Harry Potter brings us a wonderful world of magic that has caught the imagination of millions of people on both the printed page and the silver screen with best-selling novels and popular films. However, you may be surprised to hear that children in Britain, home to the world's most popular novel Harry Potter, have a problem with reading. The problem, as far as the government, experts and many parents are concerned, is that kids are just not doing enough of it.

It's not just a question of children not reading the classics（经典作品）-difficult works by William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. Reading generally is in crisis（危机）in the UK. Many different reasons are gven: lack of encouragement from parents, competition from TV and the Internet and computer games. But the government and schools have not given up on the young. There are many activities to encourage kids to read more and develop children's love for reading.

The National Literacy Trust（NLT）, an organization set up by the government, has a plan called "Reading Champions". This summer Reading Champions has a challenge called "Quest Seekers". It is designed to take children into a mysterious and wonderful land where they can discover the joy of reading. The idea is to turn a trip to their local libraries into a kind of magical adventure, the kind that young readers love in the Harry Potter books.

Many older British people like myself feel sad because so few of the younger generation read books. We know that when you have a book, you will never be bored. Unlike some other school subjects like math and science, for many which will always be a necessary thing to learn rather than much fun, reading can be a real pleasure and books are lifelong friends.

   When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not ________ Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an _______ priority (最重要的事). This view is shortsighted._______ , music education is _______ and important to all students.

Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of human beings who _______ it, it reflects their thinking and values,_______ the social environment it came from. Rock music shows a _______ just as surely as does a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their _______ is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and _______ . It gives us identity as a society.

Music provides a kind of emotive perception (感知) that can ________ be shown in any other way. Science can just explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts,________ , explore emotive meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and ________ to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.

In exploration of the world, the arts are as ________ as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other. They are the ________ of civilization through which we ________ our fears, our curiosity, our hunger, our discoveries and our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be ________ with others. When we do not give children access (机会) to an important way of expressing themselves such as music,________ , they miss an effective way to express themselves.

Science and technology do not tell us what it ________ to be human. The arts do. Through music, we express and ________ human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love.

So music education is far more necessary than people to ________.

Right since my childhood，I have always been encouraged by my parents. They have stressed the 【小题1】（important）of being a good human. Both my parents were doctors，【小题2】 I was sure they would have expected me 【小题3】（become）a doctor. But my parents gave me the freedom to choose football 【小题4】 my career.

They often told me that 【小题5】 was not the career but your attitude（态度）to it that influenced you. In fact，I knew a lot of my friends，【小题6】  were not allowed to do what they liked，but I was a 【小题7】（luck）child. Today，when I am a father of two lovely kids，I always fall back on my parents' teaching when it comes to 【小题8】（teach）them. I know what difference my parents 【小题9】（make）to my life in the past，so I now try and do the same to my kids. Of course，it is a different generation，but yes，I am a better father because of my own father. I also 【小题10】（deep）admire（饮佩）my mom because of the way she balanced her career，home and kids.

   Communicating with your child's teacher is one way to help him succeed at school. But just how often should you contact the teacher，and what questions should you ask？How can you help your child succeed in school？

Jerry Parks，a social studies teacher is. to share his thoughts. Parks keeps in touch with parents through emails，class websites，and phone calls. " Parents who take an active interest in their children's work and school well-being are one of the biggest contributors to my students' success，"Parks says. Children of involved parents typically have higher self-esteem（自尊）and have fewer behavior problems in school. And students' grades usually improve when their parents become involved.

Parks suggests the top 6 ways parents can help their children succeed in school: first，make sure your child is at school every day possible. Missed work is generally more of a loss than made-up work is a gain；second，set a time and a place for your child to do homework. If he does not have homework，have him use the time to read；third，keep in touch with teachers，but don't do it too much. Most teachers appreciate parents caring enough to keep in touch a few times a term but do not appreciate parents expecting to contact on a regular basis. Besides，it seems appropriate to ask the teacher whether she thinks your child is giving his best effort in class and whether she has noticed any significant changes in your child's behavior or grades. More importantly，teach your child to build a character—it will improve social and academic skills more than anything else. Some things are simply wrong，and the world your child will grow up in will punish crimes，so give your child a head start. Last but not least，make time every day to talk with your child about the day's activities. Let him know you care，and really listen to what he has to say.

   I had often dreamt of the possibility of spending a year away from my hometown of Leeds in England, living in a foreign country. When I was old enough, however, I thought that my language was going to hold me back.

However, luckily for me, University of Leeds, where I was studying at the time, made it possible for any student, even people like me speaking only one language, to study abroad. Before I knew it I was boarding a plane for Salzburg, Austria. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of the experience ahead of me but I was prepared to accept the challenge.

The university was quite small but the classes were large. Also, Austrian students usually take five years to complete their courses, so studying there was somewhat more relaxing than at home. Austrian students go home quite often, too. Therefore, the foreign students had to socialise with each other quite a lot, which didn’t help with our language skills.

Salzburg itself is a picture-postcard Austrian city. It is also famous for being the birthplace of Mozart and the setting for The Sound of Music. As a result, it is usually very busy with tourists. I also found that it doesn’t have a lot of entertainment for young people, in comparison with Leeds.

There are, however, many advantages of living in Salzburg. For example, get on a train and you can be in Prague, Rome or Krakow within a matter of hours. By the end of my year in Salzburg, I had visited eight other countries in Europe.

After spending a year overseas, I went back to my courses in Leeds and I was much more focused on what I wanted to get out of my last year and more appreciative of the opportunity the university provided. The year in Salzburg really showed me that you get a lot more out of a place when you live there compared to when you are just travelling through. I’d recommend all students spend a year studying abroad if they can.