Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.
“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast.
“And you’ll be sorry you knew me,” George would reply “because I’ll be the best lawyer in the town!”
George never did become a lawyer and Richard never made any money. Instead both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street. It was hard to make money from books, which made the competition between them worse.
Then Richard married a mysterious girl. The couple spent their honeymoon on the coast—but Richard never came back. The police found his wallet on a deserted beach but the body was never found. He must have drowned.
Now with only one bookshop in town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow, old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his formal rival(竞争对手). Perhaps he missed him?
George was very interested in old dictionaries. He’d recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished—the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading.
“Bookends have bought ten bookstores from their rivals Dylans. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in Australia.”

Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.
即使是在学校里，乔治和理查德之间也存在着非良性竞争。

“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast.
理查德经常吹嘘：“我会成为科尔福德的第一个百万富翁！”

“And you’ll be sorry you knew me,” George would reply
“because I’ll be the best lawyer in the town!”
“但你会因为认识我而失望的！”乔治这样反击他，“因为我才是镇里最好的律师。”

George never did become a lawyer and Richard never made any money. Instead both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street. It was hard to make money from books, which made the competition between them worse.
乔治根本就没有成为律师，理查德也根本没有赚多少钱。相反的是，两人在科尔福德大道的两侧（门对门地）开了书店。凭卖书想赚大钱是很困难的，因此他们之间的竞争更加激烈。

Then Richard married a mysterious girl. The couple spent their honeymoon on the coast—but Richard never came back. The police found his wallet on a deserted beach but the body was never found. He must have drowned.
之后，理查德娶了一位神秘的女孩，夫妻二人到海滩去度蜜月——然而理查德却一去不回。警察在一片荒芜的海滩上看到了他的钱包，却（一直）没有找到他的尸体。他一定是（掉到海里）淹死了。

Now with only one bookshop in town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow, old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his formal rival(竞争对手). Perhaps he missed him?
现在镇上仅有一家书店，乔治的生意比以前好些。但有时当他坐在自己逼仄、破旧的厨房里，从很脏的窗户望出去的时候，他会想到他以前的竞争对手。或许他有些怀念理查德了？

George was very interested in old dictionaries. He’d recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished—the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading.
乔治对那些老词典非常感兴趣。他最近发现有一个卖（老词典）存世不多的第一版的澳大利亚收藏家。（于是他就邮购了一本）当包裹打开时，词典保存地非常完美，乔治非常高兴。但是在他吃午饭时，他瞥到包装词典的报纸上的一张照片，他非常惊讶，那张微笑的脸比他记忆中的要（显得）苍老些，但绝对不会错！乔治颤抖着读着报纸。

“Bookends have bought ten bookstores from their rivals Dylans. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in Australia.”
（报纸上写着）“bookends公司已从其对手Dylans公司手上购进十家书店。该公司（即bookends）的老板，百万富翁理查德·派克现在是澳大利亚最大的书本销售商。”