乡村小店——逝去的回忆(高中英语双语阅读)

“Soup, NUTS, hardware, dry goods, meat, cloth, paint, everything—that’s what we sold,” says John Trousdale, the owner of Trousdale’s General Store in Sydenham, Ont., which opened in 1836. 

“汤、坚果、五金、干货、肉、布匹、油漆，什么都有——这就是我们卖的东西，”安大略省西德纳姆的特劳斯代尔杂货店店主约翰·特劳斯代尔说。这家店开业于1836年。

After many generations, the family business is now a shop selling mostlyCanadian-sourced goods, a nod to its legacyas one of Canada’s historic country posts. 

历经多代之后，这个家族企业如今主要销售加拿大本土采购的商品，以此致敬其作为加拿大历史悠久的乡村商店之一的传承。

Many Canadian towns were built around general stores. 

加拿大的许多城镇都是围绕杂货店建立起来的。

Samuel de Cham plain’s first priority upon establishing Quebec City in 1608 was building “le magasin,” a trading post and storehouse that became a hub for the furtrade. 

塞缪尔·德·尚普兰1608年建立魁北克城时的首要任务就是建造“le magasin”——一个贸易站兼仓库，后来成为毛皮贸易的中心。

More than two centuries later, stores had popped upnationwide along trade waterways and rail lines. 

两个多世纪后，商店沿着贸易水道和铁路线在全国各地涌现。

Storekeepers often ran shops out of buildings that also served as their homes, the spacejammedfloor-to ceiling with merchandisesourced from wholesalers and local farmers and artisans. 

店主们往往在兼作住宅的建筑里经营店铺，空间从地板到天花板塞满了从批发商、当地农民和工匠那里采购的商品。

“A village’s economy depended on convenience. That’s what general stores offered,” says Douglas McCalla, a historian and a former Canada research chair in rural history. 

“一个村庄的经济依赖于便利。这就是杂货店提供的东西，”历史学家、前加拿大乡村史研究主席道格拉斯·麦卡拉说。

“To compete with cities, storekeepers had to bring in what the community wanted, but first they had to figure out what that was, source it, and sell it at a competitive price,” he says. 

“为了与城市竞争，店主必须引进社区想要的东西，但首先他们得弄清楚那是什么，找到货源，并以有竞争力的价格出售，”他说。

One way to keep customers coming back was by lending credit.

让顾客回头的一个方法是赊账。

“We would keep tabs for people,” says John. 

“我们会给人们记账，”约翰说。

Prior to industrialized refrigeration, customers shopped at Trousdale’s daily for their produce, but many would only settleup after receiving their pay cheques. 

在工业化制冷出现之前，顾客每天到特劳斯代尔店购买农产品，但许多人要等到领了工资才结账。

Stores tracked what customers owed and, if payment was outstanding by year-end, they would add interest and bill the customer, who would then pay with money or by providing a service. 

商店记录顾客欠了什么，如果到年底仍未付款，就会加上利息并向顾客寄账单，顾客随后用钱或提供服务来支付。

This meant that “stores had to know who they could trust,” says McCalla. 

这意味着“商店必须知道可以信任谁，”麦卡拉说。

General stores were central to the town’s function, acting as post offices, telephone hubs, and gathering spots. 

杂货店对城镇的运转至关重要，充当邮局、电话枢纽和聚会场所。

“It was a social thing,” says John. “People would come in on Saturday nights and sit together with a soda or some ice cream.” 

“这是一种社交活动，”约翰说。“人们会在周六晚上过来，一起坐着喝汽水或吃冰淇淋。”

General stores began declining in popularity in the 1920s after cars facilitatedtravel to larger towns; some still supplytheir communities with essentials, but others, Trousdale’s among them, have changed with the times. 

20世纪20年代，汽车使人们前往更大城镇变得方便，杂货店开始衰落；有些仍在为社区供应必需品，但另一些——包括特劳斯代尔店——已随时代改变。

Customers might not come in for soup and nuts, but they still value the souvenirs, ice cream, and history. Instead of daily visits to keep the family fed, says John, “People visit once in a while, just to enjoy it.”

顾客可能不再来买汤和坚果，但他们仍然看重纪念品、冰淇淋和历史。约翰说，人们不再为了养家糊口而每天光顾，而是“偶尔来一次，只是享受一下”。