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 inpiduals, 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。


Around 780 million adults in the world today lack basic literacy skills. One in five adults is illiterate, and two-thirds of these are women. UNESCO says the highest rates of illiteracy 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 killer diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. 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。