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The Story of the Library 图书馆历史漫游

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

A university student reaches for a science textbook, while a child in the young reader’s section browses for brightly-colored Winnie the Pooh titles. The library is there for everyone, no matter what you’re looking for!

大学生伸手拿了一本科学教科书，而小朋友则在青少年读者区翻阅着色彩鲜艳的维尼熊系列丛书。不论寻找何种数据，图书馆总是为每个人而开放。

The earliest libraries date back to the beginning of writing itself. Excavations in the ancient city of Sumer have uncovered buildings that housed large numbers of inscribed clay tablets from as early as 3000 B.C. The first true libraries, however, came with the Hellenistic Age, which began in 330 B.C. The Greek kings who dominated this era amassed enormous collections of books about philosophy and drama as a mark of their prestige.

年代最古老的图书馆可追溯至书写历史刚开始的年代。远古的苏美城在开挖后，从其建筑中出土了大量公元前3000年时期表面带刻痕的泥板。然而，首批真正的图书馆出现于希腊化时代（希腊化时代始于公元前330年）。统御当时的希腊诸王积聚了无数与哲学和戏剧相关的藏书，来彰显自己的威望。

The most famous of these libraries was the Great Library of Alexandria in Egypt. King Ptolemy II founded this famous institution in the 3^th century B.C. The Great Library collected hundreds of thousands of scrolls from all corners of the world! The majority of these were by Greek philosophers and dramatists such as Plato and Euripides. The Ptolemies set another bold precedent by allowing public access to their library, instead of restricting its use to the elite. Although widespread illiteracy limited the number of people who could make use of this repository, the public library was born.

这些图书馆当中，就属埃及的亚历山德拉图书馆最有名。国王托勒密二世于公元前三世纪时建立了的这座远近驰名的机构。亚历山德拉图书馆收藏了世界各地无数的书卷，而其中大部分是希腊哲学家和戏剧家如柏拉图和欧里庇得斯的作品呢！托勒密王朝还首开先例，让大众可以使用图书馆，而非仅限贵族专享。即使当时大部分人是文盲，能利用藏书的民众数量有限，但属于全民的公用图书馆仍然诞生了。

The Romans continued the Greek tradition by maintaining public libraries. Later, as Rome’s strength declined, the influence of the Catholic Church grew. Christian monasteries and cathedrals became centers of learning, founding their own libraries for monks, who devoted themselves to copying classic works. In time, universities developed around these libraries, eventually establishing even larger libraries of their own!

罗马人沿用希猎人的传统，继续向大众开放图书馆。后来，罗马势力衰微，天主教教会逐渐取得影响力。修道院和天主教堂便成为学习中心，他们成立自己的图书馆，让修士能够致力于抄写经典作品。渐渐地，大学纷纷在这些图书馆周边发展起来。后来，这些大学甚至创立了规模更大的图书馆。

Vocabulary

单词发音

reach for 伸手拿(东西)

browse [braʊz] v. 浏览

excavation [͵ɛkskəˋveʃən] n. 挖掘；开凿

inscribe [ɪnˋskraɪb] v. 写; 刻; 雕

prestige [prɛsˋtiʒ] n. 名望，声望，威望

institution [͵ɪnstəˋtjuʃən] n. 机构

set … precedent  开了先例

precedent [ˋprɛsədənt] n. 先例，前例

restrict [rɪˋstrɪkt] v. 限制；限定；约束[（+to/within）]

devote oneself to  专心于; 献身于

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单词发音

Sumer 苏美尔（位于巴比伦南部的世界古老文明的发源地之一）

clay [kle] n. 黏土；泥土

tablet [ˋtæblɪt] n.（古时以木、象牙等制成的）刻写板，简

Hellenistic [͵hɛlɪˋnɪstɪk] adj.（公元前4世纪至公元前1世纪的）希腊语言和文化的

amass [əˋmæs] v. 积聚﹐积累

scroll [skrol] n. 卷轴；裱成卷轴的古书

dramatist [ˋdræmətɪst] n. 剧作家

illiteracy [ɪˋlɪtərəsɪ] n. 不识字，文盲

repository [rɪˋpɑzə͵torɪ] n. 贮藏处；宝库

monastery [ˋmɑnəs͵tɛrɪ] n.（男子的）修道院；僧院

cathedral [kəˋθidrəl] n. 大教堂

in time  经过一段时间之后; 最后  within an indefinite time; eventually

课文讲解

With the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1447, books became much cheaper, and it became easier to stock large collections. Although libraries were becoming more common, they still depended on wealthy donors for their foundation and support.

自公元1447年约翰．顾登堡发明了印刷术后，书籍变得便宜许多，而且更便于大量收藏。尽管图馆日益普及，但仍须仰赖有钱人的捐赠来支持营运。

In the 18^th century, a small number of “social libraries” began to appear. These were private institutions that supported themselves by selling memberships. Members were obliged to pay dues that were used to support the library, and in return had full access to the collections. These collections led to the appearance in the mid-nineteenth century of the first truly public libraries. With taxpayer money, local governments began to establish and support libraries that were open to all citizens. Philanthropists such as Andrew Carnegie also began to sponsor the construction of public libraries.

十八世纪以降，几间「社会图书馆」开始出现。那是以会员所缴纳的会费来维持的私人机构。会员有责任定期缴纳费用来支持图书馆营运，并有权使用所有的馆藏书籍。这些馆藏催生了十九世纪真正的公用图书馆。地方政府开始利用纳税人的税金来成立并经营对外开放的图书馆。此外，像安德鲁.卡内基之类的慈善家也开始资助图书馆的成立。

As libraries became more accessible, their system of organization followed suit. Early libraries had “closed stacks,” meaning only the librarian had access to the shelves of books. These new public libraries featured “open stacks,” which for the first time allowed visitors to browse through the books on their own. To make this process easier, a librarian named Melvil Dewey developed a system which assigned every book a number based on its subject. The numbers are organized so that similar subjects will be in the same area, making it easier to find everything.

随着图书馆越来越普及，馆藏机制也跟着日益成熟。早期的图书馆采「避架式」系统，只有图书馆员可以到架上取书。现今的新式图书馆则采开架式，读者可以自行翻阅书籍。为了使整个图书管理系统更加便利，一位叫杜威的图书馆员发展出一套系统，让每本书依其类别而编号。编码加以整理后，同类的书籍会放在同一个地区，方便查询拿取。

Today, the Dewey Decimal System is almost universally used. Its accessibility has made it popular among library-goers around the world. Libraries have gone from being a sanctuary of the wealthy to a place where everyone can go to enjoy a good book.

现在，几乎全球都用杜威十进制分类系统。常跑图书馆的人都非常喜欢这种方便的查询方式。图书馆已从有钱人的圣地变成人人可亲近好书的地方。

−Michael Karanicolas

Vocabulary

单词发音

depend on 依赖,依靠

donor [ˋdonɚ] n. 捐赠者

be obliged to  被迫

oblige [əˋblaɪdʒ] v. 使不得不，迫使

access [ˋæksɛs] n. 接近的机会

philanthropist [fɪˋlænθrəpɪst] n. 慈善家

sponsor [ˋspɑnsɚ] n. 赞助者

follow suit 跟着做, 照别人的方式去做; 学样  to follow in the same pattern; to follow someone else's example

assign [əˋsaɪn] v. 分派; 指定

universally [͵junəˋvɝs!ɪ] adv. 普遍地

sanctuary [ˋsæŋktʃʊ͵ɛrɪ] n. 圣殿；教堂

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单词发音

due [dju] n. 应付款；税金

taxpayer [ˋtæks͵peɚ] n. 纳税人

accessible [ækˋsɛsəb!] adj. 敞开的，不设防的

stack [stæk] n.（双面）大书架；书库

Dewey Decimal [ˋdɛsɪm!] System（图书馆学）杜威十进分类法

accessibility [æk͵sɛsəˋbɪlətɪ] n. 易接近，可亲

Reading Questions

1.  According to the article, who created the first public libraries?

A.  Euripides.

B.  Plato.

C.  The Ptolemies.

D.  The Romans.

2.  What is true about libraries before the 18th century?

A.  Both university students and children alike could not use the library.

B.  Johannes Gutenberg founded the first true library.

C.  Libraries only allowed students to look for books.

D.  Libraries were a sanctuary not only for the wealthy and nobles.

3.  Which is NOT a factor in libraries becoming accessible to more people?

A.  The fact that most people were illiterate in the 3th century B.C.

B.  The opening of private libraries where members paid dues to belong.

C.  Governments using tax money to support public libraries.

D.  The Dewey Decimal System, developed by a librarian names Melvil Dewey.

4.  Which of the following would be the best title for this article?

A.  To Judge a Book by its Cover

B.  A Thousand Words Paint a Picture

C.  The Life of Librarians

D.  A Brief History of Libraries

Answer