听考研真题|2023年英一阅读3:书店和出版商之战

If you’re heading for your nearest branch of Waterstones, the biggest book retailer in the UK, in search of the Duchess of Sussex’s new children’s book The Bench, you might have to be prepared to hunt around a bit, the same may be true ofThe President’s Daughter, the new thriller by Bill Clinton and James Patterson. 

【生词】retailer n.零售商，零售店

thriller n.恐怖小说

【翻译】若您正前往英国最大的图书零售商Waterstones 旗下最近的分店，寻找苏塞克斯公爵夫人最新出版的儿童读物《The Bench》，您可能得准备四处搜寻一番；对于比尔·克林顿与詹姆斯·帕特森合著的最新惊悚小说《The President’s Daughter》而言，情况或许也类似。

Both of these books are published next week by Penguin Random House(PRH), a company currently involved in a stand-off with Waterstones.

【生词】stand-off 疏远，保持一定距离

The problem began late last year, when PRH confirmed that it had introduced a credit limit with Waterstones “at a very significant level”. 

【生词】credit limit 信贷限额

【翻译】问题始于去年年底，当时PRH 确认其已与Waterstones设定了“相当高的”信贷限额。

The trade magazine The Bookseller reported that Waterstones branch managers were being told to remove PRH books from prominent areas such as tables, display spaces and windows, and were “quietly retiring them to their relevant sections”.

【生词】prominent adj.突出的，杰出的, 突起的, 著名的

display v.陈列，展示

【翻译】行业杂志《The Bookseller》报道称，Waterstones 的分店经理被要求将 PRH 系列书籍从桌子、展示区和橱窗等显眼位置撤下，并“悄然将其放回相应的专区”。

PRH declined to comment on the issue, but a spokesperson for Waterstones told me: “Waterstones are currently operating with reduced credit terms from PRH, the only publisher in the UK to place any limitations on our ability to trade. 

We are not boycotting PRH titles but we are doing our utmost to ensure that availability for customers remains good despite the lower overall levels of stock. 

【生词】boycott v.抵制, 拒绝参加/购买

【翻译】我们并非抵制PRH 系列产品，而是竭尽全力确保尽管整体库存水平下降，客户仍能获得充足的商品供应。

We are hopeful with our shops now open again that normality will return and that we will be allowed to buy appropriately. 

【生词】normality n.常态, 规度, 正态

【翻译】随着我们的店铺重新开业，我们满怀期待地期盼生活能重回正轨，并能再次获得正常购物的便利。

Certainly, our shops are exceptionally busy. The sales for our May Books of the Month surpassed any month since 2018.”

【翻译】诚然，我们的门店生意异常红火。五月的“月度好书”的销售额已超越自2018年以来的任何月份。

In the meantime, PRH authors have been the losers. Big-name PRH authors may suffer a bit, but it’s those mid-list authors, who normally rely on Waterstones staff’s passion for promoting books by lesser-known writers, who will be praying for an end to the dispute.

【生词】pray v.祈祷，祷告

dispute v.质疑, 辩论，争论, 争夺; n.争论，争端，纠纷

【翻译】与此同时，PRH 的作者们却成了输家。知名 PRH 作者或许会受些影响，但真正会期盼这场争端结束的，却是那些中等知名度的作者——他们通常依赖 Waterstones 的员工对推广不太知名的作家作品的热情。

It comes at a time when authors are already worried about the consequences of the proposed merger between PRH and another big publisher, Simon & Schuster -- the reduction in the number of unaligned UK publishers is likely to lead to fewer bidding wars, lower advances, and more conformity in terms of what is published.

【生词】merger n.（两个公司的）合并, 联合体, 吸收

unaligned adj.不结盟的

【翻译】这一举措出台之际，作者们已对PRH 与另一家大型出版商Simon & Schuster拟议中的合并可能带来的后果感到担忧——英国未隶属任何出版商的出版商数量减少，很可能导致竞标战减少、预付款降低，以及在出版内容方面更加趋同。

“This is all part of a wider change towards concentration of power,”says literary agent Andrew Lownie.

【翻译】“这一切都是向权力集中这一更广泛变革的一部分，”文学经纪人安德鲁·洛尼表示。

“The publishing industry talks about diversity in terms of authors and staff but it also needs a plurality of ways of delivering intellectual contact, choice and different voices. After all, many of the most interesting books in recent years have come from small publishers.”

【生词】plurality n.诸多, 多元化, 处于多数, （选举中的）相对多数（票）

【翻译】出版业在探讨多样性时，通常聚焦于作者与从业人员的多样性，但同样需要多样化的渠道来提供知识交流、选择空间以及多元的声音。毕竟，近年来许多最具吸引力的书籍均出自小型出版社之手。

We shall see whether that plurality is a casualty of the current need among publishers to be big enough to take on all-comers.

【生词】casualty n.伤亡人员, 受害者, 急诊室

【翻译】我们将观察，这种多元格局是否已成为出版商当前亟需具备足够规模以应对所有竞争者这一现实需求的牺牲品。