2. 外语
  3. How to Use a Library A)You’re driving your car home from work or school. And something goes wrong. The engine stalls out at ligh

How to Use a Library A)You’re driving your car home from work or school. And something goes wrong. The engine stalls out at ligh

admin2015-02-09  81
问题                         How to Use a Library
A)You’re driving your car home from work or school. And something goes wrong. The engine stalls out at lights, holds back as you go to pass. It needs a tune-up — and soon. Where do you go? The library. You can take out an auto repair manual that tells step-by-step how to tune up your make and model. Or your tennis game has fallen off. You’ve lost your touch at the net. Where do you go? The library — for a few books on improving your tennis form.
B)"The library!" you say. "That’s where my teacher sends me to do—ugh—home work. "Unfortunately, I’ve found that’s exactly the way many people feel. If you’re among them, you’re denying yourself the easiest way to improve yourself, enjoy yourself and even cope with life. My first suggestion for making the most of your library is to do what I did, read and read and read. For pleasure — and for understanding.
C)If it’s TV that keeps you from cultivating this delicious habit, I can offer a sure remedy. Take home from the library a stack of books that might look interesting. Pile them on the TV set. Next time you are tempted to turn on a program you really don’t want to see, reach for a book instead.
D)Over the years, people collect a mental list of books they mean to read. If you don’t have such a list, here is the suggestion. Take from the library some of the books you might have enjoyed dramatized on TV, like Remargue’s All Quiet on the Western Front, Clavell’s Shogun, Tolkien’s The Hobbit, or Victor Hugo’s Les Mise Rabies. If you like what you read, you can follow up with other satisfying books by the same authors.
E)Some people in their reading limit themselves to current talked-about best sellers. Oh, what they miss! The library is full of yesterday’s best sellers; and they still make compelling reading today. Some that I’ve enjoyed: A. B. Guthrie’s The Big Sky, Carl Van Doren’s Benjamin Franklin, Mari Sandoz’s Old Jules, and Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead.
F)How do you find these or any other books you’re looking for? It’s easy — with the card catalog. Every time I go to the library — and I go more than once a week — I invariably make a beeline to the card catalog before anything else. It’s the nucleus of any public library. The card catalog lists every book in the library by: 1. author; 2. title; 3. subject. Let’s pick an interesting subject to look up. I have always been fascinated by astronomy. You’ll be surprised at the wealth of material you will find under "astronomy" to draw upon. And the absorbing books you didn’t know existed on it. CAUTION: Always have a pencil and paper when you use the card catalog.
G)Once you jot down the numbers of the books you are interested in, you are ready to find them on the shelves. Libraries call the shelves "the stacks". In many smaller libraries, which you’ll be using, the stacks will be open for you to browse. To me there is a special thrill in tracking down the books I want in the stacks! For invariably, I find books about which I knew nothing, and these often turn out to be the very ones I need. You will find the same thing happening to you when you start to browse in the stacks. "A learned mind is the end product of browsing."CAUTION: If you take a book from the stacks to your work desk, do not try to return it to its proper place. That’s work for the experts. If you replace it incorrectly, the next seeker won’t be able to find it.
H)Some of the brightest and best-informed men and women in America are the librarians who specialize in providing reference help. Introduce yourself. State your problem. And be amazed at how much help you will receive. CAUTION: Don’t waste the time of this expert by asking silly questions you ought to solve yourself. Save the reference librarian for the really big ones.
I)You should also learn to use the Reader s Guide to Periodical Literature .This green-bound index is one of the most useful items in any library. It indexes all the articles in the major magazines, including newspaper magazine supplements. Thus it provides a guide to the very latest expert information of any subject that interests you. So if you want to do a really first-class job, find out which magazines your library subscribes to, then consult the Reader s Guide and track down recent articles on your subject. When you use this wonderful tool effectively, you show the mark of a real scholar.
J)Since you can take most books home, but not magazines, take full notes when using the latter. Many libraries today provide a reprographic machine that can quickly copy pages you need from magazines and books. Ask about it. If you are working on a project of some size which will require repeated library visits, keep a small notebook in which you record the identification numbers of the books you will be using frequently. This will save you valuable time, because you won’t have to consult the card catalog or search aimlessly through the stacks each time you visit for material you seek. Some of the very best books in any library are the reference books, which may not be taken home. Learn what topics they cover and how best to use them, for these books are wonderful repositories(储藏室、资料库)of human knowledge.
K)Your library can give you help on any subject. It can even be your business and legal advisor. How many times have you scratched your head over how to get a tax rebate(折扣)on your summer job? You’ll find guides to that. Want to defend yourself in traffic court? Find out how in legal books at the library.
L)Library Projects Can Be Fun and Rewarding. Here are a few ideas:
1. What are your roots? Trace your ancestors. Many libraries specialize in genealogy.
2. Did George Washington sleep nearby? Or Billy the Kid? Your library’s collection of local history books can put you on the trail.
3. Cook a Polynesian feast. Or an ancient Roman banquet. Read how in the library’s cook books.
4. Take up photography. Check the library for consumer reviews of cameras before you buy. Take out books on lighting, composition, or darkroom techniques or — you name it!
M)If you haven’t detected by now my enthusiasm for libraries, let me offer two personal notes. I’m particularly pleased that in recent years two beautiful libraries have been named after me: a small community library in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, and the huge research library located at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. And I like libraries so much that 1 married a librarian.
Yesterday’s best sellers are still good for reading, which shouldn’t be overlooked.
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答案E
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