The Pleasure of Reading

All the wisdom of the ages,all the stories that delighted mankind for centries, are easily and cheaply available to all of us within the covers of books but we must know how to avail ourselves of this treasure and how get the most value from it.The unfortunate people in the world are those who have never discovered how satisfying it is to read good books.

I am most interested in people, in meeting them and finding out about them.Some
of the remarkable people I'v met exited only in writer's imagination, then on the pages of his book, and then again, in my imagination.I have found in books new friend, new society and new words.

If I am interested in people, others are interested not so much in who
as in how. Who in the books inculdes everybody from science-fiction
superman two hunreds years in the future all the way back to the first figure in history. How covers everything from the ingenious explanations of Sherlock Holmes to the discoveries of science and the ways of teaching manners to childers.

参考译文:
读书的乐趣

历代的智慧,几个世纪以来人类一直籍以为乐的故事,所有这些都可以从书中方便而又便宜地获得.但是我必须懂得如何利用这份宝藏,懂得如何才能使它对我们最为有益.世界上最为不幸的人,也就是那些从未体验过读好书之乐趣的人吧

我对人最为感兴趣,喜欢结识他们,喜欢了解他们.我认识的一些非凡之人,首先存在于作者的想象之中,然后表现在作品的字里行间,最后在我的想象中重新显现.我在书中找到了新的朋友,新的社会,还有新的语言.

如果说我对人感兴趣的话,别人感兴趣的就是事.书中的人形形色色,从历史上第一个伟人一直到科幻小说中200年后的超人.书中的事也无奇不有,从福尔摩斯里的精彩案情,到各种科学发现,再到如何让孩子懂得礼貌.