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Rent Your Textbook 教科书出租

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College students find bargains through textbook rentals  大学生透过教科书出租捡到便宜好康

Gregory Dyer, a Villanova University senior, stood at his campus bookstore searching for his introduction-to-art textbook. He gasped. New, Living With Art would cost the English major $130. Used, it was a mere $97.50.

维拉诺瓦大学四年级学生葛雷格利．戴尔站在校园书店里，寻找艺术概论的教科书，结果不由得倒抽一口气，因为全新的《艺术生活》（暂译）要花掉这位英文主修生130美元。二手书的话，则只要97.5美元。

Then he noticed the bright orange label saying he could rent it for $21.99. Intrigued, he followed the signs to a Chegg.com iPad stand and punched in his rental order, adding the $6.99 for shipping.

然后他注意到亮橘色的标签，上头写着可以用21.99美元租到这本书。这点引起了他的兴趣，于是他沿着标示走到了Chegg.com的iPad摊位，按下了租书订单，再加上运费6.99美元。

“I saved 70 bucks!” he said.

「我省下了七十大洋！」他表示。

Same destination, half the price  目的相同，价格却减半

Across the country, college students scavenging for affordable textbooks are beginning to realize that they have something in common with airline passengers. Same book, same destination, but some people pay full price, and some find bargains.

在全国各地，苦苦寻觅自己能负担得起的教科书的大学生们，已经开始发现，他们和搭机乘客有个共通点，那就是目的地相同（的搭机之旅），有些人必须付全价，有些人却能捡到便宜；换成了书本，也是同样的道理。

For years, students have relied on used copied and online purchases for relief from escalating textbook costs. But this semester, hundreds of thousands are benefiting from a convergence of new legislation encouraging professors to be aware of costs and a market-driven explosion in rental offerings.

多年来，学生们一直依赖使用二手书和网络购物，才能缓解日益增高的教科书价格所带来的压力。但这个学期，却有成千上万的学生受惠于一条凝聚而成的新法规，它鼓励教授注意价格问题，以及受到市场需求所驱策而激增的租书服务。

“It’s the biggest, hottest thing this year in college bookstores,” said Frank Henninger, director of Villanova’s campus bookstore. Last year, his shop rented not a single book. This year, it’s renting 620 titles through a partnership with a national leader in the textbook rental business, Chegg.com.

「这是今年大学书店里最大规模也最火红的事物，」维拉诺瓦校园书店店长法兰克．汉宁格表示。在去年，他的书店一本书也没租出去，然而今年则透过结盟而租出了六百二十种书，结盟的对象是教科书出租业的全国龙头Chegg.com。

In just two years, the number of campus bookstores offering rentals has jumped from a few dozen to 1,500, according to the National Association of College Stores.

据理（美国）国家大学商店协会指出，短短两年间，提供租书服务的校园书店数目就从几十家暴增为一千五百家。

“It has exploded. It really has,” said Jade Roth, vice president of books and digital strategy from Barnes & Noble College Booksellers.

「商机暴增了，真的是如此，」邦诺大学教科书书店公司的书册与数字策略副总裁洁德．罗斯指出。

Renting is among the cheapest of several options, Roth said, running down a typical cost breakdown. If your typical text costs $100 for a new edition, used will cost $75, an e-book – or digital version – $55, and a rental $45.

罗斯表示，租书是最廉价的几种选择之一，她做了典型的价格分析。如果标准的新版教科书要价100美元的话，那么二手书则要价75美元，至于电子书──也就是数字版本──则是55美元，而租书则是45美元。

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senior [ˋsinjɚ] n.【美】（大学）四年级生

gasp [gæsp] v.（因惊讶等）倒抽一口气 to draw in the breath sharply, as from shock

major [ˋmedʒɚ] adj. 主修的 a student specializing in such studies

punch in 〔按下按钮或键〕往计算机里输入信息 to enter information on a computer or other device by pressing keys

buck [bʌk] n.【美】【俚】元

scavenge [ˋskævɪndʒ] v. (+for something)  在……中搜寻有用之物 to search everywhere for something

title [ˋtaɪt!] n. 书名

run down【俚】细述详情 to explain something

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Legislation keeps costs down  法规压低价格

The rental boom is fueled by pressure from Congress to rein in textbook costs.

国会施压严加控制教科书的价格，也导致租书业的繁荣发展。

Legislation requires publishers to tell professors the price of the books they are ordering, and mandates that colleges include textbook costs in Internet course schedules. That way, students will have plenty of time to shop for cheaper editions.

法规要求出版商必须告知教授其所订购书籍的价格，也规定各大学必须在网络课程表中包含教科书的价格。这么一来，学生就能有足够的时间可以采买更便宜的版本。

The law also requires publishers to make clear what is different in each edition, which may dampen professors’ tendency to order the latest, and most expensive, version.

法律也规定，出版商必须清楚标示书籍的各种不同版本之间的差异，如此可能有助于降低教授想订购最新也最贵的版本的意愿。

“This will give professors the opportunity to make a choice,” said state senator Andrew Dinniman, who has sponsored a bill that echoes the federal legislation.

「这将能让教授们有机会做出抉择，」州参议员安德鲁．丁宁曼表示，他所倡议的法案呼应了这项联邦法规。

“’Is it worth it, or can I supplement this with Internet materials and new readings from the library?’ Right now they automatically assume the new edition will have the latest materials.”

「这样做值得吗？还是我可以改用网络数据和到图书馆阅读新书来补充呢？目前他们都自动假定最新的版本就会拥有最新的内容。」

Nicole Allen of the Student Public Internet Research Groups said that in a survey of 300 professors, 77 percent said publishers rarely mentioned the price of the book when taking orders.

学生公共利益研究团体的妮可．爱伦指出，一项针对三百名教授所做的调查显示，有百分之七十七的人表示，出版商很少在他们订书时提及书的价格。

“The textbook market is kind of an anomaly,” Allen said. “The people who are choosing the books don’t actually have to buy them, so they are not as economically motivated as students would be.”

「教科书市场其实有点反常，」爱伦表示，「因为选书的人其实不是花钱买书的人，所以他们不会像学生一样有经济上的考虑动机。」

An uncertain future for textbooks  教科书的不确切前景

Like many others in academe, Jan Duggar, dean of the business school at Holy Family University, wonders whether the traditional textbook will soon be moot.

如同许多学术界人士一样，圣家大学商学院院长詹．度格纳闷传统教科书是否会在不久的将来沦为无关紧要。

“I don’t know where it’s going, but I think five years from now we’ll be using mostly online sources for our students,” he said.

「我不知道它的未来走向，但认为五年之后，我们可能大都让学生使用网络的数据了。」

So far, digital readers such as the Kindle and iPad don’t work well for e-texts, he said, but that could change as software improves.

迄今，如Kindle和iPad等数字阅读器在阅读电子文本方面效果并不好，他表示，不过如果软件改善的话，这点也可望有所改变。

Said Duggar: “I bet you’ll be able to highlight, click the highlighted items, pull them into notes, and you’re ready to study for your quiz.”

度格表示，「我敢打包票，未来你将能（用电子书阅读器）做醒目标记、点选醒目标记过的项目、把它们拉到注记中，然后就可以为准备小考而研读了。」

－by Trish Wilson

单词发音

Vocabulary Focus

intrigue [ɪnˋtrig] v. 激起……的好奇心（或兴趣）to interest someone a lot, especially by being strange, unusual or mysterious

escalate [ˋɛskə͵let] v. 逐步上升（增强或扩大）to become larger or greater

convergence [kənˋvɝdʒəns] n. 会合；聚合 the process of two or more things moving toward the same point and coming closer together or meeting

rein in 控制 to control something more strictly in order to stop in from causing trouble

mandate [ˋmændet] v. 命令﹐指示 to order someone to do something

anomaly [əˋnɑməlɪ] n. 反常（事物）；异常（现象）something that is different from what is usual, and therefore not satisfactory

moot [mut] adj.〔某情况或行为〕不再会发生的; 不再会存在的 referring to something that is often discussed or argued about, but is no longer important because circumstances have changed; of no practical importance; irrelevant

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dampen [ˋdæmpən] v. 抑制，减轻 smother or suppress

supplement [ˋsʌpləmənt] v. 补充﹐增加

assume [əˋsjum] v. 以为；（想当然地）认为

academe  [͵ækəˋdim] n. 学术界 the academic environment, community, or world

Chegg wants to transform textbooks