英语课程计划-Human Rights Day

Human Rights Day is one of the most important events on the United Nations calendar. It takes place on the 10th of December every year. It was on this day in 1948 that the U.N. created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Only 48 states initially¹ agreed to the Declaration. Of course, the vast majority of countries accept it today. The High Commissioner² for Human Rights described the importance of this day: "On Human Rights Day, it is my hope that we will all act on our collective responsibility to uphold the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration. We can only honour the towering vision of that inspiring document when its principles are fully³ applied⁴ everywhere, for everyone."

The focus of the day is at the U.N. headquarters in New York City. There are various international conferences, meetings, cultural events and exhibitions all dealing⁵ with human rights issues. There is a different theme each year on Human Rights Day. It is sad that we still need this day. It actually seems we need it more as the decades pass. There are still too many countries that do not respect even the most basic of rights, including the right to life. As globalization makes the world smaller, problems are getting bigger. There is still so much work to be done to guarantee the right to freedom of thought, to practice one’s own religion, and the right to education.

1 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

2 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。