纸质书市场回暖
“纸质书已死。”自从电子阅读出现之后,如此的唱衰声不绝于耳。电子阅读的优势显而易见:kindle 等电子阅读设备十分轻巧,便于携带;与此同时,这些设备的内存还很大,读者可以通过一个巴掌大的机器就可以轻松读到“万卷书”。如此看来,纸质书被淘汰的命运是无法阻挡的。然而,纸质书真的失了未来,陷入颓唐之中了吗?
过去十年间,在全球各大主要市场,纸质书的销售表现依然稳健;2017年,英国书市增长了4%,同期电子书的销量轻微下滑;2018年上半年,美国纸质书销售增长2%......
为什么纸质书可以长青?因为一个完整的阅读体验并不限于文字本身,一本好书除了作者提供的文字内容,还包括精心的排版、装帧设计还有纸张的选择。可以说,手与纸张摩擦的触感与音感、油墨与纸张的味道、富有美感和匠心的装帧设计——正是这些元素使得文本内容更能走入人心,进入读者的灵魂。
本篇课程首发于2018年10月17日,选自 The Economist Espresso APP
难度系数:
无用系数:
Turning over an old leaf: publishing
① The world's most important book fair kicks off in Frankfurt today with the industry in better shape than many had predicted.
② That is, it is not dying.
③ Book sales in most major markets have remained steady this decade despite growing competition for readers' attention.
④ Sales were up 4% in Britain last year, even as e-book sales declined slightly.
⑤ In America print-book sales rose 2% in the first half of this year.
⑥ Amazon has been a beneficiary; bookstores, by contrast, are struggling.
⑦ In America sales at Barnes & Noble have been declining steadily for years.
⑧ Publishers say politics is helping sell books such as "Fire and Fury", an exposé by Michael Wolff that Donald Trump didn't want released.
⑨ But reality is not all that sells.
⑩ Sales of science fiction are also up 18% in America, for those needing an escape to an alternative universe more than ever.
▍生词好句
turn over a new leaf: 改过自新;放弃以往的错误方式
· He has turned over a new leaf and he's not smoking any more.
他现在开始改过自新,不再抽烟了。
publishing /ˈpʌblɪʃɪŋ/: n. 出版业
· publisher /ˈpʌblɪʃə(r)/: n. 出版社
· press /pres/: n.(大学)出版社
· Cambridge University Press: 剑桥大学出版社
· Oxford University Press: 牛津大学出版社
· The MIT Press: MIT出版社
book fair: 书展
kick off: 开始
e-book /ˈiː bʊk/: 电子书
decline /dɪˈklaɪn/: v. 下降;拒绝
· decline to do sth.: 拒绝做某事
· The company declined to comment.
这个公司拒绝做出评论。
print-book: 纸质书
beneficiary /ˌbenɪ'fɪʃərɪ, ˌbenəˈfɪʃəri/: n. 受益人
· benefit /'benɪfɪt, ˈbenəfɪt/: n. 利益;好处 v. 受益
· benefit from sb./sth.: 受益于某人/某事
struggling /ˈstrʌɡlɪŋ/: adj. 奋斗的;不断挣扎的
Barnes & Noble: 巴诺书店(美国最大的实体书店)
steadily /ˈstedəli/: adv. 稳定地;稳固地
Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House《火与怒:川普之下的白宫 》
exposé /ɪkˈspəʊzeɪ, ekspəˈzeɪ/: n. 揭露;爆料
· exposé of sth.: 曝光不好的事
science fiction: 科幻小说
alternative /ɔːlˈtɜːnətɪv/: adj. 另外的;选择性的
▍推荐阅读
Virginia Woolf 的长文章《人应该如何读书?》(How Should One Read A Book?)
原文章链接:https://w.url.cn/s/ArfJkwr
(课程底部也可查看该文章)
▍责任编辑
李秋健、杨晶妍、陈鑫悦、章晓丹
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