An English village inn in Chinese countryside

精彩导读

婺源县是江西省上饶市的一个下辖县，是古徽州一府六县之一，是全国著名的文化与生态旅游县，被外界誉为“中国最美乡村”。在这里，来自英国的Edward Gawne和他的妻子Selina Liao Minxin共同经营了一家乡村小旅馆，以一种别样的方式传承着徽派建筑的文化，给客人提供了别样的体验。由此，他们找到了梦寐以求的宁静，找到了属于自己的稳稳的幸福。

All of the 14 guestrooms at Edward Gawne's village inn in the Chinese countryside are booked a month in advance.

The 33-year-old British manrunsan inn named Skywells in Wuyuan County， Jiangxi Province with his Chinese wife， Selina Liao Minxin.

“On average， we receive about 20 phone calls to book our hotel every day，” Gawne said.

The couple opened Skywells last August in a historic mansion（豪宅）that contains delicate（精美的）woodcarvings，a western fireplace，a wooden baras well asa small blackboard with a menu in both Chinese and English.

It is one of the over 4，000 historic houses in Wuyuan.Most of the housesfeaturetraditional Hui architecture，known for its gray tiles（瓦片）and white walls.

“Here we have green trees giving shade and a stream flowing beneath little bridges.Hui-style houses are beautiful，standing for traditional Chinese culture，” Gawne said.

The couple's900-square-meterhouse，formerlynamed Jinzhicheng Hall，wasoriginallyan inn for traveling merchants about 300 years ago.It wasexpandedaround 150 years ago to include 14 bedrooms， a formal hall and a yard for animals，according to Gawne.

“A yard， a bar， a fireplace and a dog， I found everything I love about British life in Wuyuan，” Gawne said.

Before settling in Wuyuan，Gawne worked in Shanghai and met his wife in 2013.The pair resigned （辞去）from their jobs in 2015 saying they were “fed up with the rush of city life”.

They returned to Liao's hometown Nanchang，capital of Jiangxi，and traveled around the province where Gawne was drawn to the old buildings in Wuyuan.

“It would be a pity if these classic old houses disappeared，”Gawne said.

With the help of the local government，the couple bought a house built in the Qing Dynasty in Yan Village at the end of 2015.

“This house has seen the rise and fall of the Qing empire.”Gawne said.

“Each room is named after a story of its previous owners to ensure the culture of this ancient building is passed down，” she said.“We kept all the original early Qing Dynasty architecture，woodcarvings and stone.”

The couple's hard work has been warmly received by villagers and visitors.

“The old building was about to break down and I am very happy to see that it had been renovated（修复 ） in such a good way，” said Hu Shengying， a previous owner of the house.

“The house features Hui-style architecture and is well-preserved.It combines modern elements with Chinese history and culture，” commented a Chinese visitor surnamed Lei.

阅读扫障

Ⅰ.熟词生义

Ⅱ.词汇积累

1.originally[ə'ridʒənli]adv.起初；原先

2.expand[ɪk'spænd]v.（使）（尺寸、数量或重要性）扩大，增加；（使）膨胀

3.ensure[ɪn'∫ʊə]v.确保；保证

4.comment['kɒment]v.评论；评价

5.on average平均

6.as well as和；也

7.be fed up with厌倦

8.pass down把……一代传一代；使流传

9.break down 损坏；出故障；瓦解

10.combine...with把……和……结合起来

Ⅲ.词汇巩固

选用“词汇积累”中的词汇完成句子。

1.It was Bob who _______put up the idea of the exhibition.

2.If your car were to _______while you were driving in America，someone would most likely stop to see if you needed help.

3.The airline is taking steps to _______safety on its aircraft.

4.______，one child out of every ten living in an OECD country in 2018 still live in poverty.

5.The air in the balloon _______when heated.

6.We hope we can _______this information to everyone.Let's take care of our environment with the same dedication and feelings.

7.Little by little，I began to _______examinations.

8.My mum always _______ on what I'm wearing.

9.Allmyclassmates， ________ourheadteacher，went to the Great Wall yesterday.

10.As a writer，he _______wit ______passion.