世界节假日博览 第42期:国际妇女节

 　　International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated¹ around the world on March 8 every year. It began as a campaign for better working conditions by women in New York at the turn of the 20th century. The first official IWD was on February 28, 1909. No one knows for sure why the date changed to March 8, but this is the date when thousands of women started annual marches in New York’s streets. The first international women’s conference took place in 1910, in Denmark. Since then, IWD has spread around the world. Today it is an important day to highlight² the economic, political and social contributions women have made to our world. Women can now be happier that things are moving in the right direction.

　　每年，全世界会在3月8日这一天来庆祝国际妇女节。在20世纪之交之时，纽约女性为争取良好的工作环境而发起了抗议活动。国际妇女节首次在1909年的2月28日举行。没有人知道为什么将日期更改为3月8日，但是在3·8这一天，会有上千名女性在纽约街头举行一年一度的游行活动。第一次国际妇女会议在1910年的丹麦召开。自此以后，国际妇女节开始在全世界传播。如今，该节日已经成为了庆祝女性为世界经济、政治以及社会做出贡献的最为重要的一天。事情正在向正确的方向发展，女性应该感到高兴。

　　IWD is an official holiday in many countries, including Algeria, China, Cuba, Italy, Poland, Vietnam, and Zambia. All across the world, men give flowers and other gifts to the women in their lives - mothers, wives, girlfriends, sisters, teachers, etc. In Portugal and Romania, women celebrate by having "women-only" dinners. IWD is a big event in India, where people hold celebrations throughout the day. Indian men want to show how important women are to their society. All around the world women are becoming more powerful in business, entertainment, politics and other areas. There are over a dozen nations today with women leaders. However, IWD is still necessary to highlight the inequality millions of women still face.

　　妇女节在许多国家已经成为了官方节日，包括阿尔及利亚、中国、古巴、意大利、波兰、越南以及赞比亚。在全世界，男性会在这一天向他们生命中的女性送上鲜花和礼物，她们可能是母亲、妻子、女朋友、姐妹以及老师等。在葡萄牙和罗马尼亚，女性会共享女性专属晚餐来庆祝该节日。在印度，妇女节是一次盛大的节日，人们会在这一天举行庆祝活动。印度男性希望展示女性在社会中的重要地位。全球女性在商业、娱乐、政治以及其他领域所扮演的角色越来越重要。目前，已经有十几国国家首脑为女性。如今，仍然有上百万女性遭受着不平等待遇，国际妇女节仍然需要给予重视。

　　1.take place 发生

　　例句：When does the wedding come off [take place]?

　　什么时候举行婚礼?

　　2.at the turn of 之际的

　　例句：At the turn of the century, Africa is trying once more, as it did in independence days, to industrialize³.

　　在这世纪之交，非洲再一次努力实现工业化，如同在独立之初所做的那样。

　　3.around the world 全世界

　　例句：It happens all the time around the world.

　　世界各地随时都有这种情况发生。

　　4.make contribution 贡献

　　例句：What's more, improve our ability to make contribution to the human beings.

　　还有提升自己的能力来为人类做贡献。

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 highlight   

n.加亮区；v.加亮，强调；[计算机]醒目

参考例句：

• Her performance was the highlight of the show.她的表演是那场演出中最精彩的部分。
• The highlight of this term is the school trip to Austria.这学期最重要的活动就是去奥地利的校外旅行。

3 industrialize   

vt.使工业化；vi.工业化

参考例句：

• They wanted to industrialize their nation.他们想使国家工业化。
• Africa needs to industrialize,to create both exports and jobs.非洲需要工业化，增加出口和就业岗位。