VOA慢速英語:New Digital Library to Display World On the Internet

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語科技報道。

What is a place where you could find old pictures of camels carrying people to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and also books about ancient Aztecs in Mexico? It is all found in the World Digital Library(WDL). It's collection is available on the Internet.

有沒有一個地方能讓你找到駱駝馱著人前往沙特阿拉伯麥加的老圖片，以及有關(guān)墨西哥古阿茲臺克人的書籍?這些都能在世界數(shù)字圖書館(簡稱WDL)被找到。該館的館藏被放到了互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上。

The library has 8,000 items from whole books to ancient writings, to music and photographs. There are 170 partners in 79 countries sending material to the World Digital Library. Partners include national or university libraries, museums and other cultural organizations.

該館擁有8000個條目，范圍從整本書籍到古代著作、音樂和照片。來自79個國家的170位合作伙伴為世界數(shù)字圖書館提供素材。其合作伙伴包括國家、大學圖書館，博物館和其它文化機構(gòu)。

The librarian of the United States Congress James Billington launched the WDL in 2009. John Van Oudenaren is the director of the library. He says Mr Billington wanted it to include items that are both interesting and important.

美國國會圖書館館長詹姆斯·比林頓(James Billington)于2009年創(chuàng)辦了世界數(shù)字圖書館。約翰·范奧德納(John Van Oudenaren)是該館的負責人。他表示，比林頓先生希望該館能夠囊括既有趣又重要的條目。

"So we are looking for things that from each country, each culture, each civilization. Things that are unique and important and help to tell the story of that place."

他說，“所以我們一直在尋找來自每個國家，每種文化，每種文明的素材，尋找這些獨特、重要并且能夠講述該地歷史的素材。”

Every item is explained in the 6 official languages of the United Nations: English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian plus Portuguese.

每個條目都用英語、法語、西班牙語、漢語、俄語和葡萄牙語這六種聯(lián)合國官方語言加以解釋。

Since 2009, 25 million people have visited the website from 250 places. The greatest number is from Spanish-speaking countries. Mr Van Oudenaren says users include schools, researchers and anyone interested.

自2009年以來，已經(jīng)有來自全球250個地區(qū)的2500萬人訪問了該網(wǎng)站。訪問人數(shù)最多的是西班牙語國家。范奧德納先生表示，網(wǎng)站用戶包括學校、科研人員和其它感興趣者。

"People say this is what the Internet should be about. And that kind warms my heart."

他說，“人們說網(wǎng)絡就應該是這樣的，這溫暖了我的心。”

He was especially happy to hear from one teacher in New York City.

聽到來自紐約市一位教師的評價讓他尤為開心。

"And she said it was really wonderful to have a site where every kid in the class, no matter what country they were from or where their parents were from could search and find something about that country that was interesting and important."

他說，“那位教師說，有這么一個網(wǎng)站可以讓班里所有的孩子，不管他來自那個國家或他們的父母來自哪里，他們都能在這個網(wǎng)站搜尋一些有關(guān)該國的有趣的、重要的東西，這太好了。”

Mussa Maravl is a researcher for the WDL from Sudan. He works with all the materials that are in Arabic. He recently published rare photographs of Mecca from 1885.

穆薩·瑪拉威爾(Mussa Maravl)是世界圖書館的一位研究員，他來自蘇丹，負責所有阿拉伯語的素材。最近他發(fā)布了來自1885年的一些有關(guān)麥加的珍貴照片。

"These camels were , you know, lying their heads on the ground, which is very unusual for a camel. It means these camels have travelled so far， so long， and half of those camels were very thin, too, meaning they have exhausted all the fat they have stored there."

他說，“這些駱駝把頭放到地上，這對駱駝來說非比尋常。這意味著它們走了很久、很遠。而且半數(shù)駱駝都很搜索，說明它們耗光了儲存在駝峰中的脂肪。”

Mussa Maravl believes the library provides tools for understanding, especially among Arabs, Muslims and United States. He says the WDL is posting many items about important developments in Arabic and Islamic science.

瑪拉威爾認為世界數(shù)字圖書館有助于相互理解，特別是阿拉伯人、穆斯林和美國之間的相互理解。他表示，世界數(shù)字圖書館正在發(fā)布很多有關(guān)阿拉伯和伊斯蘭科學重大發(fā)展的條目。

"The kind of cultural heritage you are promoting is exactly, I believe, what the world need to choose. Basically all these cultures contribute together to promote understanding throughout humanity in general."

他說，“我認為，我們正在宣傳的文化遺傳實際上是世界必須選取的，基本上所有這些文化共同促進了整個人類的普遍理解。”

Anyone may search the World Digital Library by subject, time period, kind of document or area of the world. The website is www.wdl.org.

任何人都可以通過標題、時間段、文件類型或地區(qū)搜索世界數(shù)字圖書館。該館的網(wǎng)址是www.wdl.org。