尋寶還是找書？走進新南威爾士州看看吧

昝亞娟

Books are usually found at the library or in book stores. But for the past three years， children have been finding hidden books in many unusual places in Braidwood， a town in New South Wales， Australia.

The books are part of a literary treasure hunt that is sweeping the town， reported ABC News. They are hidden on the streets， in shop windows， or in local parks.

The children find a book that has been placed in a plastic sleeve， take it home， read it， write their names in it， and then either keep it or re-hide it for someone else to find. The initiative is a fun way of encouraging children to read.

Samantha Dixon， a mother of five， founded Hidden Books after reading about similar initiatives in the US， UK， and New Zealand on Facebook. Realizing she had a bookcase full of children’s books that were already read， she decided to give them away.

“It’s lovely to watch the little kids’ faces light up when they find the books.” Dixon said. She’s happy that the books her kids read and enjoyed are now being read again.

After three years， the project runs itself. “Obviously people were re-hiding books that were already out there， but we have some lovely community members who are out there regularly hiding new books for the children to read，” Dixon said.

People are donating books from their bookshelves， from schools updating their libraries， from bookstores， and from funding given by a private donor.

“There’s nothing nicer than putting some books out and seeing people pick them up and enjoy them or walking back past minutes later and they’re already gone，” Pauline Donovan， one of the organizers said.

And the big plus is that Hidden books encourage kids to read. “We’ve heard stories of children picking up books who don’t normally read and children coming back for more，” said one of the project’s organizers， Julie Tregear.

From Book Fairies in New York and London， to Hidden Books in the Southern Hemisphere， these literary treasure hunts share the magic of books and inspire a generation of young readers.

（材料出自Goodnet網站，有刪改）

1.Why are books hidden somewhere in the city？

A.To play a game of treasure hunt.

B.To make reading more interesting.

C.To help less fortunate children to read.

D.To make better use of second-hand books.

2.What makes Dixon happy according to the text？

A.More books being donated by new writers.

B.Some adults reading more books than ever.

C.Her children becoming interested in reading.

D.Children are fond of reading hidden books.

3.What does the underlined phrase “runs itself” in paragraph 6 mean？

A.Worked well. B.Caught attention.

C.Made profit. D.Lose money.

4.What can be inferred from what Julie Tregear said？

A.The community welcomes it.

B.Reading is helpful to children.

C.The initiative is well received.

D.Adults should join the activity.

參考答案：1.B 2.D 3.A 4.C