A 77-year-old man from Kiama, Australia, found a library book that was 150 years overdueoverdue/ˌəʊvəˈdjuː/L2过期的，迟到的Something that is overdue is late or past the expected time.. Ross Simmons discovered 'The Antiquities of Athens' in a tea crate while renovatingrenovating/ˈrɛnəveɪtɪŋ/L2翻新，修复Renovating means making something old look new again by repairing it. his home. The crate was sealedsealed/siːld/L2密封的，封存的Sealed means closed tightly so that air or water cannot get in. inside his fireplace for many years. The book went missingmissing/ˈmɪsɪŋ/L2丢失的，不见的Missing means lost or not in its usual place. from the local library in the 1870s.
Simmons recently noticed the library stamp inside the book and took it back to the library in Kiama. The manager, Michelle Hudson, was happy to receive the old book. The library calculated the late fee, which was $20,000, but decided not to collect the money. Manager Hudson told the BBC, 'We don't want to wait another 150 years for it to come back.'
The book will now stay in the library's local history collection. People can visit the library to see it, but they cannot borrowborrow/ˈbɒrəʊ/L2借，借用To borrow means to take something from someone with the intention of giving it back later. it anymore. The library also wants everyone to know that it no longer charges late fees. If a book is not returned, the library will suspend the person's borrowing privileges.
