世界傳統(tǒng)文化研究院雙語講堂——世界讀書日的來歷

世界傳統(tǒng)文化研究院

今天是4月23日，今年是“世界讀書日”正式確定的第26個年頭。“世界讀書日”全稱“世界圖書與版權(quán)日”，又譯“世界圖書日”，最初的創(chuàng)意來自于國際出版商協(xié)會。讀書是獲取知識和信息的重要手段，讓讀書成為我們?nèi)粘Ｉ畈豢扇鄙俚牟糠帧?lt;/b>Today is April 23rd, and this year marks the 26th anniversary of World Book Day. World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day, was originally conceived by the International Association of Publishers. Reading is an important means to acquire knowledge and information, so that reading has become an indispensable part of our daily life. 世界讀書日的來歷 聯(lián)合國教科文組織選擇4月23日成為世界讀書日的靈感來自于一個美麗的傳說。 ?4月23日是西班牙文豪塞萬提斯的忌日，也是加泰羅尼亞地區(qū)大眾節(jié)日“圣喬治節(jié)”。傳說中勇士喬治屠龍救公主，并獲得了公主回贈的禮物——一本書，象征著知識與力量。每到這一天，加泰羅尼亞的婦女們就給丈夫或男朋友贈送一本書，男人們則會回贈一枝玫瑰花。實(shí)際上，同一天也是莎士比亞出生和去世的紀(jì)念日，又是美國作家納博科夫、法國作家莫里斯·德魯昂、冰島諾貝爾文學(xué)獎得主拉克斯內(nèi)斯等多位文學(xué)家的生日，所以這一天成為全球性圖書日看來“名正言順”。 聯(lián)合國科教文組織在1972年向全世界發(fā)出“走向閱讀社會”的召喚，要求社會成員人人讀書，圖書成為生活的必需品，讀書成為每個人日常生活不可或缺的一部分。1995年，聯(lián)合國教科文組織宣布4月23日為“世界讀書日”，致力于向全世界推廣閱讀、出版和對知識產(chǎn)權(quán)的保護(hù)。 “我們必須能夠讓每一個地方每一個人都獲得圖書?！边@是聯(lián)合國教科文組織創(chuàng)意、文化產(chǎn)業(yè)與版權(quán)部主任兼教科文組織出版社社長米拉格羅斯德爾科羅爾女士曾多次強(qiáng)調(diào)的一句話。自“世界讀書日”宣布以來，得到了全球社會各界的熱切響應(yīng)，并發(fā)展為尤其重視針對青少年的活動，目的是培養(yǎng)孩子們的閱讀習(xí)慣、人文精神，引導(dǎo)他們尊重知識。因此，在每年的4月23日，作家、出版商、教師、圖書管理員、私立或公立學(xué)校的教育工作者、學(xué)生、人道主義者、大眾媒體，以及全球各國愛書的人已經(jīng)把讀書日的宣傳活動演變成一個熱鬧的歡樂節(jié)日。 但是，在中國，這個世界性的讀書日還未被社會公眾所知曉，更談不上是節(jié)日。據(jù)搜狐讀書網(wǎng)站2004年調(diào)查顯示：知道“世界讀書日“的人僅占6%，27%的人雖聽說過但不知詳情，67%的人從未聽說過這個日子。閱讀對人的成長的影響是巨大的，一本好書往往能改變?nèi)说囊簧?。而一個民族的精神境界，在很大程度上取決于全民族的閱讀水平。為共建和諧社會，進(jìn)一步激發(fā)全面讀書的熱情，讓我們認(rèn)真讀一本好書吧! The history of World Book Day The inspiration for UNESCO's choice of April 23 as World Book Day comes from a beautiful legend. April 23 is the anniversary of the death of the great Spanish writer Cervantes, and is also the Catalan region's popular festival "St. George's Day". Legend has it that the warrior George slays a dragon to save a princess and receives a gift from the princess in return -- a book, a symbol of knowledge and power. On this day, Catalan women give a book to their husbands or boyfriends, and men give a rose in return. In fact, the same day is the anniversary of Shakespeare's birth and death, as well as the birthdays of writers such as William Nabokov, Maurice Druon, and Icelandic Nobel laureate Laxness, so it is a fitting choice for the title of World Book Day. In 1972, UNESCO issued a call to the world to "move towards a reading society", requiring all members of the society to read. Books became a necessity of life and reading became an indispensable part of everyone's daily life. In 1995, UNESCO declared April 23 World Book Day, dedicated to promoting reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property rights around the world. "We have to be able to make books available to everyone, everywhere." This is a phrase emphasized many times by Ms. Milagros del Corol, Director of UNESCO's Department for Creative, Cultural Industries and Copyright and Director of UNESCO Press. Since the announcement of "World Book Day", it has been enthusiastically responded by all sectors of the global community, and has developed into a special focus on activities aimed at young people, with the aim of cultivating children's reading habits, humanistic spirit, and guiding them to respect knowledge. So, every April 23, writers, publishers, teachers, librarians, private and public school educators, students, humanitarians, mass media, and book lovers around the world have turned the promotion of Book Day into a lively festival of joy. However, in China, this worldwide reading day is still unknown to the public, let alone a holiday. According to a 2004 survey by the sohu reading website, only 6 percent were aware of World Book Day, 27 percent had heard of it but did not know about it, and 67 percent had never heard of it. Reading has a great influence on one's growth. A good book can often change one's life. The spiritual state of a nation, to a great extent, depends on the reading level of the whole nation. In order to build a harmonious society and further stimulate the enthusiasm of comprehensive reading, let's read a good book seriously!