VOA标准英语10月-UN: Literacy Rates Not Rising Fast Enough

A new U.N. report warns that not enough progress is being made in raising literacy rates, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. U.S. First Lady Laura Bush was at U.N. headquarters in New York Tuesday to spotlight¹ the need for improved literacy, particularly among the world's women. VOA United Nations Correspondent Margaret Besheer has more.

The statistics are daunting², 774 million people worldwide cannot read and write. Two-thirds of them are women. Seventy-five million children do not attend school. And in Africa, only 61 percent of adults can read and write, compared with the world average of about 82 percent.

The United Nations has dubbed³ this the "literacy decade" and the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, has taken the lead in this campaign to raise world literacy rates.

More than half way to the 2012 target date, the agency has released a report that says literacy rates are rising, but not fast enough. UNESCO has called for an additional $2.5 billion of international funding to help meet adult literacy needs.
　

Laura Bush

The United Nations recently established a new fund to advance the Literacy Decade. At the U.N., First Lady Laura Bush announced that the United States is the first donor⁴ to that fund, giving a total of $2.5 million.

Mrs. Bush, herself a former teacher and librarian, stressed the importance of improving literacy. "We cannot leave the potential of more than 770 million people untapped. Expanding literacy skills can boost economies with higher wages. It can improve productivity and health, and reduce poverty and crime. Literacy is essential for the sustainable solutions to our greatest problems," she said.

While literacy rates have improved somewhat overall, they have remained virtually unchanged for women. Mrs. Bush, who is an honorary ambassador for the U.N. Literacy Decade, highlighted the importance of closing this gender⁵ gap. "Reaching women with literacy education is especially important because of the profound impact that women have on their families. If women are educated, everything across the board improves for their families - their family's health, their family's education level, and every other indicator," she said.

The U.N. Literacy Decade aims to improve literacy through policy changes, literacy programs, building capacity for literacy workers, research, increasing community participation⁶ and monitoring and evaluating progress in various regions.

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

3 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

5 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

6 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。