VOA慢速英语2019 美国的独立书店蓬勃发展（在线收听）

Independent Bookstores Growing in the US

Small, independent bookstores in neighborhoods across the United States are places to discover new books and make friends.

美国各社区的小型、独立书店是发掘新书和交友的场所。

About 20 years ago, stores like these were closing in large numbers because of competition from large bookstores and online book sales.

大约20年前，由于大型书店和在线图书销售的竞争，这类书店大量倒闭。

But about 10 years ago something unusual happened: independent bookstores seemingly came back to life. Many are profitable, and the number of stores is growing.

但是，大约在10年前，情况开始发生变化：独立书店似乎要卷土重来。很多书店的收入可观，而且书店数量在不断增加。

In a Virginia community called Arlington, many people buy their books at a store called One More Page Books. Customer Cheryl Moore says she likes the personal service she receives at small bookstores.

在弗吉尼亚州的阿灵顿社区，很多居民从One More Page Books书店购书。顾客谢丽尔·摩尔（Cheryl Moore）表示，很喜欢这家店的个性化服务。

Moore told VOA: "I think they pay attention to the kinds of books people like to read. They have book clubs, so I don't think it's a place where people just buy books, but make friends here.”

摩尔告诉美国之音，“我认为，他们专注于人们喜欢阅读的各类书籍。他们还有读书俱乐部，所以我认为，这里不仅仅是个书店，更是一处交友场所。”

In another part of the store, Kate Oberdorfer looks through an unusual mix of books: mysteries, cookbooks, and biographies of famous people.

在这间书店的另一角，凯特·奥伯多弗（Kate Oberdorfer）翻阅了一系列不寻常的书籍：推理小说，食谱和名人传记。

Oberdorfer talks about a few of the books with Lelia Nebeker.

奥伯多弗与莱利亚·纳博克（Lelia Nebeker）讨论了其中几本书。

"I do think it's a special place for people to come,” said Nebeker.

纳博克说，“我认为，这是一个适合消磨时间的特殊场所”。

She lives nearby and buys books for the store, which opened eight years ago.

她住在附近，经常光顾这家已经开业八年的书店。

After almost dying off, small, independent bookstores grew by 35 percent between 2009 and 2015. The American Booksellers Association says sales at the more than 2,400 bookstores across the country rose about 5 percent over the past year.

在几近沉寂后，2009年至2015年间，小型独立书店的销量增长了35%。美国书商协会表示，去年全美2400多家书店的销售额增长了5%。

Hooray for Books is an independent store specializing in children's books. It opened 11 years ago in Alexandria, Virginia. Owner Ellen Klein thinks part of her store’s success has been providing many different kinds of books.

Hooray for Books是一家专营儿童图书的独立书店。11年前，它在弗吉尼亚州亚历山大市开业。店主艾伦·克莱茵（Ellen Klein）认为，书店成功的部分原因是提供了许多不同种类的书籍。

"In this community, we have a lot of mixed race families,” she said, “and so we're trying to serve them as well.”

“我们这个社区有很多混血儿家庭，”她说，“所以我们也在竭力为顾客提供服务。”

Customer Sarah Reidl looks at all the children’s books and said, "You just can't really browse on the internet. I like to be able to browse and look for things…that catch my eye."

顾客萨拉·蕾蒂（Sarah Reidl）看着店里的儿童书籍说：“你在网上无法一眼尽览。我喜欢可以浏览和查阅我感兴趣的事物。”

For people who love reading, independent bookstores sometimes become a home.

对于喜欢阅读的人来说，独立书店有时也是他们的家。

Kristen Maier lives in Missouri, but often comes to Hooray for Books when she visits the Washington, DC area for work. She does not think electronic devices can replace the feeling of holding a real book.

克里斯汀·迈尔（Kristen Maier）住在密苏里州，但前往华盛顿特区工作时，她会常常光顾Hooray for Books书店。她认为，电子设备无法取代手捧书籍的感觉。

“If you don’t have a nice book to pass down to your grandkids or their grandkids, you just kind of lose that sense of history and tradition for your family,” she said.

她说：“如果没有一本好书传给孙辈或后代，你会让家族丧失那种历史感和传统感。”

Independent bookstores know they have to sell more than books. One More Page tries to appeal to people by offering them wine or chocolate they can take home along with a book.

独立书店深谙“书店不能只卖书”的道理。One More Page书店尝试通过买书赠葡萄酒或巧克力的销售策略来吸引顾客。

"We are a place where you can come for events, you can meet writers, get books signed, and buy books you might not necessarily (find) on your own,” said Nebeker.

他说：“在我们店，你可以来参加活动，可以和作家见面，获得签名，以及买自己不一定能找到的书。”

Including books by Ed Aymar, a local writer. He is talking to customers about his latest book, The Unrepentant. Nearby a woman is performing songs related to the story.

包括当地作家埃德·艾马尔（Ed Aymar）的作品。他正在向顾客介绍新书《无悔》。旁边一个女性正在演奏与这一故事有关的歌曲。

Angie Kim, another local writer, came to support Aymar.

另一位当地作家Angie Kim也来为艾马尔站台。

“I’ve been here for 5 events just in the last couple of months,” she said. “I think it’s just a …way to show the bookstore that we care about spaces like this and that we want them to continue.”

“在过去的几个月里，我在这里参加了5场活动，”她说。“我认为，这是一种向书店表明，我们关心这里的方式，我们希望它们继续存在。”

“We’re going to keep doing what we do well, and hope that our community loves having us around enough to support us,” Nebeker added.

纳博克补充说，“我们会继续做我们擅长的事情，也希望社区提供足够的爱来支持我们”。

Words in This Story

online – adj. connected to a computer, a computer network, or the Internet

customer – n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

club – n. a group of people who meet to participate in an activity

biography – n. the story of a real person's life written by someone other than that person

browse – v. to look at many things in a store, in a newspaper, etc., to see if there is something interesting or worth buying

chocolate – n. a food that is made from cacao beans and that is eaten as candy

grandkid – n. the child of one’s child