英语课程计划-World Car-Free Day

World Car-Free Day is a very important holiday on the environmental calendar. Every September 22, governments, green groups and ordinary citizens highlight¹ the damage cars are doing to the Earth. The day is a reminder² that we do not need to rely so much on cars. Those who take part hope others will realize we do not have to accept our car-dominated society. Carlos Pardo from Colombia’s Sustainable Urban Transport Project summed things up, saying: "World Car-Free Day is not only a celebration of fun ways to get around the city, but a demonstration³ of what is possible: unclogged streets, clean air, and city traffic participants with their usual stress levels turned down drastically⁴."

World Car-Free Day aims to take a sizeable number of cars off the streets for all or part of a day. This will give people a chance to see what their town might look like with a lot fewer cars. The idea for this day came in October 1994 at the International Accessible Cities Conference in Toledo, Spain. The first national campaign was held in Britain three years later. The European Union adopted the idea in 2000. Today, as many as 100 million people in over 1,500 cities worldwide celebrate this day. There are many critics of the day. They say it is a one-day gimmick and does not make people give up their cars for the rest of

1 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。

2 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

3 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

4 drastically   

ad.极端地，严厉地

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。
• Next year's budget will have to be drastically pruned. 下一年度的预算将大幅度削减。