世界节假日博览 第63期:国际地雷日

 　　International Mine Day is on or around April the 4th every year. Its official name is International Mine Day for Mine Awareness¹ and Assistance in Mine Action. The aim of this day is to highlight the dangers of mines around the world and to encourage countries to stop using landmines². Landmines kill or injure thousands of people each year. More than one-third of all casualties and deaths are children. Three-quarters of the world’s countries signed the 1999 Mine Ban Treaty. Despite this, people in over 80 countries live with the threat of losing limbs or being killed by landmines. Those most at risk live in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Colombia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

　　国际地雷日会在每年的4月4日左右举行。其官方名称为“国际提高地雷意识和协助地雷行动日”。该节日设立的目的是为了提高人们对全球地雷危险的重视，并鼓励各国停止使用地雷。每年，因地雷而死亡，受伤的人数有上千人。超过三分之一的遇难者为儿童。全球有四分之三的国家签署了1999年的《禁止地雷公约》。尽管如此，全球仍然有80多个国家的居民生活在失去肢体，或是殒命的威胁当中。这些最有可能遭到危险的民众分部在阿富汗、 波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那、柬埔寨以及老挝人民民主共和国。

　　Many events take place around the world on Mine Day. They include conferences with high-level UN speakers, to mine-risk education workshops, concerts, and photographic exhibitions. In 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave a speech in which he said that the numbers of land mine casualties are “dramatically lower than they were only a few years ago." He added that "each year, mine action programmes around the world are clearing landmines from more than 100 square kilometres of land and teaching more than 7 million people how to avoid danger”. The children’s charity UNICEF says it’s possible to clear all mines within a number of years. Do what you can to help make this happen.

　　在国际地雷日这一天，全球会举办许多活动。包括联合国高级别会议、地雷教育洽谈会、演唱会以及摄影展。2008年，联合国秘书长潘基文在发言中指出，因地雷而遇难的民众人数较之几年前相比有了明显的减少。他还称，每年全世界通过地雷行动方案清理100多平方公里的雷区，教导700多万人如何避免雷区的危险。联合国儿童基金会称，我们或将在几年之内完全清除地雷。让我们共同努力吧。

　　1.encourage to 鼓励

　　例句：The idea is to encourage people to get to know their neighbours.

　　其目的是促使人们结识邻居。

　　2.a number of 一些

　　例句：And a number of African countries, too, are slipping through the net.

　　并且一些非洲国家也被漏掉了。

　　3.take place 发生

　　例句：The threatening strike did not take place after all.

　　可能来临的罢工终究没有发生。

　　4.at risk 有危险

　　例句：The disease is spreading, and all children under five are at risk.

　　这疾病在蔓延, 五岁以下的小孩都有危险。

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。