E·B·怀特给孩子们的信
April 14, 1971
1971年4月14日
Dear Children of Troy:
亲爱的特洛伊孩子们：
Your librarian has asked me to write, telling you what a library can mean to you.
你们的图书管理员让我写封信，告诉你们图书馆于你们而言意味着什么。
A library is many things. It’s a place to go, to get in out of the rain.
图书馆是许多东西。你们可以来这里，遮风避雨。
It’s a place to go if you want to sit and think.
你们可以来这里，静坐冥想。
But particularly it is a place where books live, and where you can get in touch with other people, and other thoughts, through books.
更可贵的是，这个地方藏书万千，在这里，你可以通过阅读认识其他人，接触到其他的思想。
If you want to find out about something, the information is in the reference books—the dictionaries, the encyclopedias, the atlases.
如果你想了解某些事物，不妨借助一些参考书中——字典、百科全书、地图册查阅信息。
If you like to be told a story, the library is the place to go.
如果你喜欢听别人讲故事，图书馆更是不二之选。
Books hold most of the secrets of the world, most of the thoughts that men and women have had.
图书中蕴藏着世界上大多数秘密，还有男性和女性的大部分思想。
And when you are reading a book, you and the author are alone together—just the two of you.
当你沉迷于阅读时，全世界只剩下你和作者两人独处。
A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort.
当你抑郁或心情低落时，图书馆是个疗伤的好去处，因为在那里，恣意徜徉在书海中，你能获得鼓励和慰藉。
A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered.
当你困惑或犹豫不决时，图书馆是个解惑的好去处，因为在那里，尽情攀登知识的阶梯，你的疑惑可能会迎刃而解。
Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people—people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.
无论悲伤或者快乐，书籍永远是岁月长河中最忠实的伙伴，因为所谓“书籍”——是那些藏身封面间并设法生存下来的智者。