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Unit 7: Bookstores are not libraries

RT-Mart has an excellent book section located on the second floor. They have a lot of bestsellers and other popular titles at really reasonable prices. I go there quite a bit because I am a bookworm and am always looking for something new to read.
  The books there are displayed on shelves that go up about 8 feet along the wall. I can't reach the books on the top shelf, but if I ask a salesperson, they’ll bring out a step stool and get it down for me. The staff is nice to me because they know that I buy a lot of books from their store.
  The books are organized alphabetically by author and put into categories. There is a fiction, a non-fiction, a children's and an educational section. They also have a lot of magazines and comics. As well, you can get school supplies there.
  Though the books are for sale, many people seem to think that it is a library. The freeloaders sit on the benches in the middle of the aisle and read books for free. I think it is okay to peruse a book to see if you like it, but reading it with no intention of forking out any cash is another thing altogether. It’s really not fair to customers who expect to buy new books, not books that have been partially read by someone that is too cheap to actually pay for it. 

I guess that is why some bookstores in Taiwan have to put plastic wrap around their books and magazines. But this only prevents honest customers from being able to preview books.
  If I had a bookstore of my own, I certainly wouldn't tolerate non-paying customers lounging around reading my books. I bet if these kinds of people tried sitting around a clothing store wearing stuff they hadn't paid for, they would get their stingy butts kicked out on the street. Or how about sitting on the floor in a bakery sampling everything? Not likely they would last long there, either. So why should a bookstore be any different? In my opinion, it shouldn’t.

第七課：書店不是圖書館

大潤發的二樓有間優良的書店。他們以合理的價格販售很多暢銷書和其他熱門書籍。我有點常去那邊，因為我是個書蟲，而且常常尋找新的書來讀。

     那裏的書被展示在沿著牆約八呎高的書架上。我無法拿到最上層的書，但如果我請店員幫忙，他們會拿出腳踏凳，並把書拿下來給我。店員對我很好，因為他們知道我在他們店買了很多書。

     書籍按作者的字母順序排列並分類。這裡有科幻的、非科幻的、小孩的，還有教育的分類。他們也有很多雜誌和漫畫。你也可以在這裡買到學校的用品。

     這裡的書是拿來賣的，但很多人似乎都把它當成圖書館。這些貪小便宜的人坐在走道中間的長椅上，免費的閱讀書籍。我認為讀一本書來判斷自己是否喜歡是可以接受的，但如果根本不打算掏錢買卻讀它，就完全是另一件事了。那對於期待買到新書，而非被買不起的人讀過一部分的書的顧客來說，真的非常不公平。

     我猜那就是為甚麼台灣有些書店會用塑膠套把書和雜誌包起來的原因。但這只能防止誠實的顧客閱覽書籍。

    如果我自己有一間書店，我絕對不會忍受不付錢的顧客在店裡閒晃讀我的書。我敢打賭如果這種人坐在服飾店哩，試穿他們不會買的衣服，他們一定會把吝嗇的人們踢到街上。或是他們坐在麵包店的地上，試吃每一樣東西？他們也不會在那裏待得太久的。所以為什麼書店要另當別論呢？依我的看法，不應該有不同。