VOA慢速英语 电子书翻开图书业新篇章

　　And some Kindle users got a shock last week. They were surprised to find that copies of two books disappeared from their devices. These were ninety-nine cent versions of George Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm." Bloggers have had fun pointing out that "1984" is largely about censorship -- the suppression of information in a society led by Big Brother. Amazon explained that it did not have the rights to the books, so it erased them and returned the people's money.

　　This week, Barnes & Noble, the world's largest bookseller, launched what it calls the world's largest e-bookstore. People can read the books on the Apple iPhone and other handheld devices and personal computers. They can also download over half a million books available free from Google. The Internet search company is putting books online that are no longer protected by copyright. But last October, Google reached a one hundred twenty-five million dollar legal settlement to also make parts of some copyrighted books available. That deal with two groups of writers and publishers has raised competition issues. The Justice Department is now investigating. Also, the European Commission plans hearings in September on how European writers might be affected.

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