British Store Forms Human Chain to Move Books

 

This is What’s Trending Today…

Recently, the operators¹ of a bookstore in Southampton, England made an unusual appeal to people in the community. They sought help moving books and other things to the store’s new location, a short distance down the street.

Community-based October Books put up announcements around the neighborhood and on the internet. They asked, “Can you lend a hand?”

The bookstore made clear the work would be volunteer and that all kinds of people were needed. It would be a lot of work, even if the store was relocating only about 150 meters down the street.

Part of the work required serious lifting and boxing things. “This is not a family event, we need people happy to do heavy lifting,” said an announcement posted last Sunday on Facebook. Naturally, the store had to move books – lots and lots of books.

The announcement said the move would be happening throughout the week. But community members did not wait long to start coming forward to offer their help.

A report in the Southern Daily Echo² newspaper said at least 250 volunteers showed up last Sunday ready to work.

With that number of people, the organizers decided³ to change their method for moving books from the old store to the new one. Instead of having people carry them, volunteers formed a human chain to pass the books from person to person. They lined up between the two locations along Portswood Road.

Clare Diaper works⁴ at October Books. She told the Southern Daily Echo she was caught by surprise at the huge amount of interest.

“It was just amazing, we started with 10 people having to run between shops and ended up with 250 people passing books,” Diaper said. She added that she got “quite emotional” and found the level of community support “heartening.”

Jani Franck was part of the human chain. She also told the newspaper it was “amazing” to see the power of so many local people in action.

“October Books have done really well. I’m in awe⁵,” she said.

Local news reports said the volunteers passed about 2,000 books from hand-to-hand on October 28 alone. About 18,000 more were to be moved the rest of the week. The Grand Opening of the new store is set for Saturday, November 3.

October Books decided to move from its old location because of rising costs. The operators said they did not have enough money to pay for continued use of the building. So they launched⁶ a campaign to raise money to buy a nearby old bank building as the store’s new home.

The Guardian⁷ newspaper reports that October Books was founded in 1977 as a small “radical⁸ bookshop cooperative” named after Russia’s October Revolution. But the business kept expanding as it grew over the years.

And that’s What’s Trending Today…

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

location – n. a place or position

chain – n. a line of things connected together

amazing – adj. causing great surprise or wonder

awe – n. feeling of great respect

radical – adj. advocating or based on thorough or complete political or social change

1 operators   

n.（某企业的）经营者( operator的名词复数 )；（机器、设备等的）操作员；电话接线员；投机取巧者

参考例句：

• A plethora of new operators will be allowed to enter the market. 大批新的运营商将获准进入该市场。 来自辞典例句
• Green house operators have considerable opportunity for precise manipulation of nutrients. 温室管理员有很多机会来准确控制养分。 来自辞典例句

2 echo   

n.回音，共鸣；vi.发出回声；vt.模仿，附和

参考例句：

• She shouted on the mountaintop and listened for the echo.她在山顶上大声喊着，然后聆听着回声。
• I should like to echo the words of the previous speaker.我想重复前面一位发言者的话。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

5 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

6 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

7 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

8 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。