垃圾堆中建立起来的图书馆

河南 谷战峰

主题语境：公益活动

篇幅：322词

建议用时：6分钟

Gutiérrez's life changed after finding a copy ofAnna Kareninain trash 20 years ago.It happened one night when he saw deserted books while he was driving his garbage truck through wealthier neighborhoods.It ignited his desire to start rescuing books from trash.He took home about 50 books every morning after his night shift.Eventually,he turned his book collection into a community library for children from low-income families.

Bogota,Colombia's capital,has 19 public libraries.However,they are far away from where rural and poorer communities live.Buying new books is sometimes out of reach for families struggling to make ends meet.Gutiérrez's community library is a true representation of how one man's trash can be another's treasure.“I don't think I'm doing something so great.The library is simply a bridge between people who throw books and those who have no access to books,”he said about his remarkable efforts.

Today,his library,called“the Strength of Words”,contains over 20,000 books and occupies most of his home.Everything from school textbooks to storybooks can be found in his collection.The library is open every weekend,when neighborhood children pour in.“The whole value of the library lies in helping kids start reading.This is important for kids in Bogota where many young people kill time in the streets,”said Gutiérrez.

Gutiérrez grew up poor,and his family couldn't afford to educate him beyond primary school.Nevertheless,he never lets a lack of formal education stop him from reading.“Books are the greatest invention of human beings.There's nothing more beautiful than having a book handy,”Gutiérrez said.His journey to giving back to his local community is an amazing example of how every one of us can improve the lives of those around us by identifying needs,investing time and finding a simple solution.

Reading Check

1.What does the underlined word“ignited”mean in the first paragraph?

A.Indicated. B.Satisfied.

C.Limited. D.Stimulated.

2.Which of the following can best describe Gutiérrez?

A.Caring and humble.

B.Smart and independent.

C.Traditional and self-disciplined.

D.Ambitious and easy-going.

3.What do paragraphs 2 and 3 mainly tell us?

A.Bogota's main social problems.

B.The library's rich variety of books.

C.The bad habits of Bogota's young people.

D.The library's significance for the neighborhood.

4.What message does Gutiérrez's story deliver?

A.Education is the key to success.

B.All things are difficult before they are easy.

C.Small acts of kindness make a big difference.

D.Books are the food for those hungering for reading.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Difficult sentence in the text

It happened one night when he saw deserted books while he was driving his garbage truck through wealthier neighborhoods.事情发生在一个晚上，当他开着垃圾车穿过更富裕的社区时，他看到了被丢弃的书。

【点石成金】本句中，when 引导的是一个定语从句，修饰先行词one night，while 引导的是一个时间状语从句。

Ⅱ.Text-centered chunks

turn...into 把……变成

out of reach 够不到；遥不可及

make ends meet 使收支平衡

pour in 蜂拥而入

lie in 在于

kill time 消磨时间

a lack of 缺少

stop sb from doing sth 阻止某人做某事

invest time 投入时间

find a simple solution 找到一个简单的解决方案