文章大意:本文是一篇新闻报道。讲述了拉姆斯盖特的一家书店经营困难,面临倒闭的困境,于是店主Sapphire Bates在推特上发布了求助信息,谁知获得了粉丝和知名作家的大力支持。
David Almond, the children’s fiction writer, once said that a good bookshop is not only one that sells books, but it also reaches out into the world and makes a difference. For one bookshop in Ramsgate, it was the other way around.
Sapphire Bates, the owner, feared that she would have to close her doors, after rising costs and customers short of cash left her £800 in the red. However, an appeal on Twitter to help her Ramsgate store grabbed the attention of more than five million people, including authors who have sold millions of copies between them.
“We need your help,” Bates wrote in the tweet. “I run Book Bodega, a bookshop in Ramsgate. Winter is killing us. It’s so quiet and we need to make £800 by Tuesday to pay our bills.” Alongside the tweet, Bates posted a photo of her shop with no customers inside. Since reaching out to her followers for support, she had been surprised by the response.
“We had people coming in all day, even people who weren’t in a position to buy were coming in just to say, ‘We really love what you’re doing, we like your shop and we want to see independent bookshops do well.’ There’s been a lot of love.” Bates and her partner, Nicholas Turner, said the response had been “a massive motivational boost”. They struggled to get authors in the door previously, because Ramsgate is usually not on publisher’s radars for book launches. The bestseller author, Adam Kay saw the tweet and offered to do a free event in the shop. Other influential figures also shared Bates’s appeal and got in touch to offer words of support.
Now the shop came to life. People began filling up and more than 300 messages asked after books and £1000 worth of online orders. John Westwood, the business’s managing partner, said, “Book lovers are a very special people, and everyone has been so supportive. Books are special things and nothing beats going into a bookstore. Seeing them, touching them, smelling them—it is a special place.”
4. What do we know about Bates’ shop according to the first three paragraphs?
A.It enjoyed high popularity. | B.It fell into financial difficulties. |
C.It sold many books on Twitter. | D.It made contributions to the public. |
5. What does “a massive motivational boost” underlined in paragraph 4 mean?
A.A necessary comfort. | B.A new milestone. |
C.A great encouragement. | D.A promising prospect. |
6. What do John Westwood’s words in the last paragraph indicate?
A.Bookstores are loyal to the books. | B.Book lovers never fail bookstores. |
C.Books are a thing, and virtue is another. | D.Everything is inferior, but reading is high. |
7. What is the best title for the text?
A.A cornered bookshop, a happy story | B.Bates braves challenges on hard times |
C.Bates’ tweet reaches out into the world | D.A struggling bookstore, hope on the way |