Yang Li: Have you been to the British Library in London, Carol?

Carol: Not yet. 难道你是说今天我们要去大英图书馆吗？太好了，这可是伦敦著名的地标性建筑。

Yang Li: Wow! What an impressive building!

Carol: Huge and impressive!

Yang Li: I remember that the old British Library was one of the first landmarks I visited when I first came to the UK.

Carol: 的确如此。对于来英国留学的中国学生来说，大英图书馆就更是他们必去的“朝圣之地”。

Yang Li: Talking about the significance of the British Library, Heather Soderlind, Head of Public and Regional Marketing, has a lot to tell us:

The British Library is the UK national library and it is actually one of the three largest libraries in the world; the other two being the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Library of Congress in Washington.



So how big is the collection?



We have over 150 million items in the library and it's growing all the time.

Heather Soderlind, Head of Public and Regional Marketing, the British Library

Carol: Heather 说大英图书馆是英国国家图书馆。The UK national library.

Yang Li: It is actually one of the three largest libraries in the world, and the other two being…?

Carol: 哈哈，这可难不倒我。除了大英图书馆之外，世界上最大的另外两座图书馆分别是法国国家图书馆和位于美国华盛顿的国会图书馆。

Yang Li: Well done Carol. How big is the collection according to Heather then?

Carol: Over 150 million items. 图书馆藏书超过1亿5千万册。

Yang Li: Next Heather tells us about some of the iconic treasures in the British Library.

Carol: Iconic treasures 具有象征意义的珍藏品。

Well, we have two large exhibition galleries that are open to everybody and free of charge and here you can see some of the nation's most iconic treasures. Such as the Magna Carta, Jane Austen, James Joyce, Leonardo da Vinci's notebook, the only surviving signature of William Shakespeare and his first folio, wonderful examples of sacred texts across all faiths, maps. Amazing artefacts that we call treasures, that are on show for everybody.

Heather Soderlind, Head of Public and Regional Marketing, the British Library

Yang Li: Let's have a look at the nation's most iconic treasures: the Magna Carta.

Carol: 大宪章，也就是英国1215年订立的宪法。

Yang Li: Jane Austen.

Carol: 简·奥斯汀。

Yang Li: James Joyce.

Carol: 詹姆士·乔伊斯。

Yang Li: Leonardo da Vinci's notebook.

Carol: 莱昂纳多·达芬奇的笔记本。

Yang Li: The only surviving signature of William Shakespeare and his first folio.

Carol: 唯一一份现存的威廉·莎士比亚签名以及沙翁第一部对开本的书。

Yang Li: It sounds like heaven for students of English language and literature, doesn't it?

Carol: Yes, absolutely! Heather highly recommends a visit:

This is home to the whole of the English language memory since the English word began. Do come and see some of the wonderful literary manuscripts – some poetry that's on show. Labelling in the exhibition galleries is written in English. If you are a more advanced student, you might want to consider becoming a reader here. It's very easy to get an admission – a pass – to use the reading rooms, and there you can call up any kind of English language book you desire, we have them all.

Heather Soderlind, Head of Public and Regional Marketing, the British Library

Yang Li: She said that the British Library is home to the whole of the English language memory since the English word began.

Carol: 大英图书馆的藏书包罗万象，囊括了自英语产生以来的所有英文书籍。

Yang Li: There are wonderful literary manuscripts.

Carol: Manuscripts 手稿。

Yang Li: For advanced students of English, you might want to become a reader. It's free and you can use the reading rooms and call up any kind of English language book you desire. Call up.

Carol: Call up 预约借书。 A reader 一名读者。成为大英图书馆固定读者的好处在于，你可以免费使用图书馆中的阅览室，并借阅各类你想要看的图书。

Yang Li: Carol, can you imagine sitting in such a spacious and stylish library savouring a good book?

Carol: 要知道，这可不是一座普通建筑。著名建筑大师科林•威尔逊爵士共耗费了30年时间才最终完成了这座宏伟建筑。说到这儿，还是让我们来听听 Heather 是怎么说的。

The architect was a man called Sir Colin St John Wilson, and he designed this building. It took him 30 years to complete it and you can imagine that was a whole lifetime work for him. But once you come inside, the spaciousness of it is quite stunning. There's no building like it in London.

Heather Soderlind, Head of Public and Regional Marketing, the British Library

Carol: 建筑师为大英图书馆工程倾注了他一生的心血。A whole lifetime.

Yang Li: The spaciousness of the building is quite stunning.

Carol: 这座建筑的内部空间感实在令人叫绝 and there is no building quite like it in London.

Yang Li: It's very unique, so you must get your camera ready when you visit.

Carol: 好了，我们今天的节目就要结束了。谢谢各位的收听，我们下次再见。

Yang Li: Bye.