世界节假日博览 第148期:国际扫盲日

 　　September 8 is a very important day all around the world. It is International Literacy Day and it highlights the importance of reading. It was started in 1965 by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Its aim is to focus on how important reading, writing and numeracy are to individuals, as well as to societies and nations. On this day, UNESCO reminds the world of the status of literacy and provides statistics for literacy rates for each country. Literacy is a key sign of how developed a society is. The concept has developed a lot over the past few decades. It now includes the ability to be able to use computers and other kinds of information technology.

　　9月8日是全世界的一个重要节日——国际扫盲日，它彰显了阅读的重要性。国际扫盲日是联合国教科文组织1965年设立的，旨在关注阅读、写作和计算能力对个人、社会和国家的重要性。在这一天，联合国教科文组织提醒人们读写能力的重要性，为每个国家提供识字率数据。读写能力是社会发展程度的关键标志。扫盲日的概念在过去的几十年扩展了很多。它现在包括计算机和其他信息技术的使用能力。

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　　Around 780 million adults in the world today lack basic literacy skills. One in five adults is illiterate¹, and two-thirds of these are women. UNESCO says the highest rates of illiteracy² are in south and west Asia, followed by sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab nations. The agency says there is a clear relation between illiteracy and severe poverty. UNESCO also says there is more discrimination against women in countries with low literacy rates. Literacy affects many aspects of a society. In 2007 and 2008, the theme for International Literacy Day was "Literacy and Health". People who are able to read health warnings are less likely to catch killer³ diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis⁴ and malaria⁵. Reading can save lives.

　　如今世界上大约有7.8亿人缺乏基本的读写能力。五分之一的成人是文盲，其中三分之二是女性。联合国教科文组织称文盲比例最高的地区是南亚和西亚，其次是非洲撒哈拉沙漠地区和阿拉伯国家。该机构称文盲和极度贫穷有明显的关系，它也称文盲率高的国家更歧视女人。读写能力影响着一个社会的很多方面。2007年和2008年，国际扫盲日的主题是“读写能力与健康”。有能力阅读健康警告的人更少染上如艾滋病、肺结核和疟疾之类的致命疾病。阅读可以挽救生命。

　　1.highlights the importance of 凸显…的重要性

　　例句：One heart expert agreed that the new study highlights the importance of being physically⁶ fit.

　　一位心脏方面的专家赞同该新研究突出身体健康的重要性。

　　2.UNESCO 联合国教科文组织

　　例句：So I think member governments would be very uncomfortable in allowing UNESCO totransfer funds from those centres to something like strengthening scientific capacityin Africa. 所以我认为成员国政府可能非常不愿意让联合国教科文组织把资金从这些中心转移到诸如加强非洲科学能力等项目上。

　　3.remind of 提醒

　　例句：Does MomsRising remind of you of other novel approaches you’ve seen?

　　天下母亲组织是否提醒了你见过的其他新兴模式？

　　4.killer diseases 致命性疾病

　　例句：Killer diseases, like HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, are not yet under control.

　　像艾滋病毒/艾滋病、疟疾和结核病等致命性疾病尚未得到控制。

1 illiterate   

adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲

参考例句：

• There are still many illiterate people in our country.在我国还有许多文盲。
• I was an illiterate in the old society,but now I can read.我这个旧社会的文盲，今天也认字了。

2 illiteracy   

n.文盲

参考例句：

• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining.从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。
• We must do away with illiteracy.我们必须扫除文盲。

3 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

4 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

5 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

6 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。