Why read this: This is a short, true story about a real library in England. It started 750 years ago with a wooden box of books. Students will learn how people used books a very long time ago, before computers and before the printing press.
What to notice: The article uses simple past tense for the old story (the chest, the rule, the new room) and simple present tense for today (the library is still open). Notice how the writer compares Merton with other very old libraries in Morocco, Egypt, and China.
Skills practised: Reading for facts: who, what, where, and when. Following dates and time order in a short history. Comparing places in different countries.
An old library in Oxford
A library in England started 750 years ago. It began as a wooden chest of books with three locks. Today, it is one of the oldest libraries in the world.
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
At Merton College in Oxford, there is a very old woodenwooden: Made of wood. — 木制的；木头的 box. It is called a chestchest: The front part of the body between the neck and the stomach, or a large strong box. — 胸部；胸膛；箱子. The chest has three lockslock: Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination — 锁. Longlong: For a great amount of time — 长时间 ago, three people had to come together to open it. Inside the chest were not goldgold: A valuable yellow metal used in jewellery and money. — 黄金 or jewelsjewel: A precious or semi-precious stone; gem, gemstone — 宝石. Inside were books.
Today, books are easy to buy. But hundreds of years ago, books were special. They were very expensive. People made each book by hand. One book could take many months to write. This was before the printing press: a machine that can print many copies of a book quickly. Before this machine, people made books by hand. — 活字印刷机.
In 1276, an important man made a rule for the college. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury. The rule said that members of Merton College must give books to the college. The college kept these books in the chest. This was the start of the library at Merton. That was 750 years ago.
The library at Merton is very, very old. It started before the Aztec Empire in Mexico. It is older than the Black Death: a very bad sickness in Europe in the 1300s. Many people died from it. — 黑死病, the big sicknesssickness: The quality or state of being sick or diseased; illness — 疾病 in Europe. It started more than 700 years ago. Today, the library is still open. Students still use it.
In the 1370s, the college built a new room just for the books. It was a purposepurpose: The reason why something is done. — 目的；用途-built room. Workers put up flat shelvesshelf: a flat piece of wood or other material fixed to a wall or in a cupboard, used for putting things on — 架子；搁板, and the books stood up on them. This was new in Britain. Before this, books were kept on tables with chainschain: A series of connected metal rings, or a group of shops owned by the same company. — 链条；锁链；连锁店. The chains stopped people from taking the books away.
Merton is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. But it is not the only very old library in the world. The Al-Qarawiyyin library is in Morocco. It is more than 1,000 years old. Saint Catherine's Monastery in Egypt also has a very old library. In China, the Dunhuang Library Cave kept books safesafe: Free from risk — 无风险的 for hundreds of years.
Today, the people at Merton are putting old books on the internet. People all over the world will be ableable: Having the power, skill, or chance to do something. — 有能力的；能够的 to read them. But many people will still want to come to Oxford. They will still want to see the old room and the old chest.
At Merton College in Oxford, there is a very old woodenwooden: Made of wood. — 木制的；木头的 box. It is called a chestchest: The front part of the body between the neck and the stomach, or a large strong box. — 胸部；胸膛；箱子. The chest has three lockslock: Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination — 锁. Longlong: For a great amount of time — 长时间 ago, three people had to come together to open it. Inside the chest were not goldgold: A valuable yellow metal used in jewellery and money. — 黄金 or jewelsjewel: A precious or semi-precious stone; gem, gemstone — 宝石. Inside were books.
Today, books are easy to buy. But hundreds of years ago, books were special. They were very expensive. People made each book by hand. One book could take many months to write. This was before the printing press: a machine that can print many copies of a book quickly. Before this machine, people made books by hand. — 活字印刷机.
In 1276, an important man made a rule for the college. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury. The rule said that members of Merton College must give books to the college. The college kept these books in the chest. This was the start of the library at Merton. That was 750 years ago.
The library at Merton is very, very old. It started before the Aztec Empire in Mexico. It is older than the Black Death: a very bad sickness in Europe in the 1300s. Many people died from it. — 黑死病, the big sicknesssickness: The quality or state of being sick or diseased; illness — 疾病 in Europe. It started more than 700 years ago. Today, the library is still open. Students still use it.
In the 1370s, the college built a new room just for the books. It was a purposepurpose: The reason why something is done. — 目的；用途-built room. Workers put up flat shelvesshelf: a flat piece of wood or other material fixed to a wall or in a cupboard, used for putting things on — 架子；搁板, and the books stood up on them. This was new in Britain. Before this, books were kept on tables with chainschain: A series of connected metal rings, or a group of shops owned by the same company. — 链条；锁链；连锁店. The chains stopped people from taking the books away.
Merton is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. But it is not the only very old library in the world. The Al-Qarawiyyin library is in Morocco. It is more than 1,000 years old. Saint Catherine's Monastery in Egypt also has a very old library. In China, the Dunhuang Library Cave kept books safesafe: Free from risk — 无风险的 for hundreds of years.
Today, the people at Merton are putting old books on the internet. People all over the world will be ableable: Having the power, skill, or chance to do something. — 有能力的；能够的 to read them. But many people will still want to come to Oxford. They will still want to see the old room and the old chest.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What was inside the old chest at Merton College?
- 02
Who made the rule that started the library at Merton?
- 03
Why were books so expensive hundreds of years ago?
- 04
Describe the chest at Merton College. What did it look like, and how did people open it?
Suggested length: ~50 words
- 05
Name three other very old libraries in the world. Where are they?
Suggested length: ~50 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What was inside the old chest at Merton College?
- 02
Who made the rule that started the library at Merton?
- 03
Why were books so expensive hundreds of years ago?
- 04
Describe the chest at Merton College. What did it look like, and how did people open it?
Suggested length: ~50 words
- 05
Name three other very old libraries in the world. Where are they?
Suggested length: ~50 words