内容正文:
Guangxi’s giant sinkhole gets a stunning cliffside bookstore
Pre-reading
Task I
What will come to your mind when you think of bookstores? Answer it with three different adjectives.
Task II
Look at the picture below and answer the following questions.
1. Why did people build a bookstore in a deep sinkhole instead of in a city?
2. What difficulties might engineers and workers face when building such a cliffside bookstore?
While-reading
Exploring the text
I. Background information.
1. Mianhua Sinkhole:棉花天坑,位于罗城仫佬族自治县四把镇棉花村深洞屯,是一个4A级景区,总占地面积2000多亩,包含天坑大剧场、深洞古村落民宿和长生洞三大核心景点。作为旅游扶贫项目,棉花天坑累计接待游客超100万人次。2022年入选全国非遗与旅游融合发展优选项目名录。
2. cliffside bookstore:悬崖书店,位于广西河池市罗城仫佬族自治县棉花天坑景区内。书店依托326米深的棉花天坑峭壁而建,通过木制栈道与观景台相连,成为景区1600米栈道中途的休憩点和夜间灯光打卡地。
3. karst:喀斯特,即岩溶,是水对可溶性岩石(碳酸盐岩、石膏、岩盐等)进行以化学溶蚀作用为主,流水的冲蚀、潜蚀和崩塌等机械作用为辅的地质作用,以及由这些作用所产生的现象的总称。由喀斯特作用形成的地貌,被称为喀斯特地貌(岩溶地貌)。
II. Phrases.
a natural wonder 一处自然奇观
wind through … 蜿蜒穿过……
require some effort 需要一些努力
a protective shelter 一处保护性的庇护所
be in harmony with … 与……和谐相处
remain untouched 保持原生态,未被触碰
an open-air reading space 一处露天阅读空间
bring together … 汇集,使……聚集在一起
III. Sentence analysis.
Today, however, it is more than just a natural wonder — a bookstore has been built into one of its steep cliffs, housed inside a massive cave where bookshelves are attached to the rock walls and wooden walkways wind through the cave. (para.1)
①本句是主从复合句。
②主句是Today, however, it is more than just a natural wonder。
③破折号后的内容为补充说明;where bookshelves … wind through the cave是限制性定语从句,修饰a massive cave。
句意 然而如今,它早已不只是一处自然奇观——在它其中一面陡峭的悬崖中建立了一家书店。这家书店藏身于一个巨大的洞穴内,岩壁上固定着书架,木质步道蜿蜒穿梭于洞穴之中。
Testing yourself
I. Combine the contents in Columns A and B to form new words and complete the following sentences with them.
A
B
un-
-er
low
-ive
mass
-ation
form
touched
1. The company decided to __________ the price of its products to attract more customers.
2. Scientists study the rock ____________ in this area to learn about the Earth’s ancient history.
3. The small island in the Pacific remains ____________, with white beaches and clear blue water.
4. The __________ stone Buddha statue carved into the cliff of Leshan has stood for over a thousand years.
II. Choose the proper content from the box to complete the following sentences.
be in harmony with, bring together, require some effort, wind through
1. A narrow path ____________ the forest, leading to a quiet lake hidden among the trees.
2. Learning to play the guitar well _____________, but daily practice makes it easier.
3. The soft lighting in the room _____________ the warm color of the wooden furniture.
4. This community event aims to _____________ neighbors, with food, games and music for everyone.
III. Fill in each blank with one proper word or the proper form of the given word.
The Mianhua Sinkhole in China features a unique cliffside bookstore 1. _______ (build) into its steep cave. Constructing it was 2. _________ (challenge) due to the karst terrain, but the result is a “knowledge canyon” with 10,000 books on rock walls, protected 3. _______ the sinkhole’s natural structure. Part of a “cliff series” (including a pool, a hotel, and a café) designed 4. __________ (harmonious) with nature, the bookstore has attracted over 100,000 visitors, integrating adventure, design and reading joy.
Post-reading
Compared with traditional libraries or bookstores, what unique feelings do you think such “unconventional” reading spaces can bring to people?
Keys;
Testing yourself
I.
1. lower
2. formation
3. untouched
4. massive
II.
1. winds through
2. requires some effort
3. is in harmony with
4. bring together
III.
1. built
2. challenging
3. by
4. harmoniously
学科网(北京)股份有限公司
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Guangxi’s giant sinkhole gets a stunning cliffside bookstore
The Mianhua Sinkhole in Luocheng Mulao Autonomous County, Hechi City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, measures 326 meters in depth. Today, however, it is more than just a natural wonder — a bookstore has been built into one of its steep cliffs, housed inside a massive cave where bookshelves are attached to the rock walls and wooden walkways wind through the cave. This cliffside bookstore has become a striking attraction, drawing visitors from home and abroad.
Reaching the bookstore requires some effort. It stands on the edge of the sinkhole, surrounded by thick forest, so visitors must complete a short but memorable journey.
Founder He Zhijian recalls that building the project was extremely challenging. The sinkhole’s karst cliffs are steep, so engineers had to use special methods to secure the structure. “Workers also had to set up temporary platforms suspended above the pit, build the upper structure, and then remove the lower platforms,” he adds.
Today, more than 10,000 books line the rock face, forming a “knowledge canyon” 10 meters high and 150 meters long. During the day, the scene looks like a mountain of books. At night, the shelves light up, creating a glowing ribbon of pages across the rock wall. Surprisingly, the books remain dry throughout the year. The sinkhole’s natural formation blocks wind and rain, providing a protective shelter for the entire structure.
The cliffside bookstore is part of a broader “cliff series” that includes a cliff pool, cliff hotel, and cliff café. All were built in harmony with the natural landscape, preserving the original rock formations. Environmental protection plays a major role in the project. The hotel on the cliff treats wastewater through a four-stage system that produces clean water for irrigation. The bottom of the sinkhole remains untouched except for a raised walkway through the wild banana plants.
Since opening, the bookstore has welcomed more than 100,000 visitors. It is rare for a geological wonder such as this deep sinkhole to be transformed into an open-air reading space — a library that brings together adventure, design, and the quiet joy of reading.
学科网(北京)股份有限公司
$Guang, she's giant sink hole, gets a stunning Cliff side bookstore. The棉花son called in to autonomous county city guangzhou toni's region,measures three hundred and twenty six meters in depth. Today, however, IT is more than just a natural wonder. A bookstore has been built into one of its steep clifts, housed inside a massive cave, where bookshelves are attached to the rock walls and wooden walkways went through the cave. This Cliff side bookstore has become a striking attraction, drawing visitors from home and abroad. Reaching the bookstore requires some effort. IT stands on the edge of the sin cole, surrounded by thick forest, so visitors must complete a short but memorable journey. Founder he je je recalls that building the project was extremely chAllenging. The sink holes, cast Cliff are steep, so engineers had to use special methods to secure the structure. Workers also had to set up temporary platforms suspended above the pit, built the upper structure and then remove the lower platforms, he adds. Today, more than ten thousand books lined the rock face, forming a knowledge canyon ten meters high and one hundred and fifty meters long. During the day, the scene looks like a mountain of books. At night, the shelves lied up, creating a glowing ribbon of pages across the rock wall. Surprisingly, the books remain dry throughout the year. The syncs natural formation, locks wind and rain, providing a protective shelter for the entire structure. The Cliff side bookstore is part of a broader Cliff series that includes a Cliff pool, Cliff hotel and Cliff cafe. All were built in harmony with the natural landscape, preserving the original rock formations. Environmental protection plays a major role in the project. The hotel on the Cliff treats wastwater through a four stage system that produces clean water for irrigation. The bottom of the sinkhole remains untouched, except for a raised walkway through the wild banana plants. Since opening, the bookstore has welcomed more than one hundred thousand visitors. IT is rare for a geological wonder, such as this deep signal, to be transformed into an OpenAIr reading space, a library that brings together adventure design and the quiet joy of reading.