Will E-BooksReplacePrinted Books?

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As publishers and book lovers gather in Frankfurt this week for the world's largest book fair, the question on everyone's mind is, will e-books replace printed books?

本周，出版商和书籍爱好者齐聚法兰克福，参加世界上最大的书展。有一个大家心中埋藏许久的问题，电子书究竟会不会取代纸质书?

For the love of Books

关于书籍爱好者

“So many books, so little time.” , Frank Zappa

In 2010, there were about 328,259 new titles andeditionspublished in the US alone while approximately 2,200,000 titles were published worldwide. Advancing technology, however, has opened the doors to e-readingand digitized books, also called e-books.

“书很多，时间却太少了。”弗兰克扎帕这样说。

2010年，仅在美国就有328,259个新书出版，而在全球范围内出版了大约20万册。然而，先进的技术已经打开了电子阅读和数字化图书的大门，也被称为电子书。

According to 2013 statistics, 20% of Americans own or use an e-reading device and another 20% of the population had plans to start using an e-reader in 2014. In a recent survey about 10% of book readers said they had switched from printed books to e-books when they bought an e-reader, therestsimply read both print books and e-books.

根据2013年的数据统计，20%的美国人拥有或使用电子阅读设备，另有20%的人计划在明年开始使用电子阅读器。在最近的一项调查中，约有10%的读者表示，当他们购买电子书阅读器时，他们已经从印刷书籍转向电子书，最后剩下的那部分人群只阅读纸质书和电子书。

People with an e-reader seem to read more. Readers of printed books read about 15 books a year while those with an e-reader read almost 24 books each year. While both print books and e-books have their own supporters, there are times when one may be preferred over the other. 81% of Americans prefer printed books while reading with a child, but 73% prefer e-books while travelling. Most readers agreed the biggest advantage of e-readers was that they were lightweight, portable and great space savers in the home or office where space for storing books is a concern. The question if e-books will make print/paper books obsolete is, however, a matter of much contention and debate.

拥有电子书的人似乎会读更多的书。纸质书阅读者每年可以阅读大约15本书，而电子书阅读者则可以一年读24本书。而纸质书和电子书都有自己的支持者，有些时候一方可能优先于另一方，这些都是不确定的。在陪孩子阅读时，81%的美国人更喜欢纸质书，而在旅行时，73%的人则选择了电子书。大部分读者都认同电子书最大的优点就是轻便，易于携带，这一优点解决了一个令人担忧大问题--在家中或者办公室里的储物空间有限。但是，如果电子书的存在意味着纸质书的过时，那就会引起不可避免的争辩。

Age of the E-Readers

关于电子书阅读者的年龄

An e-reader or e-book reader is an electronic device that facilitates mobile reading of books and periodicals in adigitalformat.An e-reader can hold many hundreds of books and offer a number of facilities such as highlighting text, looking up the meaning of difficult words, embedded lighting system, zoom in/out to adjust font size, bookmarking, internet connectivity usingWi-Fietc.

电子阅读器或电子书阅读器是一种电子设备，以数字格式促进书籍和期刊的移动阅读。一个电子阅读器可以容纳几百本书，并提供一些便捷功能，如高亮文字、查找难词的含义、嵌入式照明系统、缩放、调整字体大小、书签、使用wi - fi上网等。

The earliest reader to use electronic paper was the Sony Librie in 2004. Soon a number of e-readers flooded the market and tablet computer manufacturers were creating applications that facilitated the reading of digital books on these devices. According to statistics from International Data Corporation, over 12.8 million e-book readers were sold in 2010. Among these 48% wereKindlee-readers, giving Amazon a clear lead. In 2012, however, it was reported that e-readers showed a steady decline in sales. IHSiSupplipredicts that only 7 million units may be sold in 2016; the e-reading space is increasingly beingcapturedby tablet computers.

在2004年，Sony Librie是最早使用电子书生产厂家。很快，许多电子阅读器充斥市场，平板电脑制造商也在创造应用程序，方便阅读这些设备上的电子书。根据国际数据公司的统计，2010年电子书阅读器销量超过1280万。其中48%是Kindle电子阅读器，给亚马逊带来了明显的领先优势。然而，在2012年，有报道称电子阅读器的销量在稳步下降。IHSiSuppli预计，2016年可能只会售出700万台电子阅读器;电子阅读空间正日益被平板电脑所占领。

Amazon launched its bestsellingKindle Firein the late 2011 and the e-reader quickly captured much market share within the first few months of its launch. In December 2011 the Kindle Fire was anticipated to havecapturedabout 5% of the e-reader market but by mid-January 2012 it grew to about 14%.

亚马逊在2011年底推出了最畅销的Kindle Fire，并且在第一个月迅速地占有了最多的市场份额。2011年12月，Kindle Fire在电子阅读器市场上占据了约5%的份额，但到2012年1月中旬，Kindle Fire增长到了14%左右。

According to a Pew Internet survey from 2011, those who did not own e-book reading devices or read on their tablet computers said the top reasons were:

1. They do not perceive a need for one

2. E-readers are too expensive and unaffordable

3. They have enough digital devices and do not wish to acquire any more

4. They prefer printed books.

根据2011年的一项皮尤互联网调查，那些没有电子书阅读设备或在平板电脑上阅读的人说，最主要的原因是:

1、他们并不需要

2、电子书太贵了负担不起

3、他们已经有足够多的电子设备

4、他们更青睐纸质书

Best E-Readers of 2013

Amazon Bestsellers 2013

2013年年度亚马逊畅销书

Printed Books Vs E-Books

纸质书VS电子书

“Books are frozen in time, yet in digital form, they can live in never-ending editions” – Jeff Jarvis (The Guardian)

“书是被时间冻结的，但以数字形式，它们可以生活在无穷无尽的版本中”--杰夫·贾维斯(《卫报》)

print books offer a number of advantages over e-books:

print books have a great resale value and are often used as collector’s' items. Print books are often keepsakes passed down for generations.

纸质书拥有极好的转售价值，并且经常用于收藏。纸质书经常被收藏者传递给其下一代。

print books offer ease of reading without hurting one’s eyes due to the artificial lighting of electronic devices.

纸质书提供给读者的悠闲式阅读，避免了电子设备的人工照明损伤读者眼睛。

print books do not require expensive e-book reading devices, Internet connectivity, and charging devices/ports that are imperative for reading digital books.

纸质书籍不需要昂贵的电子书阅读设备，网络连接，以及收费设备/端口等，这些都是阅读电子书的必要条件。

Loss of a single print book does not mean the loss of a collection/library. The loss/corruption of an e-reader could mean the loss of many hundreds of books.

丢失一本书并不意味着丢失了一个书库。电子阅读器的丢失或损坏可能意味着数百本书的丢失。

E-books similarly offer a number of advantages over printed books:

电子书比纸质书拥有更多的优点

The biggest advantage one has with e-books is that of portability. Hundreds of books can be carried easily in a handheld device.

最大的优势就是可携带性。几百本书尽在手掌之间。

E-books are often cheaper than print books as publishers save on printing costs. A number of e-books are offered free of cost or with major discounts due to the low costs of production.

电子书要比纸质书更加便宜，出版商也可以节省印刷成本。由于生产成本低，许多电子书都免费提供，也有很大的折扣。

Ease of shoppingis another major advantage of e-books. They can be bought online and delivered within minutes.

悠闲式购物是电子书另外一个优点。只需几分钟，就可以在网上购买到。

Font size adjustment, layout adjustments, a built-in dictionary and adjustable reading lights are some very handy additions to e-books that are appreciated by users.

用户们十分享受电子书的字体大小调整，布局调整，内置字典和可调阅读灯等一些非常方便的附加功能。

Why Printed Books?

为什么要印刷书籍?

Book lovers reveal a number of surprising reasons why printed books may never go out of fashion.

An experience beyond compare:“It is likely I will die next to a pile of things I was meaning to read”. Reading a printed book offers an experience that is quite irreplaceable. Thumbing through a well-read and well-loved print book is an experience digital books don’t offer. Parents reading to children often prefer printed versions: This is because it allows children to play, bend the pages, and get a truly hands-on experience with a book.

书籍爱好者揭示了许多令人称奇的原因，为什么印刷书籍可能永远不会过时。

1、无可比拟的阅读体验

“很有可能我会死在一堆我想读的东西旁边。”阅读一本印刷书籍提供的体验是不可替代的。翻阅一本好书和广受喜爱的纸质书，是一种数字书籍无法提供的体验。父母给孩子们读的书通常更喜欢纸质书:这是因为它是可以让孩子们玩耍、弯曲书页，并获得真正动手实践的书。

The smell of old books:Scientists now believe that the smell of old books is a combination of cut grass, vanilla, and acids. It is, however, among the favorite smells of regular readers and makes a library full of printed books all the more precious for people across the world. The smell of old books evokes a nostalgia that e-books quite lack.

2、旧书里难以抗拒的芬芳

科学家们现在认为，旧书的气味是由切草、香草和酸混合而成的。然而，它是普通读者最喜欢的气味之一，它使得一个图书馆充满了纸质书籍，这对世界各地的人们来说都更加弥足珍贵。旧书的味道唤起了人们的怀旧之情，而这一点电子书是有所欠缺的。

Physical beauty:The physical beauty of printed books cannot be replaced by their digital counterparts. Readers often hunt for and buy better prints/editions – hardback or leather-bound versions of their favorite books – for the sake of sheer physical beauty. Anna Quindlen said in Enough Bookshelves (New York Times, August 1991), “I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves”.

3、无可替代的外在美

纸质书的外在美不能被它们的数字同行取代。读者们常常为了纯粹的外表美而寻找和购买更好的版画/版本--精装版或皮革装订版。安娜·昆德兰(Anna Quindlen)在《纽约时报》(New York Times,1991年8月)中说过，“如果我的孩子长大后成为那种认为装饰主要是建造足够多书架的人，我将会很满足。”

print books as collectibles:The value of old books, rareeditions,and texts now out of circulation are immense. While digitization is touted as the best-known solution to preserve out-of-print books, owners of these deem their collections to be precious. Rare books owned by celebrities or famous personalities are known to fetch large amounts for their value as collectibles.

4、纸质书是绝佳的收藏品

旧书的价值，珍本，以及现在的流通都是巨大的。虽然数字化被吹捧为保存绝版书籍的最著名的解决方案，但这些书的拥有者认为他们的收藏是珍贵的。名人或名人所拥有的稀有书籍，以其作为收藏品的价值而闻名。

Will Printed Books Soon Die Out?

纸质书会很快消亡吗?

According to a 2013 poll bySurveyMonkey,about 45% of Americans agree that "E-Books will eventually become the most popular form of books in publishing". About 20% of other respondents strongly agree that this will indeed be the case. About 22% neither agree nor disagree, and just over 10% disagree, while about 3% strongly disagree. But will printed books or print books die out altogether?

根据SurveyMonkey2013年的一项调查，大约45%的美国人认为“电子书最终将成为出版业最受欢迎的图书形式”。约20%的受访者强烈认同这一点。约22%的人既不同意也不反对，只有10%的人不同意，而3%的人强烈反对。但是印刷书籍或纸质书会完全消亡吗?

According to Scholastic, the number of children who now read e-books has doubled since 2010. 58 percent of kids (age 9-17) say they will always want to read books printed on print even though there are ebooks available (a decline from 66% in 2010), revealing the digital shift in children’sreadingthat has begun.

根据学者的说法，自2010年以来，阅读电子书的儿童数量翻了一番。但58%的孩子(9 - 17岁)说，他们总是想要阅读打印出来的书，即使有电子书(2010年有66%)，这显示孩子阅读的数字转移已经开始。

While it is a fact that more readers are turning towards e-books or books in adigitalformat, preferences for printed books still run high. More publishers are turning towards digitization as the solution to preserve rare titles, and to overcome any challenges faced with printing books. Most of them are supplementing their publications, and e-books are complementary to their printed books. In publishing the bestselling series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott, the original six fantasy novels were published both as print and as e-books. Two exclusive e-books were released online as tie-ins to supplement the series.

尽管越来越多的读者转向电子书或电子书，但纸质书的偏好仍然很高。越来越多的出版商开始将数字化作为保存珍贵图书的解决方案，并克服印刷书籍面临的任何挑战。他们中的大多数都在补充他们的出版物，而电子书是他们印刷书籍的补充。迈克尔·斯科特(Michael Scott)出版了畅销书《不朽的尼古拉斯·勒梅尔(Nicholas Flamel)》(the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)，出版了6部奇幻小说，并出版了印刷版和电子书。网上发布了两本独家电子书作为搭配来补充本系列。

Ending

结语

The ease of digitization also offers options such as print on demand and has led to an increase in self-publishing. It seems likely that in days to come more readers will switch to e-books, butprinted books,as they become less prevalent, will be more cherished and will always find a place in the hearts, minds andbookshelves of readers.

数字化的方便性也提供了一些选择，如按需印刷，并影响了自助出版的增加。在未来的日子里，越来越多的读者可能会转向电子书，但随着电子书的普及，纸质书将会更加珍贵，并将永远在读者的心中、思想和书柜里找到一席之地。

关于本文

编译:杨天羽

审核:李恩庆

资料来源:mapsofworld.大学英语学习

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