A busy public square in the Chinese city of Nanjing is home to an unusual experiment.
中國南京一處繁華的廣場上發生了一件新鮮事。

For almost two months, the country's first "honesty bookshop" has occupied a sidewalk on Hanzhong Road in the city's Gulou district.
近兩個月來，中國第一家“誠實書店”在南京市鼓樓區漢中路街頭正式營業。

With no cashier or other staff keeping tabs, the store relies on trust for payment.
這家書店沒有收銀員，沒有員工在旁看管，全憑顧客自覺付款。

Amazingly, most customers cough up although Zhu Yu, the marketing director of the company that runs it, says takings are 5% less than they should be.
經營該書店的企業的營銷總監朱昱（Zhu Yu，音譯）表示，雖然實際進賬數目比正常數目少了5%，但令人驚訝的是，絕大多數的消費者都能自覺付款。

But making money isn't the venture's main goal and they go easy on those who take books without paying.
但是，賺錢并不是這次活動的主要目的，對那些拿了書卻沒付錢的人，他們也并不太在意。

"If they can really finish the books, it doesn't matter if they took the books for free," he says.
“如果他們真地能看完這些書的話，就算不付錢也沒什么關系，”朱昱說道。

"In fact, we are really happy to witness so many people taking books from the honesty bookshop."
“實際上，我們非常高興看到有這么多人來誠實書店選書?！?/span>

After browsing the four wooden bookshelves, customers must drop their money in a lock box.
顧客瀏覽四個木書架上的書籍，選好書后把錢投到一個有鎖的盒子里。

Prices are set at 30% of the cover price.
這些書按定價的三折出售。

Zhu hopes that his sidewalk store, which sells on average 60 books a day, will rekindle interest in reading.
這家街頭書店平均每天賣60本書。朱昱希望通過這個街頭書店能重燃人們對閱讀的興趣。

Like elsewhere,Chinahas seen e-books chip away at the market for traditional books and many independent booksellers are struggling.
與其它國家一樣，在中國，電子書正在蠶食傳統紙書的市場，很多獨立書商都在苦苦掙扎。

Zhu got permission from the city government to use the sidewalk and says he's determined to make it a long-term project.
朱昱從市政府獲得使用這條人行道的許可。他表示決定將其做成一個長期的項目。

It's run by Popular Bookmall, which operates eight bookstores in China.
本次活動由大眾書局（Popular Bookmall）舉辦。該企業在中國有八家書店。

He says the store is open every day, except when it rains, and it's locked up each night.
朱昱表示，除了雨天，這家書店每天白天開放，晚上閉店。

"People stand in front of the bookshop, and ask themselves whether they should pay and how much they should pay. It's a process of cleansing the thoughts of our hearts," he says.
“人們站在書架前，問自己該不該付錢、該付多少錢。這是一個凈化我們內心想法的過程，”他說道。

Lofty goals aside, the streetside venture allows his company to clear old inventory.
先不考慮這些崇高的目標，這次活動還能幫助他的公司清理庫存。

It's not the first time Popular Bookmall has employed inventive tactics to try and turn the city's busy residents into bookworms.
大眾書局此前也曾為提高每日奔忙的市民的讀書熱情而采取一些創新策略。

In September last year, the company laid out 1,000 books and reading lamps on the ground and encouraged people "to go on a date" with a book.
2014年9月，大眾書局曾在地面上陳列1000本書和看書用臺燈，鼓勵人們與書籍“來一場約會”。

Nanjing is also home to Librairie Avant-Garde, a cavernous retail and performance space hidden away in an underground car park that was once voted China's most beautiful bookstore.
南京還有先鋒書店（Librairie Avant-Garde），一家隱藏在地下停車場的洞穴狀書店，集零售和表演于一體，曾被評選為中國最美的書店。

It's since become a cultural landmark and tourist attraction in the city.
先鋒書店此后成了南京的文化地標和旅游勝地。

"Independent book shops represent the well being of the city," Qian Xiaohua, Libraire Avant-Garde's owner told CNN in 2013.
先鋒書店老板錢曉華在2013年接受CNN采訪時說：“獨立書店代表了一座城市的福祉?！?/span>

"When a city is losing its bookshops, it's actually losing something in its soul."
“當一個城市的書店越來越少時，它正在失去一些靈魂深處的東西?！?/span>

If the success of the Honesty Bookstore is any guide, Nanjing's is in pretty good shape.
如果誠實書店的成功范例能起到帶頭作用的話，南京的文化發展大有希望。

Vocabulary

keep tab on：密切注意，看守

cough up：勉強支付

rekindle：重新激起

lofty：崇高的

inventory：存貨

cavernous：如洞穴般

英文來源：CNN

譯者：李朗

編輯：王旭泉

審校：劉明