Fiction小说
Andrea: We all love a good book.
Jean: Yes. I love horror novels by Stephen King.
Andrea: And a good romance is always entertaining.
Jean: 那么英国著名的小说作家都有谁呢？
Andrea: And what books do British people like to read? Hello, I’m Andrea.
Jean: 大家好，我是董征。
Andrea: We’ve had a question from Benjamin who is working in Singapore. He wants to know more about popular British novels and writers.
Jean: 为此，我们专门采访了伦敦南部一家叫做The Bookshop on the Heath 书店的店主Richard Platt，请他给我们先讲一讲他书店的顾客们都最喜欢读什么样的小说。
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We always get asked for the evergreens as I call them, of British fiction. By that I mean Agatha Christie, PG Wodehouse, Ian Fleming best known for his James Bond stories, Grahame Greene. Those are just four that trip off the tongue.
Andrea: Richard talks about the evergreens of British fiction. By that he means books that stay popular forever – even if they’re old.
Jean: Evergreen 这个词就是“常青”的意思，和我们中文使用的方法是一样的，既可以用它来赞颂那些长盛不衰的人物或事物，也可以用它来形容冬天不落叶的常青植物。
Andrea: Did you hear some of the authors Richard talked about?
Jean: Richard 刚才给我们说到了阿加莎▪克里斯蒂的著名侦探小说系列，还有英国 作家PG 伍德豪斯，还有写007 詹姆士▪邦德系列的依恩▪弗莱明，还说到了格莱姆▪格林。
Andrea: Richard uses the expression ‘to trip off the tongue’. He says that these British authors are just a few of the many great British writers who he can think of. He thought of their names quickly. Their names trip off the tongue.
Jean: 还有一种相类似的说法是to spring to mind 就是首先跃入脑海的。就是首先就能想到的意思。
Andrea: So why does Richard think that these authors are evergreen – or everlasting?
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They’ve stood the test of time. Our parents read them, our grandparents in many cases read them, and they are so quintessentially British that they will go on as long as I can think.
Jean: Richard 他认为这些著名作家和他们的小说经受住了时间的考验They stood the test of time.
Andrea: They’ve been read by people’s parents and grandparents. And the reason is that they are quintessentially British novels.
Jean: Quintessentially British. 最典型的、最精华的英国小说。
Andrea: Ok – so you walk into a bookshop in Britain, like Richard’s – and you want to buy something good to read. Here’s what Richard would recommend to read.
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My favourite book that I think I read in the last few years is a novel by Sebastian Faulks called Birdsong, which is about a love story set in the First World War in France. And it’s such a page-turner. It’s so beautifully written, it really is a work of art.
Jean: Richard 给我们推荐了一本叫做 Birdsong《鸟之歌》的小说，这本书讲述的是一个爱情故事，故事的发生是在第一次世界大战期间。It’s set in the First World War.
Andrea: The book was so interesting and so easy to read, Richard says it is a page-turner.
Jean: A page-turner. 就是看了就让人爱不释手，一定要一篇一篇看下去停不下来的书。
Andrea: So what kinds of books are British people buying?
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Well we’ve got a lot of crime fiction that we sell. Authors such as Ian Rankin that your listeners may have heard of. He’s a Scottish writer; very, very popular. Other crime fiction – I’ve mentioned Agatha Christie of course. She always sells well.
Jean: 看来侦探小说是深受读者喜爱的。Richard 说像阿加莎▪克里斯蒂这样作家的书是很畅销的they sell well.
Andrea: He also mentions Ian Rankin who also writes crime novels. He’s Scottish. These are the kinds of books that fly off the shelves.
Jean: Books that fly off the shelves. 并不是说这些书从书架上都飞走了，而是形容书的畅销，在书架上都呆不长，一本一本的马上都被人买走了。
Andrea: What would you recommend Jean?
Jean: Well Andrea I think I would recommend… 那我肯定第一要推荐Jane Austin 的几部小说。
Andrea: Until the next time, happy reading Benjamin in Singapore and all you other bookworms.
Jean: 还有我和Andrea 这两位在BBC Learning English 的读书虫，也要和大家说再见了。Bye!
Andrea: Bye!
英语单词小笔记：
1. evergreen 常青的
2. To trip off the tongue 可以随口道来的
3. To spring to mind 马上跃入脑海的
4. Stood the test of time 经受住了时间考验的
5. Quintessentially British 纯正的英国东西
6. A page-turner 引人入胜、令人爱不离手的书