As if by magic, virtually all British parents have suddenly picked up the habit of reading to theirchildren. A poll commissioned by UK electricity utility1 Powergen found that Harry Potter, as well asolder classics, had created a veritable bedtime reading revolution. Ninety percent of Britishparents now read to their children, up from only 40 percent in 2000. Powergen claimed the rise wasdue to the popularity of what it called“ kid-ult2 ” books, which appeal to children and adults alike.“With the current revival of children's classics like the Lord of the Rings3 at the cinema, parentsare rediscovering books they read when they were younger or are feeling inspired to read them forthe first time, ”a Powergen statement quoted psychologist Aric Sigman as saying.“ Just as bothparents and children can enjoy escapism and fantasy4 these stories also raise important issuesthat they can talk about together. This sharing of ideas and opinions is critical to the emotional andcreative development of children. ”

　　Barry Cunningham still laughs about that moment in 1997, when he told a single mother with aknack for fantasy storytelling to find herself a day job, because writing children's books did not pay.

　　He could not have known then that his decision to publish a book about a boy wizard would startan international publishing phenomenon, or that within six years the first-time children's book writerin question would be richer than the Queen of England. The“find a day job ” blunder has become partof the legend of Harry Potter, as has Mr Cunningham's role in picking up the book on behalf ofBloomsbury, its publisher in the UK, after other longer-established companies had turned it down.

　　But the cheerful 51-year-old's story does not end with the career-making move of signing、 J. K.Rowling, Harry Potter's creator. In fact, the former marketing director left Bloomsbury weeksbefore the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first instalment5 of the boywizard's adventures. Today, he is running his own boutique children's book publisher —The ChickenHouse — and, once again, being credited with turning little -known storytellers into bigtimebestsellers.“I did not see any direct financial benefits ( from signing J. K. Rowling) but it has given mea huge reputation — and the intangible thing is the confidence it gave me in my own judgment. ”

　　Word of mouth about his eye for talent even prompted executives at Scholastic, the largestpublisher of children's books in the world, to approach Mr Cunningham in 2001 after reading in atrade publication that the man who discovered Harry was looking for a distributor for his newpublishing company. “We thought greatly of his talent and we knew his taste. We felt he had a sensefor looking for new voices ( combined with ) a commercial sense, ”says Barbara Marcus, thepresident of Scholastic children's books and distribution.

　　“ It's odd to say a 50-year-old man knows what a 13-year-old wants to read, but I do, ”says MrCunningham.

　　練習題：

　　Ⅰ. Translate the followin g Chin ese e xp res sio ns into En glish e quiva le nts acco rding tothe passage:

　　1. 由于, 因為

　　2. 復活, 重生, 重新出現

　　3. 經典作品, 古典作品

　　4. 民意調查

　　Ⅱ. Questions :

　　1. Which country buy the most gold to make jewelry?

　　2. What are“reserved currencies”?