世界節(jié)假日博覽 第15期:自由思想日

　　January 29 is Freethinkers Day in America. It is an opportunity for people to promote and appreciate free thought. This is where logic and reason are seen as more important than faith. The day is also called Thomas Paine Day. He was a great American who lived between 1737 and 1809. He spent his life speaking and writing about the importance of freedom of thought. He wrote many books that became famous. These include ‘The Age of Reason’, ‘The Rights of Man’, and ‘Common Sense’. They helped change societies across the world, particularly in 19th century America and France. His writing played a big part in the American and French revolutions. Paine was among the first to call for an end to slavery and for human rights around the world.
　　1月29日是美國自由思想日，也叫托馬斯·潘恩日。這一天，人們推崇并感激思想自由。邏輯與推論比事實更加重要。他是一名美國為人，生于1737年，卒于1809年。傾其一生來宣講并撰寫有關(guān)思想自由的重要性的文章。他的著作很多，有《理性時代》，《人權(quán)論》以及《常識》。這些著作改變了全世界，特別是改變了19世紀(jì)的美國和法國。他的文章促進(jìn)了美國和法國革命。潘恩也是幾名最先呼吁結(jié)束奴隸制并呼吁保護(hù)人權(quán)的偉人之一。
　　In the 1990s, the Thomas Paine Foundation began celebrating Thomas Paine’s birthday. At the same time, the‘Truthseeker’ magazine began celebrating Freethinkers Day on the same day. The magazine’s aim was to inform Americans of the importance of Thomas Paine in the history of their freedom and liberty. The great inventor Thomas Edison said: “I have always regarded Paine as one of the greatest of all Americans. Never have we had a sounder intelligence….It was my good fortune to encounter Thomas Paine's works in my boyhood…Paine educated me, then, about many matters of which I had never before thought….I recall thinking, atthat time, ‘What a pity these works are not today the schoolbooks for all children!’”
　　20世紀(jì)90年代，托馬斯·潘恩基金會開始慶祝托馬斯·潘恩誕辰。同一時期，“真相尋求者”雜志開始在同一日慶祝自由思想日。該雜志的目的是要告訴美國人，托馬斯·潘恩在美國自由發(fā)展史中所占據(jù)的重要位置。偉大發(fā)明家托馬斯·愛迪生稱：“我把潘恩看成是美國歷史上最偉大的人物之一。我們從來沒有像他如此高深的思想，我很幸運(yùn)能夠在童年時期讀到托馬斯·潘恩的作品。潘恩教育了許多我從來沒有想過的事情。那時我就在回想，如今這些作品為什么沒有選錄入孩子們的課本當(dāng)中呢?
　　1.common Sense 常識
　　例句：He is devoid of common sense.
　　他缺乏常識。
　　2.inform of 通知
　　例句：He urged designers "to place a cute, educational caution tag on all bags to inform of potential neck and shoulder dangers."
　　他建議設(shè)計師們“在所有的包里加上一個可愛的‘溫馨提示’ 標(biāo)簽，以提示女性朋友注意頸部和肩部健康。”
　　3.regard as 把…認(rèn)作
　　例句：That's because those experiences are among your most important experiences in life, and your spouse shouldknow anything you regard as important.
　　因為那些過去是你人生經(jīng)歷中最重要的一部分，你的配偶應(yīng)該知道所有你的重要事情。
　　4.across the world 全世界
　　例句：And what we want to do is unleash the talent and creativity that exists across the world, in every community.
　　我們要做的是釋放全世界的人，每個社區(qū)的人的才能和創(chuàng)造力。