I didn’t understand the irony (讽刺) immediately. Only on the way home. The book I had just returned to our local library was called “Unquiet Landscape” by Christopher Neve. He widened my view.
But the ironic word for me in his books title. Irealized, was “unquiet”. It applied not to the landscape but to our local library. I have thus visited it again since then, and my conclusion is much the same: This is no longer a quiet place.
On both of my visits the library was packed with small children, and they were doing rather a lot of small-children things, such as dancing in circles, singing, jumping up and down, and so on. Various adults sitting around were clearly not discouraging them, rather the opposite.
I wasn’t exactly shocked. But I have to say that my understanding of library behavior and purpose changed somewhat. All my upbringing (教养) about libraries was what they were sanctums(圣地), places of escape in a noisy world. If one clearedone’s throat in a library, one was likely to be stared at by the librarians not to mention tolerating the disapproval of fellow library users enjoying their post-lunch nap. The first school I attended had a library that was entirely conventional infunction. In it, we boys did (or were expected to do) one thing only: read. The second school i attended allowed one to write as well as read in the library.
Since those days, my attitude, I hope, has changed a little. I’ve come across some very pleasant librarians eager to help with my projects. Some of them are surprisingly generous with providing access to their books, which are as dear to them as their own children. And the silence rule has, over the years, become much less strict. Even quite loud laughter, I find, is not always opposed to.
【小题1】What did the author do after finishing the book?| A．He visited the lands mentioned in the book. |
| B．He expressed his admiration to the book winter. |
| C．He kept his habit of staying quiet in the library. |
| D．He made a close observation of the local library. |
| A．They made lots of noise. |
| B．They were soft with the kids. |
| C．They didn’t listen to the librarians. |
| D．They couldn’t stop their kids bad behavior. |
| A．Positive. | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Unconcerned. | D．Worried. |
