2011年高考英语天津卷 - 阅读理解C

An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.
从西雅图公共图书馆开始的一个想法已经在美国乃至世界各地传播开来。概念很简单：让每个人同时阅读同一本书，帮助建立城市的社区意识。

In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book" project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong kong.
除了鼓励所有人都喜欢阅读之外，该项目还允许陌生人在公交车上讨论这本书，并将阅读作为一种体验推广到家庭和学校。这个想法来自西雅图图书馆员南希·珀尔，她于1998年发起了“如果所有西雅图人都读同一本书”项目。她最初的计划是通过作者访问、学习指南和书籍讨论小组，将人们聚集到一起阅读一本书，后来这一想法扩展到了美国许多其他城市，甚至香港。

In Chicago, the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program. As a result, reading clubs and neighbourhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.
在芝加哥，市长出现在电视上，宣布选择《杀死一只知更鸟》作为“一本书，一个芝加哥”项目的第一本书。因此，阅读俱乐部和社区团体在城市周围兴起。在美国各地，出现了这样的故事：父母和孩子晚上彼此阅读，陌生人在公共汽车上聊着故事情节和人物。

The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity can be achieved. Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
唯一的问题出现在纽约，当地读者无法选择一本书来代表庞大而多样的人口。这可能表明，这个想法在中等城市或大城镇最有效，那里可以实现更大的归属感。或者可能表明纽约人没有抓住重点，他们把所有的精力和激情都投入到书的选择上，而不是讨论一本书本身。

Ultinatel was Nancy points out, the level of sucicess is not meastured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.
南希指出，成功的程度并不取决于有多少人读了一本书，而是取决于有多少人在这个过程中变得丰富，或者喜欢与他们本不愿意与之分享一句话的人交谈。