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Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil. And I'm Beth. Shhh! Quiet please! I'm trying to read here, Beth! Oh, excuse me! I didn't know this was a library.
你好。这里是BBC英语六分钟。我是尼尔。我是贝丝。嘘！安静！我想在这里看书，贝丝！哦，对不起！我不知道这是一个图书馆。
Well, what exactly is a library? Have you ever thought about that? Well, somewhere with lots of books I suppose, where you go to read or study.
图书馆到底是什么？你有没有想过这个问题？我猜是有很多书的地方，可以去那里阅读或学习。
A symbol of knowledge and learning, a place to keep warm in the winter, or somewhere to murder victims in a crime novel: libraries can be all of these things, and more.
图书馆可以是知识和学习的象征，冬天取暖的地方，或者犯罪小说中谋杀受害者的地方，诸如此类，不一而足。
In this programme, we'll be looking into the hidden life of the library, including one of the most famous, the Great Library of Alexandria, founded in ancient Egypt in around 285 BCE.
在本节目中，我们将探索图书馆的隐秘生活，其中包括著名的亚历山大大图书馆，该图书馆于公元前285年左右在古埃及建立。
And as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary, and doing it all in a whisper so as not to disturb anyone!
和往常一样，我们将学习一些有用的新词汇，并且一切都会轻声进行，以免打扰任何人！
Glad to hear it! But before we get out our library cards, I have a question for you, Beth.
很开心听到这些！但在我们拿出借书卡之前，我有一个问题要问你，贝丝。
Founded in 1973 in central London, the British Library is one of the largest libraries in the world, containing around 200 million books. But which of the following can be found on its shelves.
大英图书馆于1973年在伦敦市中心成立，是世界上最大的图书馆之一，藏书约2亿册。以下哪一项可以在其书架上找到。
Is it: a) the earliest known printing of the Bible? b) the first edition of The Times' newspaper from 1788? or, c) the original manuscripts of the Harry Potter books?
已知最早的《圣经》印刷版？1788年第一版《泰晤士报》？还是《哈利波特》的原始手稿？
I'll guess it's the first edition of the famous British newspaper, 'The Times'. OK, Beth, I'll reveal the answer at the end of the programme.
我猜是英国著名报纸《泰晤士报》的第一版。好的，贝丝，我会在节目结束时揭晓答案。
Libraries mean different things to different people, so who better to ask than someone who has written the book on it, literally.
图书馆对于不同的人来说有着不同的意义，谁写过有关图书馆的书呢？
Professor Andrew Pettegree is the author of a new book, 'A Fragile History of the Library'. Here he explains what a library means to him to BBC Radio 3 programme, Art & Ideas:
安德鲁·佩特格里教授是新书《图书馆：脆弱的历史》的作者。他向BBC广播3台《艺术与创意》节目解释了图书馆于他的意义：
Well, in my view, a library is any collection of books which is deliberately put together by its owner or patron.
在我看来，图书馆是由其所有者或赞助人特意放在一起的藏书。
So, in the 15th century a library can be 30 manuscripts painfully put together during the course of a lifetime, or it can be two shelves of paperbacks in your home.
在15世纪，图书馆可以是一生中辛苦整理的30份手稿，也可以是家里的两架平装书。
Andrew defines a library as any collection of books someone has intentionally built up. This could be as simple as a few paperbacks, cheap books with a cover made of thick paper.
安德鲁将图书馆定义为某人有意建立的藏书。可以是简简单单的几本平装书，即封面是厚纸的廉价书籍。
Today, books are available everywhere from supermarkets to train stations, but back in history that wasn't the case.
如今，从超市到火车站，书籍随处可见，但历史上情况并非如此。
In earlier centuries, printed books or manuscripts were rare and may have been painfully collected over many years.
在早期的几个世纪中，印刷书籍或手稿非常罕见，可能是经过多年煞费苦心收集的。
Andrew uses the adverb painfully, or painstakingly, to describe something which took a lot of care and effort to do.
安德鲁使用副词“painfully”或“painstakingly”来描述需要花费大量精力才能完成的事情。
But paperback books and private collections are only part of the story. You may not believe it, but libraries are places of power!
但平装书和私人藏书只是图书馆故事的一部分。图书馆还是权力之地，你可能不相信这点！
To find out why we have to go back in time to the ancient Egyptian port of Alexandria in the third century BCE.
为了追根溯源，我们必须将时间拨回到公元前三世纪的古埃及港口亚历山大港。
The Great Library of Alexandria held the largest collection of books in the ancient world.
亚历山大大图书馆拥有最丰富的古籍典藏。
Founded in the city built by Alexander the Great, the library's mission was to bring together a copy of every book then in existence.
该图书馆成立于亚历山大大帝建造的城市，旨在收集当时存在的每一本书的副本。
According to history professor, Islam Issa, there were two reasons why the Great Library made Alexandria so powerful, as he explained to BBC Radio 3 programme, Art & Ideas:
历史学教授伊斯拉姆·伊萨(Islam Issa)向BBC广播3台《艺术与创意》节目解释道，亚历山大图书馆让亚历山大港举足轻重，原因有二：
The first is being in a location at the intersection of the continents and bringing a diverse set of people together to live in harmony, or relative harmony, can bring about economic prosperity.
第一是该图书馆位于各大洲交汇处，将不同人群聚集在一起和平共处，可以带来经济繁荣。
And the second is, quite simply, that knowledge equals power, and so the library is a form of soft power, it's a way of saying that Alexandria is an important centre of knowledge, a regional capital by being the guardians of knowledge…
第二个原因很简单，知识相当于权力，因此图书馆是软实力的一种形式。亚历山大港是一个重要的知识中心，一个地区首府，是知识的守护者……
Alexandria was the meeting point of different cultures where different ideas and philosophies were exchanged.
亚历山大港是不同文化的交汇点，人们在这里交流不同的思想和哲学。
This atmosphere encouraged people to live in harmony, peacefully and cooperatively with each other.
这种氛围鼓励人们和睦相处、合作共赢。
But the main reason for the Great Library's importance is that knowledge equals power, a saying meaning that the more someone knows, the more they will be able to control events.
但亚历山大图书馆之所以如此重要，主要原因在于“知识就是力量”，这句话的意思是，一个人知道的越多，他就越能掌控事件。
Alexandria became the capital of soft power, the use of political and cultural knowledge, rather than military power, to influence events.
亚历山大港成为软实力之都，利用政治和文化知识而不是军事力量来影响事件走向。
Now, maybe it's time to reveal the answer to your question, Neil? Sure, I asked you which famous text could be found in The British Library.
现在也许是时候揭晓问题的答案了，尼尔？当然，我问你在大英图书馆可以找到哪些著名的文本。
I guessed it was the first edition of 'The Times' newspaper. So, was I right? That was… the correct answer!
我猜的是《泰晤士报》的第一版。对吗？这就是正确答案！
In the British Library you'll find the first copy of 'The Times', along with the first editions of many famous books.
在大英图书馆可以找到第一版《泰晤士报》，以及许多名著的初版。
OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned in this programme starting with shhh!, an exclamation used to ask someone to be quiet.
让我们回顾一下本节目中学到的词汇，从“shhh!”开始，这是用来要求某人安静的感叹词。
A paperback is a type of book with a cover made of thick paper and sold relatively cheaply.
paperback是一种封面由厚纸制成的书籍，售价相对便宜。
Doing something painstakingly or painfully means doing it in a way showing that lots of care and effort has been taken. Harmony is a situation where people cooperate peacefully with each other.
做某事很painstakingly或painfully，意味着付出了很多努力来做这件事。Harmony是人们彼此和平合作的情况。
According to the expression, knowledge equals power, the more you know, the more you're able to control events.
俗话说，知识就是力量，知道的越多，力量就越大。
And finally, soft power involves using political or cultural means, rather than military power, to get what you want. Once again our six minutes are up! Goodbye for now! Goodbye!
soft power指用政治或文化手段，而不是军事力量来获得想要的东西。六分钟时间又到了！暂时再见了！再见！
