Private Study Rooms Emerge as Refuge for Examinees
For Chen Feifei, life now revolves around a three-square-meter area equipped with a wooden desk, a lamp, and piles of textbooks.
对陈菲菲来说，现在的生活围绕着一个三平方米的区域，配有一张木桌、一盏灯和成堆的教材。
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revolve around本义是指围绕…转动；这里灵活点根据语境理解，就是“以…为中心”的意思
The 22-year-old paid 2,888 yuan ($400) to lease the study room for six months, as she prepares for her upcoming postgraduate entrance exam in December. Like Chen, millions of people in China, primarily students and young professionals, have rented such shoebox spaces from private companies over the past few years, contributing to the rise of a new industry.
这位22岁的女生花了2888元(400美元)租了6个月的自习室，因为她正在准备12月份即将到来的研究生入学考试。像陈一样，中国数百万人，主要是学生和年轻的职场人士，在过去几年里从私营公司租用了这样的小空间，为一个新行业的崛起做出了贡献。
China currently has more than 3,600 study room businesses, with over 92% of them established during the past five years, Sixth Tone’s sister publication, The Paper, reported Thursday, citing data from corporate database Tianyancha. First developed in major cities, the industry has now sprawled into smaller counties and towns in the past two years.
Sixth Tone的姊妹刊物《The Paper》周四援引企业数据库天眼查(Tianyancha)的数据报道称，中国目前有3，600多家自习室企业，其中92%以上是在过去五年里成立的。该行业最初是在大城市发展起来的，在过去的两年里，已经扩展到了小县城和小城镇。
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sprawl intov. 扩展;延伸；If you say that a place sprawls, you mean that it covers a large area of land. 比如说：•The town seemed to sprawl for miles.这城镇好像肆意扩展了数英里。
The emergence comes as a direct result of the need to meet the surging demand for space among young Chinese preparing for either college or civil service exams. Both saw record numbers of applicants last year, as high unemployment rate have forced many to postpone their graduation or consider working in the public sector.
这种现象的出现是为了满足准备大学或公务员考试的中国年轻人对空间需求激增的直接结果。这两个国家去年的报名人数都创下了纪录，因为高失业率迫使许多人推迟毕业或考虑在公共部门工作。
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postpone 使〔事件、行动等〕延期，延迟，推迟; to change the date or time of a planned event or action to a later one【近义词：put back】 举个例子：•The match had to be postponed until next week.比赛不得不推迟到下周举行。
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【postpone doing sth】比如说：•They've decided to postpone having a family for a while.他们决定推迟一段时间要孩子。
“I can focus more while studying in this exclusive space without outside distractions,” Chen, who used a pseudonym due to privacy concerns, told Sixth Tone.
“在这个没有外界干扰的专属空间，我可以更专注地学习，”陈(出于隐私考虑，他使用了化名)告诉Sixth Tone。
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exclusive 独有的; 独享的; 专用的: available or belonging only to particular people, and not shared，比如说：•Our figure skating club has exclusive use of the rink on Mondays.我们的花样滑冰俱乐部每星期一包场使用溜冰场。•Tune in to our exclusive coverage of Wimbledon.请收看我们对温布尔登网球锦标赛的独家报道。
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pseudonym 假名；笔名；A pseudonym is a name which someone, usually a writer, uses instead of his or her real name.举个例子：•He wrote under the pseudonym 'Silchester'.他以“西尔彻斯特”的笔名写作。
Apart from a writing desk and a semi-closed room for each person, a typical study room usually comes with other areas for dining and recreational purposes. Such private spaces have also emerged as an alternative to libraries, where many students study, but are now periodically shut due to pandemic controls.
除了一张写字台和一个供每个人使用的半封闭房间，一个典型的自习室通常还配有其他用餐和娱乐场所。这种私人空间也作为图书馆的替代品出现，许多学生在图书馆学习，但由于疫情的控制，现在时不时就会关闭。
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periodic 间发性的；定期的；周期的；Periodic events or situations happen occasionally, at fairly regular intervals. 举个例子：Periodic checks are taken to ensure that high standards are maintained.定期检查以确保维持高水准。•periodic home visits by nurses护士的定期上门探访
A 2020 report by Internet giant Meituan noted that study rooms have emerged as one of the most vibrant life service sectors on its platform, with the fastest increase in transactions. Based on an estimation from market consultancy firm iiMedia last year, the number of users will reach 7.55 million by the end of 2022.
互联网巨头美团在2020年的一份报告中指出，自习室已成为其平台上最具活力的生活服务行业之一，交易量增长最快。根据市场咨询公司iiMedia去年的估计，到2022年底，用户数量将达到755万。
But experts have warned of the fragility in the current business model to external risks as business owners are heavily reliant on rental fees as the sole source of revenue. Despite the expected growth, the iiMedia report showed more than half of surveyed consumers believed the service was too expensive.
但专家警告称，目前的商业模式容易受到外部风险的影响，因为企业主严重依赖租金作为唯一的收入来源。尽管有预期的增长，iiMedia的报告显示，超过一半的受访消费者认为服务太贵。
“It’s not an easy and profitable business to run,” a businessman surnamed Zhang, who owns a study room in Shanghai, told Sixth Tone, adding that COVID-19 restrictions have led to a decrease in customers.
“这不是一个容易和很好赚钱的生意，”一位姓张的商人在上海拥有一个自习室，他告诉Sixth Tone，并补充说新冠肺炎的限制导致客户减少。
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profitable /'prɒfɪtəb(ə)l/ 有利可图的; 有益的，有用的;producing a profit or a useful result，举个例子：•The advertising campaign proved very profitable.事实证明，这次广告宣传活动很有效。•a highly profitable business盈利高的企业
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