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You have to be careful not to be attracted by the variety of books in a bookshop. It is very easy to enter the shop looking for a book on, say, ancient coins and to come out carrying a copy of the latest best-selling novel and perhaps a book about brass-rubbing — something which had only vaguely interested you up till then. This volume on the subject, however, happened to be so well illustrated and the part of the text you read proved so interesting, that you just had to buy it. This sort of thing can be very dangerous. Apart from running up a huge account, you can waste a great deal of time wandering from section to section. Book-sellers must be both long-suffering and indulgent.
你必须小心，不要被书店里各种各样的书所吸引。很容易发生的事是，走进书店去找一本比如关于古钱币的书，结果出来时却买了一部最新的畅销小说，也许还有一本关于拓印的书——而你本来对其并不怎么感兴趣。然而，这卷专著里的插图偏偏又是那么精美，翻阅到的那部分论述恰恰又是那么有趣，于是你非把它买下不可。这种事儿可能是很危险的咧。除了积欠下一大笔钱款之外，你还从这一陈列专柜转悠到另一陈列专柜，浪费了不少时间。卖书人必须有耐心能长期忍受，而且还要待人宽容。
There is a story which well illustrates this. A medical student had to read a textbook which was far too expensive for him to buy. He couldn't obtain it from the library and the only copy he could find was in his bookshop. Every afternoon, therefore, he would go along to the shop and read a little of the book at a time. One day, however, he was dismayed to find the book missing from its usual place and was about to leave when he noticed the owner of the shop beckoning to him. Expecting to be told off he went towards him. To his surprise, the owner pointed to the book, which was tucked away in a corner. "I put it there in case anyone was tempted to buy it," he said, and left the delighted student to continue his reading.
这儿有段故事，完全可以证明这一点。有个学医的学生需要用本教科书，但是因为书贵买不起。从图书馆他又没法借到，他唯一能找到的，就是他常去的那家书店里的那一本了。所以每天下午他都要上书店来，一次读上几个章节。然而有一天，他却失望地发现，那本书在他通常摆放的地方不见了。正当他要离开时，却注意到书店主在示意他过去。他向店主走去，心里揣测着要被人家责备一番了。使他惊奇的是，店主却指了指那本书，原来它被藏在了一个角落里。“是我放在那儿的，我怕有人会把这本书买了去，”说完了，就让那个喜出望外的大学生继续去啃他的教科书了。
