Study lounges **were doing good business in the country until the pandemic rendered their future uncertain, writes Wang Yiqing Wang Yiqing写到，在疫情使他们的未来编的 不确定之前，自习室在中国的生意良好**

    A placid, cozy environment fostering focused thinking and unwavering concentration－on books. That’s what study lounges are. Ideal for students with limited options as after-school study spaces, because home is a hassle, libraries are full, coffee shops rather costly, 24-hour eateries full of distracting chatter. Ideal, too, for younger professionals preparing for higher-level exams to further their career or enhance their knowledge. And all for a relatively small fee.
    宁静，舒适的环境中培养了专心的思维和坚定不移的专注，对于书本。这就是自习室，课后学习空间有限的学生的理想之选，因为家里麻烦，图书馆人满为患，咖啡厅相当昂贵，24小时营业的餐厅分充满了分散注意力的吵闹。对于年轻专业人员准备进行更高级别的考试，以进一步发展自己的事业或增加他们的知识。而且所需要的费用也较小。

    • placid adj.平静的；温和的；沉着的
    • cozy adj.舒适的，温暖的；友好的，亲密无间的；密切的 n.保温罩 v.使感到舒适，使得意
    • fostering v.养育；抚育
    • unwavering adj.坚定的；不动摇的
    • study lounges 自习室
    • hassle n.困难；分歧；起哄 v.烦扰；与…争辩
    • costly adj.昂贵的；代价高的
    • eateries n.餐厅；饭馆
    • career n.生涯；职业；事业；速度 adj.作为毕生职业的 vi.全速前进，猛冲
    • enhance vt.提高；加强；增加

    Yet this innovative concept, which led to the mushrooming of study lounges in Beijing and other Chinese cities in the past couple of years, could become an “unlucky” sector of sharing economy, as the novel coronavirus outbreak pressed the pause button on startups.
    然而，随着新冠疫情的爆发按下了初创公司的暂停按钮，这种创新的概念在过去的几年中导致北京和中国其他城市的自习室如雨后春笋般冒了出来，可能成为共享经济的“不幸”部分。

    • innovative adj.革新的，创新的；新颖的；有创新精神的
    • concept n.观念，概念
    • mushrooming v.迅速增长；呈蘑菇状升腾；采蘑菇 n.迅速增长
    • couple of 几个
    • novel adj.新奇的；异常的 n.小说
    • pause button 暂停按钮
    • startups n.创业；开办

    Imported business model
    Study lounge is an imported business model pioneered by the Republic of Korea and Japan. Quite a few study lounge operators in China have said they learned what a study lounge is from a Korean TV drama Reply 1988. In fact, several study lounges in Chinese cities have been named”1988”.
    引进的商业模式
    自习室使韩国和日本开创的一种引入的商业模式。在中国，有不少自习室经营者说他们从韩国电视剧“请回答1988”中了解到自习室是什么。实际上，中国城市中的一些自习室被称为“1988”

    • pioneered v.倡导；作先驱
    • drama n.戏剧，戏剧艺术；剧本；戏剧性事件

    The demand for study lounges rose in China, because students can hardly find a tranquil place to study after finishing college. It’s hard for them to find a place in a university even if they manage to enter the campus. There are relatively few public libraries even in big cities. And even students on the campus need a peaceful place to focus on studies.
    在中国，对自习室的需求上升，因为学生在大学毕业后几乎找不到一个安静的学习场所，即使他们设法进入校园，他们也很难在大学中找到一个安静的地方。即使在大城市中，公共图书馆也相对较少。甚至校园的学生也需要个一个安静的地方专注于学习。

    • demand n.要求；需求 v.强烈要求；需要；逼问；查问，查询
    • tranquil adj.平静的；镇静的；稳定的
    • manage to 设法；达成

    Before 2018, there were few study lounges in China, and that too mainly in some first-and second-tier cities such as Guangzhou, Suzhou and Tianjin. In Beijing, the first study lounge opened in 2018. Yet by 2019, study lounges had become popular nationwide thanks to the wave of sharing economy.

    According to market survey organization iiMedia’s report, in 2019 there were about 1,000 newly opened study lounges nationwide and the number of paid users soared from 850,000 in 2018 to 2.3 million in 2019. No wonder some media outlets called 2019 the “first year” of study lounge startups.
    在2018年以前中国很少有自习室，主要也集中在广州，苏州和天津等一线和二线城市。在北京，第一个自习室在2018年开业，然而到了2019年由于共享经济的发展，自习室已经在全国范围内普及。
    根据市场调查机构iiMedia的报告，2019年大约有1000个新开放的自习室，付费用户数量从2018年的850000猛增到2019年的230万。难怪有些媒体将2019年称为学习的“第一年”自习室开始发展。

    • nationwide adj.全国范围的；全国性的 adv.在全国
    • sharing economy 共享经济
    • survey n.调查；测量；审视 vt.调查；勘测；俯瞰 vi.测量土地
    • newly adv.最近；重新；以新的方式
    • soared v.飙升；骤然上升
    • outlets n.出路；销售点；排水口；电源插座

    The sector’s rapid growth last year could be attributed to the increasing pressure of employment and shortage of public facilities such as public libraries. According to the 2019 Statistical Bulletin of Culture and Tourism Development of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, there are 3,196 public libraries nationwide, meaning more than 438,000 people sharing one public library.
    National Bureau of Statistics data show Beijing and Shanghai have 23 public libraries each－too few to meet user demand. And Beijing with a population of more than 21.53 million has only about 16,430 reading room seats, which means about 1,310 Beijing residents “competing” for one library seat. That the public libraries are far from many neighborhoods and have restrictions such as limited opening hours and complicated registration and membership procedure was also responsible for the study lounge’s rapid growth.
    去年该行业的快速增长可以归因于就业压力的增加和公共图书馆等公共设施的短缺。根据文旅部《2019年文化和旅游业发展统计公共报告》，全国有3196个公共图书馆，这意味着有43.8万的人共享一个公共图书馆。
    国家统计局的数据显示北京和上海都各自拥有23个公共图书馆，太少无法满足使用者需求。北京人口超过2153万，只有16430个阅览室位置，这意味着约有1310个北京居民竞争一个图书馆位置。由于公共图书馆距离许多社区较远，并且开放时间有限，注册和会员程序复杂等限制因素也导致自习室的快速发展。

    • pressure of employment 就业压力
    • shortage n.缺乏，缺少；不足
    • facilities n.设施；工具，设备
    • tourism n.旅游业
    • National Bureau of Statistics 国家统计局
    • restriction n.限制；约束；束缚
    • membership n.资格；成员资格；会员身份

    The demand for higher, continuous studies is increasing day by day due to the intense competition in the job market. For instance, in 2018 the number of new college graduates was 8.20 million, with the figure increasing to 8.74 million in 2020. And while about 2.9 million students sat the postgraduate entrance exam in 2019, their number increased to a record high of 3.41 million this year.
    It is not surprising therefore that the demand for study lounges was high, which helped the emerging sector to grow at a fast rate with many entrepreneurs rushing to invest in the sector because of its low access threshold. The “gymlike” business model is not difficult to understand or duplicate, especially because it doesn’t require huge investment, and people don’t need higher education degrees and special skills to operate them. In iiMedia’s earlier estimate, the number of paid study lounge’s users was expected to jump to 7.8 million nationwide in 2020.
    由于就业市场的激烈竞争，对更高水平，持续学习的需求日益增加。例如，在2018年，大学毕业生人数在820万，而到了2020年，这一数字将会增加到874万。虽然2019年约有290万学生参加了研究生入学考试，但他们的人数在今年却达到了创纪录的341万人。
    因此，对自习室的需求那么高也不足为奇了，由于进入门槛低，许多企业家争先恐后地投资该行业，这有助于新兴行业快速增长。类似健身房的商业模式不难理解或复制，尤其是它不需要巨大的投资，并且不需要高学历和特殊技能来操作它们。根据iiMedia早期的估计，到2020年，全国付费自习室用户会跃升至780万。

    • due to prep.由于；应归于
    • postgraduate n.研究生 adj.大学毕业后的
    • record high 破纪录的高点
    • entrepreneur n.企业家；承包人；主办者
    • threshold n.r入口；门槛；开始；极限；临界值
    • duplicate vt.复制；使加倍 n.副本；复制品 adj.复制的；二重的 vi.复制；重复

    But the pandemic has dealt a crushing blow to the emerging industry. Since personal contact in a closed environment is unavoidable, the pandemic forced all the study lounges to shut down for several months. And after the monthslong closure, the industry’s future appears uncertain, especially due to the fear of a second wave of infections.
    但是，新冠疫情给新兴产业带来了沉重打击。由于不可避免地要在封闭环境中进行个人隔离，因此疫情迫使所有的自习室关闭了几个月。在长达数月的关闭之后，该行业的未来飘忽不定，尤其是担心第二波疫情。

    • blow to 吹向；打击到
    • unavoidable adj.不可避免的；不能废除的
    • mothslong 数月
    • uncertain adj.没有把握的；多变的；不确定的；信心不足的；靠不住的
    • infection n.感染；传染；影响；传染病

    Lou Qingxiao, founder of Xinliuzaowu, one of Beijing’s earliest study lounge brands that opened in 2018, said their first study lounge near Renmin University of China has already made ends meet even made some profits before the pandemic. But their second franchised study lounge in Beijing was opened just before the outbreak.
    And its franchise lounge in Dalian, Liaoning province, was caught in another wave of infection in July, when a majority of Chinese provinces and regions had basically controlled the virus and were on road to economic recovery.
    北京最早的自习室品牌之一于2018年开业的心流造物创始人娄庆潇表示，在疫情之前，他们在中国人民大学附近的第一个自习室已经入不敷出了，在疫情前甚至赚了一些钱。但是，他们在北京的第二家自习室在疫情爆发前就已经开放了。
    7月，其在辽宁省大连市的专营自习室又陷入了另一波感染浪潮。当时，中国大部分省份和地区都已基本控制了该病毒，并正朝着经济复苏的方向发展。

    • caught in 陷于
    • majority n.多数；成年
    • basically adv.主要地，基本上

    Li Hang and Zhang Yang, co-founders of Sishiloushi, a Beijing-based independent study lounge, say their business is gradually returning to normal, but they still have to “play by ear”. Yet, even before the COVID-19 epidemic broke out, the industry’s profit model was neither promising nor clear. Li and Zhang say the investor they talked with is unwilling to invest in the industry because, they assume, it’s a low-profit sector without many “peripheral profit-making aspects”.
    “Rentals are a major ‘rigid’ cost for study lounges, especially in first-tier cities with high housing rentals,” Lou says. As such, the fees for using study lounges should be relatively high, not low in the hope of attracting more users, Lou says. Because, as Li says, in a first-tier city such as Beijing, rentals comprise more than a half of a study lounge’s monthly operation cost.
    北京独立自习室Sishiloushi的联合创始人李航和张扬表示，他们的业务正在逐渐恢复正常，但是他们仍然必须见机行事。但是，即使在COVID-19 疫情爆发之前，该行业盈利模式的前景不明朗。李和张说，与他们交流的投资者都不愿意投资该行业，因为他们认为这是一个低利润的行业，没有许多外围获利方法。
    罗说，租房是自习室的主要刚性成本，特别是在房屋租金较高的一线城市。因此，使用自习室的费用应该相对较高，而不是用较低的费用吸引更多用户。就像李所说的因为在北京这样的一线城市，租金占自习室每月运营成本的一半以上。

    • co-founders 联合创始人
    • gradually adv.逐步地；渐渐地
    • play by ear 随机应变；见机行事；视情况而定
    • promising adj.有希望的，有前途的 v.允诺，答应
    • unwilling adj.不愿意的；不情愿的；勉强的
    • assume vi.设想；承担；采取 vt.假定；篡夺；侵占
    • low-profit 低利润
    • peripheral adj.外围的；次要的 n.外部设备
    • aspects n.方面；相位；面貌
    • rentals n.住房出租；租金收入
    • rigid adj.严格的；僵硬的，死板的；坚硬的；精确的
    • as such 同样地；本身
    • comprise vt.包含；由…组成
    • monthly adj.每月的，每月一次的 n.月刊 adv.每月，每月一次
    • operation cost 营业成本；经营费用

    According to Lou, the study lounge industry is a result of consumption upgrading that “provides better time and space experience, and helps users to enhance their knowledge and efficiency while saving time”. He sounds optimistic about the industry’s commercial prospect, though, “because it’s a blue ocean with less competition”.
    罗表示，自习室行业是消费升级的结果，消费升级，提供了更好的时间和空间体验，并帮助用户在节省时间的同事增加了知识和效率，不过，他对这个行业的商业前景感到乐观“因为这是一片竞争较少的蓝色海洋”

    • upgrading v.升级，提高
    • commercial adj.商业的；营业的； n.商业广告

    Better serving people
    Yet Li and Zhang don’t consider study lounges to be simple substitutes for public libraries, as the former provide better learning experience that people cannot get in free public libraries. But instead of exploring its commercial aspects, they are looking for opportunities to cooperate with the government. “Privately operated study lounges like ours actually make up for the shortage of public infrastructure and public services, and we are willing to cooperate with the government to better serve the public,” Li says.
    An increasing number of study lounge operators have realized the significance of differential operations. For example, Qudianliang, a study lounge opened in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, in June which claims to be the first 24-hour study lounge in the city, aims to ride the wave of “night economy” being promoted by the local authorities. “As for the night economy, people’s demand is not restricted to leisure and entertainment but also includes the quest for knowledge and spiritual solace”, according to Linlang, the study lounge’s operator.
    Since there is no established profit-making model besides selling time and space, Lou insists it is necessary to explore other “profit-making aspects” after “laying a solid foundation” for the study lounge business. “As long as you have a good reputation and a considerable number of users, profit will come naturally.”
    更好地为人民服务
    然而李和张并不认为自习室可以简单地代替公共图书馆，因为前者提供了更好的学习体验，人们无法在免费的公共图书馆获得更好的学习体验，但是他们没有探索其商业方式，而是在寻找与政府合作的机会。李说：“像我们这样的私人自习室实际上弥补了公共基础设施和公共服务的不足”
    越来越多的自习室经营者已经意识到差异操作的重要性。例如，6月在江苏无锡开放的一家自习室趣点亮，声称是该市的第一个24小时自习室,旨在应对当地倡导的“夜市经济”浪潮。自习室的经营者琳琅说：对于夜间经济人们的需求不仅限于休闲和娱乐，还包括对知识追求和对精神的慰藉。
    由于除了销售时间和空闲之外，没有建立盈利模式，楼坚称，有必要在自习室业务打下坚实基础之后再探索其他盈利方面。只要你有良好的声誉和相当多的客户，利润就会自然增长。

    • substitute n.代替品；代替者 vi.替代 vt.代替
    • former adj.从前的，前者的；前任的 n.模型，样板；起形成作用的人
    • opportunity n.时机，机会
    • cooperate vi.合作，配合；协力
    • privately adv.私下地；秘密地
    • significance n.意义；重要性；意思
    • claims to 声称
    • aims to 旨在
    • night economy 夜间经济
    • entertainment n.娱乐；消遣；贷款
    • quest for knowledge 寻求知识
    • spiritua solace 精神慰藉
    • insist vt.坚持，强调 vi.坚持，强调
    • reputation n.名声。名誉；声望
    • considerable adj.相当大的；重要的，值得考虑的
    • naturally adv.自然地；轻而易举地；自然而然地