their imagination. This may be a best-selling fiction novel or a little-known biography about an inventor or sportsperson or mathematician; regardless of the topic or genre, students will not fall in love with reading if they are only asked to read for academic purposes, so it is the job of all adults to ensure that we are encouraging curiosity and providing access to as wide a range of reading resources as possible.

我们应该允许和鼓励学生们自由探索不同的文体和主题类型，这样有助于真正地激发他们想象力。这有可能是一本畅销的小说，或者是鲜为人知的发明家、运动员或数学家的传记。无论是什么主题或文体类型，如果只是为了达到学术目的而去阅读，那么他们将不会爱上阅读。因此，作为成年人，我们都有责任去激发学生们对阅读的好奇心，并提供尽可能丰富的阅读资源。

At LEH Foshan, we have begun our library by purchasing 3,000 brand new texts. Each year, after consultation with the students, we will grow our library until the heart of our school is a place that everyone has invested in. 

在佛山LEH，我们第一批3000多册英文原版书籍已就位。每年我们都会和学生沟通和协商，采购更多的藏书。作为学校的核心机构，图书馆应该成为每个人都能享受阅读乐趣的地方。