The massive building programme taking place at universities around the land is making British campuses positively stylish in places, and certainly more comfortable. Bedrooms with en suite bathrooms are now de rigueur, as are study areas where you can eat, drink and work at the same time.

英国大学大量的新建筑让校园变得更加时尚和舒适。如今，套房式的学生宿舍应运而生，吃喝工作可以同步进行。

But Leicester University has gone one better. Its new ￡32m library, due to open on 1 April, has the most amazing loos, with yellow trough-shaped sinks, automatic taps and efficient dryers. So enthusiastic are the students that they have established the Leicester University Library Toilets Appreciation Society on Facebook, where they wax lyrical about the beauty of the new lavatories.

而英国莱斯特大学显然做得更好。该校耗资3,200万英镑兴建的新图书馆将于4月1日正式开放。这个图书馆拥有最炫目的厕所——黄色的流线型洗手水槽，自动感应出水水龙头喝大马力的烘手机。难怪活跃的学生会在社交网站“Facebook”上建立了“莱斯特大学图书馆厕所鉴赏社团”，互相赞赏和抒发“厕所之美”。

"If these toilets were a bird, they would be an eagle as they soar above the rest of the competition," reads one comment. "If these toilets were a metal they would be gold. If these toilets were a footballer, they would be Pelé." And so on.

有条评论写道：“如果这些厕所是鸟类的话，那么它们就是翱翔天际、无与匹敌的雄鹰；如果这些厕所是金属的话，那么它们就是黄金；如果这些厕所是球员的话，那么它们就是球王贝利。”

Louise Jones, director of library services at the university, is pleased that the loos have won the students' approval, but is hoping that they will also appreciate other aspects of the new building: particularly its black leather chairs and sofas, its 350-terminal PC zone and its 13 group study rooms with plasma screens. "We are a quality university," she says. "We want a quality library."

莱斯特大学图书馆馆长路易斯·琼斯很高兴图书馆的厕所赢得学生们的赞赏，但她同时希望学生们也能够欣赏新图书馆的其他设施，尤其是那些黑色真皮沙发和阅读椅，有350台机器的电脑区和装有plasma电视屏的13间小组研讨室。琼斯说：“我们是高品质大学，我们的图书馆也是如此。”
The former library was a rather grim place, built in the 1970s with black glass and brown shelving. To some observers it was reminiscent of a municipal car park because it was so dark inside and contained so little natural light. And, of course, its lavatories were unremarkable.

莱斯特大学的旧图书馆建于上世纪70年代，黑色的玻璃和棕色的书架，相当得冷酷可怕。在一些人的眼里，旧图书馆让人走进去感觉像是公共停车场，因为内部光线实在太暗了，几乎没有一点自然光源。当然，它的厕所也是稀松平常的。

The new development, called the David Wilson Library after a local businessman who donated ￡2m, is effectively a makeover of the existing building with an extension which doubles it in size.

而这座崭新的建筑——戴维·威尔森图书馆是由莱斯特当地的商人戴维·威尔森捐献了200万英镑兴建的。它在旧图书馆的基础上加以改建，扩增后的面积达到了原先的二倍。

Big holes have been knocked in the roof to bring in the light, walls have been clad in light cherry wood, and there are four new atria adorned with hanging sculptures.

巨大的天窗让自然光得以投入，墙壁则是淡樱桃木的颜色。图书馆里新增了四个中庭，雕塑由屋顶上悬吊而下。

Giving postgraduates their own study space is seen as crucial in a university where half the students are doing postgraduate courses and paying higher fees than undergraduates.

图书馆特设有一个研究生专用区。为研究生提供特别服务是至关重要的，因为有半数的学生修习研究生课程，而且研究生的学费要高于本科生。

Students' needs are at the centre of the new development. Perhaps this is why the building contains a café and a bookshop, as well as the careers centre and the student development centre. There will be a help zone in which IT and library support staff--clad in distinctive polo shirts--will roam, aiding students who can't find a book or who have computer trouble.

新图书馆以学生的需求为中心，这也解释了为何新建筑内设有咖啡厅、书店、职业发展中心和学生发展中心。图书馆设有帮助专区，穿着鲜明马球衫的服务人员会随时协助学生找书，并为他们解决电脑问题。

All this will enable Leicester University to hold its head up high in the increasingly competitive world of higher education.

新图书馆的所有设施将让莱斯特大学在竞争日益激烈的高等教育市场中赢得一席之地。