世界传统文化研究院双语讲堂——世界读书日的来历

世界传统文化研究院

今天是4月23日，今年是“世界读书日”正式确定的第26个年头。“世界读书日”全称“世界图书与版权日”，又译“世界图书日”，最初的创意来自于国际出版商协会。读书是获取知识和信息的重要手段，让读书成为我们日常生活不可缺少的部分。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. 世界读书日的来历 联合国教科文组织选择4月23日成为世界读书日的灵感来自于一个美丽的传说。 4月23日是西班牙文豪塞万提斯的忌日，也是加泰罗尼亚地区大众节日“圣乔治节”。传说中勇士乔治屠龙救公主，并获得了公主回赠的礼物——一本书，象征着知识与力量。每到这一天，加泰罗尼亚的妇女们就给丈夫或男朋友赠送一本书，男人们则会回赠一枝玫瑰花。实际上，同一天也是莎士比亚出生和去世的纪念日，又是美国作家纳博科夫、法国作家莫里斯·德鲁昂、冰岛诺贝尔文学奖得主拉克斯内斯等多位文学家的生日，所以这一天成为全球性图书日看来“名正言顺”。 联合国科教文组织在1972年向全世界发出“走向阅读社会”的召唤，要求社会成员人人读书，图书成为生活的必需品，读书成为每个人日常生活不可或缺的一部分。1995年，联合国教科文组织宣布4月23日为“世界读书日”，致力于向全世界推广阅读、出版和对知识产权的保护。 “我们必须能够让每一个地方每一个人都获得图书。”这是联合国教科文组织创意、文化产业与版权部主任兼教科文组织出版社社长米拉格罗斯德尔科罗尔女士曾多次强调的一句话。自“世界读书日”宣布以来，得到了全球社会各界的热切响应，并发展为尤其重视针对青少年的活动，目的是培养孩子们的阅读习惯、人文精神，引导他们尊重知识。因此，在每年的4月23日，作家、出版商、教师、图书管理员、私立或公立学校的教育工作者、学生、人道主义者、大众媒体，以及全球各国爱书的人已经把读书日的宣传活动演变成一个热闹的欢乐节日。 但是，在中国，这个世界性的读书日还未被社会公众所知晓，更谈不上是节日。据搜狐读书网站2004年调查显示：知道“世界读书日“的人仅占6%，27%的人虽听说过但不知详情，67%的人从未听说过这个日子。阅读对人的成长的影响是巨大的，一本好书往往能改变人的一生。而一个民族的精神境界，在很大程度上取决于全民族的阅读水平。为共建和谐社会，进一步激发全面读书的热情，让我们认真读一本好书吧! 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!