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CCTV9英语新闻：Hay-on-Wye: UK’s Town of Books

时间：2014-04-27 05:02:03

（单词翻译:单击）

In an age when the unceasing invention of digital gadgets1 is encroaching on the enjoyment2 of reading paper books, there’s a small town in the UK sticking to the old tradition. Internationally renowned3 as the “Town of Books”, Hay-on-Wye in Wales is literally4 piled with used books, from recently published titles to second-hand5 books dating back 300 years.

Internationally renowned as the “Town of Books”, Hay-on-Wye in Wales is literally piled with used books, from recently published titles to second-hand books dating back three hundred years.

Hay-on-Wye in Wales is internationally renowned as the “Town of Books”.

Named after its former owner Richard Booth, this 200-year-old wooden structure is arguably the world’s largest second-hand bookshop.

The story began in the early 1960s when Richard Booth graduated from the University of Oxford6. He decided7 to come back to his hometown, determined8 to find a trade that could save this small rural economy.

With capital of 600 pounds, he bought this building, where he began to sell his small collection of used books.

“There’re people who loved the wisdom in 700 years of the book, so people do not wish to leave the traditional wisdom of the past, and everywhere in the world, book towns are opening,” Booth said.

Having opened the first book shop in the town, Richard Booth began distributing used books to his countrymen who were unemployed9 or laid off, and helped them open their own businesses.

By the 1970s, Hay had become internationally known as the "Town of Books", a reader’s mecca that attracts travelers from all over the world. Many loyal customers are willing to travel great distances to visit the town, just for the pleasure of book reading.

"Because there're so many books. What's not to like about books? It's a window into other people's lives and worlds," a reader said.

But even though the whole town relies on the book trade for a living, merchants here say the business is far from lucrative10.

With a population of less than 2,000, Hay-on-Wye is densely11 dotted with more than 30 bookstores, focusing on everything from children’s books to detective fiction. Spilling over with thousands of titles, book lovers are guaranteed to find what they are looking for at this bibliophile’s paradise.


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1 gadgets 7239f3f3f78d7b7d8bbb906e62f300b4     
n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）
参考例句：
  • Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
  • This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
2 enjoyment opaxV     
n.乐趣；享有；享用
参考例句：
  • Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
  • After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。
3 renowned okSzVe     
adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的
参考例句：
  • He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
  • She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。
4 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
参考例句：
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。
5 second-hand second-hand     
adj.用过的，旧的，二手的
参考例句：
  • I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
  • They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。
6 Oxford Wmmz0a     
n.牛津（英国城市）
参考例句：
  • At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
  • This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。
7 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
8 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
9 unemployed lfIz5Q     
adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的
参考例句：
  • There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
  • The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。
10 lucrative dADxp     
adj.赚钱的，可获利的
参考例句：
  • He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
  • It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。
11 densely rutzrg     
ad.密集地；浓厚地
参考例句：
  • A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
  • We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。