An English village inn in Chinese countryside

精彩導讀

婺源縣是江西省上饒市的一個下轄縣，是古徽州一府六縣之一，是全國著名的文化與生態旅游縣，被外界譽為“中國最美鄉村”。在這里，來自英國的Edward Gawne和他的妻子Selina Liao Minxin共同經營了一家鄉村小旅館，以一種別樣的方式傳承著徽派建筑的文化，給客人提供了別樣的體驗。由此，他們找到了夢寐以求的寧靜，找到了屬于自己的穩穩的幸福。

All of the 14 guestrooms at Edward Gawne's village inn in the Chinese countryside are booked a month in advance.

The 33-year-old British manrunsan inn named Skywells in Wuyuan County， Jiangxi Province with his Chinese wife， Selina Liao Minxin.

“On average， we receive about 20 phone calls to book our hotel every day，” Gawne said.

The couple opened Skywells last August in a historic mansion（豪宅）that contains delicate（精美的）woodcarvings，a western fireplace，a wooden baras well asa small blackboard with a menu in both Chinese and English.

It is one of the over 4，000 historic houses in Wuyuan.Most of the housesfeaturetraditional Hui architecture，known for its gray tiles（瓦片）and white walls.

“Here we have green trees giving shade and a stream flowing beneath little bridges.Hui-style houses are beautiful，standing for traditional Chinese culture，” Gawne said.

The couple's900-square-meterhouse，formerlynamed Jinzhicheng Hall，wasoriginallyan inn for traveling merchants about 300 years ago.It wasexpandedaround 150 years ago to include 14 bedrooms， a formal hall and a yard for animals，according to Gawne.

“A yard， a bar， a fireplace and a dog， I found everything I love about British life in Wuyuan，” Gawne said.

Before settling in Wuyuan，Gawne worked in Shanghai and met his wife in 2013.The pair resigned （辭去）from their jobs in 2015 saying they were “fed up with the rush of city life”.

They returned to Liao's hometown Nanchang，capital of Jiangxi，and traveled around the province where Gawne was drawn to the old buildings in Wuyuan.

“It would be a pity if these classic old houses disappeared，”Gawne said.

With the help of the local government，the couple bought a house built in the Qing Dynasty in Yan Village at the end of 2015.

“This house has seen the rise and fall of the Qing empire.”Gawne said.

“Each room is named after a story of its previous owners to ensure the culture of this ancient building is passed down，” she said.“We kept all the original early Qing Dynasty architecture，woodcarvings and stone.”

The couple's hard work has been warmly received by villagers and visitors.

“The old building was about to break down and I am very happy to see that it had been renovated（修復 ） in such a good way，” said Hu Shengying， a previous owner of the house.

“The house features Hui-style architecture and is well-preserved.It combines modern elements with Chinese history and culture，” commented a Chinese visitor surnamed Lei.

閱讀掃障

Ⅰ.熟詞生義

Ⅱ.詞匯積累

1.originally[?'rid??nli]adv.起初；原先

2.expand[?k'sp?nd]v.（使）（尺寸、數量或重要性）擴大，增加；（使）膨脹

3.ensure[?n'∫??]v.確保；保證

4.comment['k?ment]v.評論；評價

5.on average平均

6.as well as和；也

7.be fed up with厭倦

8.pass down把……一代傳一代；使流傳

9.break down 損壞；出故障；瓦解

10.combine...with把……和……結合起來

Ⅲ.詞匯鞏固

選用“詞匯積累”中的詞匯完成句子。

1.It was Bob who _______put up the idea of the exhibition.

2.If your car were to _______while you were driving in America，someone would most likely stop to see if you needed help.

3.The airline is taking steps to _______safety on its aircraft.

4.______，one child out of every ten living in an OECD country in 2018 still live in poverty.

5.The air in the balloon _______when heated.

6.We hope we can _______this information to everyone.Let's take care of our environment with the same dedication and feelings.

7.Little by little，I began to _______examinations.

8.My mum always _______ on what I'm wearing.

9.Allmyclassmates， ________ourheadteacher，went to the Great Wall yesterday.

10.As a writer，he _______wit ______passion.