World Book Day

世界讀书日

Reading books brings with it numerous benefits giving people the opportunity to explore new worlds and meet new people both real and imagined. It expands our knowledge and understanding of the world around us and those far away.

To celebrate the wonderment of books and those who engage in creative work， the United Nations Educational， Scientific and Cultural Organization （UNESCO） established 23 April as World Book and Copyright Day in 1995. However， it got its start long before that in Spain.

Setting aside a day to celebrate books traces its beginnings to Spanish writer Vicente Clavel Andrés. In 1922 he proposed the idea as a way to honor fellow countryman author Miguel de Cervantes. Four years later the first celebration took place on 7 October， Cervantes birthday， but was moved to 23 April， the date of his death， in 1930.

读书益处多多，它让人们有机会探索新世界，邂逅现实和想象的新朋友。它拓展我们的知识面，增进我们对周边和遥远世界的了解。

为了宣传图书以及那些从事创作的作者们，1995年联合国教科文组织将4月23日定为“世界图书和版权日”。不过早在多年前，西班牙就设立读书日了。

专门留出一天来庆祝书籍的想法源于西班牙作家维森特·克拉维尔·安德里斯。1922年他提出设立读书日来纪念同为西班牙作家的米格尔·德·塞万提斯（见上图）。四年后，第一个读书日的庆祝活动在10月7日也就是塞万提斯的生日当天举行，1930年改在塞万提斯逝世那天也就是4月23日举行。

In 1995， the UNESCO General Conference decided to pay homage to authors and books world-wide as a way of encouraging everyone to access books. Choosing 23 April seemed a logical choice， besides being the date of Cervantes death， it also happens to be the date William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega died， among other prominent authors. Additionally， several distinguished authors were born on 23 April making it a symbolic date in the world literature.

Annually since 2001， one city around the world is chosen to be the UNESCO World Book Capital for a year. The selected city is tasked with carrying out activities over its year-long designation to encourage “a culture of reading and diffusing its values in all ages and population groups in and out of the national borders”.

The initiative was put forward by Spain in 2001， and Madrid was designated the first capital， followed by Alexandria and then New Delhi. Following those designations cities are chosen each year by the Director-General of UNESCO in consultation with an advisory committee made up of representatives from international organizations representing authors， libraries and publishers.

1995年，联合国教科文组织大会决定向全球的作家和书籍致敬，以此来鼓励人们多读书。将4月23日作为世界读书日似乎是一个合情合理的选择，因为它不但是塞万提斯去世的日子，也正好是威廉·莎士比亚（见下图）和印卡·加西拉索·德拉维加两位著名作家去世的日子。还有几位杰出作家则是在4月23日出生的，这让4月23日成为世界文学史上很有纪念意义的一天。

自2001年起，每年全球都有一个城市被选为联合国教科文组织的世界图书之都，为期一年。被选中的城市的任务是在接下来的一年开展鼓励“国内外各个年龄段和各阶层的人群形成阅读文化、传播阅读价值”的活动。

这一设想是西班牙于2001年提出的，马德里是首个获得“世界图书之都”称号的城市，接下来被选中的是亚历山大市和新德里市。每年联合国教科文组织总干事都会和咨询委员会协商，然后选出一个城市作为“世界图书之都”。咨询委员会是由代表作家、图书馆和出版商的国际机构的代表组成。

Word Bank

pay homage to 向……表达敬意

designation /'dez?ɡ'ne??n/ n. 选定；指定；委任

The district is under consideration for designation as a conservation area.