英语听力精选进阶版 Lynn Neary's Reading Recommendations For The Book Lovers On Your List

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

We're getting into the holiday season. And often, this time of year, I think about books. I mean, they're great gift ideas. And also, it's just that time of year when you want to curl up in front of the fireplace¹ with a good book. Right? So good time to turn to NPR's Lynn Neary, who covers books and publishing. And she's with us here to offer some recommendations². Hi there, Lynn.

LYNN NEARY, BYLINE³: Hi, good to be with you.

GREENE: Well, it's good to have you. All right. So you, as I understand, are a big fiction fan. So probably, we should talk about that first. Any novels that are at the top of your list?

NEARY: Oh, yeah. But let me start with one caveat⁴ because, you know, we really don't have a lot of time to talk about books. And there are so many.

GREENE: Yeah.

NEARY: So I want to remind our listeners to check out the Book Concierge⁵ at npr.org/books.

GREENE: OK.

NEARY: There's over 300 book recommendations, about half of them by NPR staff. It's really fun to explore, so check that out.

GREENE: Noted⁶ - so this is just, like, a tiny sampling we're getting into here.

NEARY: This is a tiny, tiny sampling, so...

GREENE: All right.

NEARY: One of my favorites last year was "The Overstory" by Richard Powers. Simply put - and it sounds really simple when I say it this way - it's about trees, and it's about the people who love them very fiercely.

GREENE: Tree fanatics⁷.

NEARY: Tree fanatics - and Powers introduces the book with stories about each of the characters, whose lives are going to become intertwined as the book goes on. And these stories are just so beautifully written. And each of these characters has a really strong connection with a tree. One example - a Vietnam vet's life was saved when he parachuted out of a helicopter into the branches of a banyan⁸ tree. And you find out how a banyan tree grows. I guarantee you, you will never think of trees in the same way again after you have read this book. It's really amazing and beautifully written.

GREENE: I love this. It reminds me of Tom Hanks' book of short stories, which all, somehow, had to do with typewriters, which was a love of his. So this is that version but in trees.

NEARY: Sort of - something like that (laughter).

GREENE: OK.

NEARY: Now, if you just want a book that you can read over a cold winter weekend in front of a fire with a cup of tea, maybe something stronger if you like...

GREENE: Oh, yeah.

NEARY: I would suggest "Transcription" by Kate Atkinson because she's just a great storyteller. Her novel "Life After Life" is one of my all-time favorites. "Transcription" is a spy novel. It's set during World War II in England. And Atkinson is great at evoking⁹ that era. And the first part of the book - at first, the spying part of the book seems a little tame. But as with all espionage¹⁰, it gets more complicated. And the consequences get more dark as the stories unfold.

GREENE: So stick with it, and things get more complicated...

NEARY: Right (laughter).

GREENE: ...In a rich kind of way. What if I have kids I'm trying to buy a gift for? Are there books that I could get for them?

NEARY: There's so many beautiful books for kids out there. But I'm going to recommend one for kids who are interested in cooking. It's called "The Complete Cookbook For Young Chefs," brought to you by America's Test Kitchen. People may know that from their videos, magazines and other publications. These are the people who - they test everything - cooking techniques, recipes, equipments - before they tell you which ones they think are best. And they used that same method in developing this book. It introduces kids to all of the basics - equipment, ingredients, safety tips. And, of course, there's a whole lot of easy and very tasty recipes to try.

GREENE: I'm glad you said safety tips because often, when kids are in the kitchen, you want to stay as far away as possible.

NEARY: Exactly. Exactly.

GREENE: All right. Any other favorites you want to mention?

NEARY: Well, I want to mention a couple of books that I caught up with this year. One book was last year's Pulitzer Prize winner, "Less" by Andrew Sean Greer. I love this book. It's a short book. And at first, I was surprised it won the Pulitzer. It seemed a little too simple. But the story's, really, very layered. It's funny. It's sad. It's sweet. I kind of fell in love with the main character. It has a great ending. And it's very wise on the subject we all experience at some point, which is the pain of love. And quickly, I'm really in the middle right now of the series of books known collectively as the Neapolitan Novels. The first book in the series is "My Brilliant Friend." It's being adapted right now on HBO. It's a great series of novels.

GREENE: OK, some recommendations from NPR's books and publishing correspondent¹¹ Lynn Neary. Thanks, Lynn.

NEARY: Glad to be here.

1 fireplace   

n.壁炉，炉灶

参考例句：

• The fireplace smokes badly.这壁炉冒烟太多。
• I think we should wall up the fireplace.我想应该封住壁炉。

2 recommendations   

n.推荐( recommendation的名词复数 )；推荐信；正式建议；提议

参考例句：

• The board completely disregarded my recommendations. 董事会完全无视我的建议。
• Recommendations from two previous clients helped to establish her credibility. 两位以前的客户的推荐有助于确立她的诚信度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 caveat   

n.警告； 防止误解的说明

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling.为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。
• As I have written before,that's quite a caveat.正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。

5 concierge   

n.管理员；门房

参考例句：

• This time the concierge was surprised to the point of bewilderment.这时候看门人惊奇到了困惑不解的地步。
• As I went into the dining-room the concierge brought me a police bulletin to fill out.我走进餐厅的时候，看门人拿来一张警察局发的表格要我填。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 fanatics   

狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The heathen temple was torn down by a crowd of religions fanatics. 异教徒的神殿被一群宗教狂热分子拆除了。
• Placing nukes in the hands of baby-faced fanatics? 把核弹交给一些宗教狂热者手里？

8 banyan   

n.菩提树，榕树

参考例句：

• This huge banyan tree has a history of more than 400 years.这棵大榕树已经有四百多年的历史了。
• A large banyan tree may look like a forest.大型的榕树看起来象一片树林。

9 evoking   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Some occur in organisms without evoking symptoms. 一些存在于生物体中，但不发生症状。
• Nowadays, the protection of traditional knowledge is evoking heat discussion worldwide. 目前，全球都掀起了保护传统知识的热潮。

10 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

11 correspondent   

n.记者，通信者；adj.符合的，一致的，相当的

参考例句：

• He volunteered as a correspondent for the war.他自愿担任作报道这次战争的记者。
• The result was correspondent with my wishes.结果与我的愿望是一致的。