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Solve the following problem using Python, implementing the functions described below, one line at a time
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Description:
 def read(fname):
 """ utility function to read and return file contents """

    fpath = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), fname)
    with codecs.open(fpath, 'r', 'utf8') as fhandle:
        return fhandle.read().strip()