2020新译林版高中英语选修第二册Unit3课本课文及单词表

Unit 3 Helping people Reading The United Nations—bringing people together In 1945, the world was on its knees. Cities lay in ruins, economies were destroyed, tens of millions of people were killed, and families across the globe were homeless and mourning the loss of loved ones. World War II, the deadliest human conflict of all time, had shattered people’s lives everywhere. From the ashes of this utter destruction rose the organization that we now know as the United Nations (UN), offering hope to a world desperate for lasting peace and security. It is my privilege and pleasure to stand before you today and share with you a little bit about this wonderful organization. The UN was officially established on 24 October 1945, when the UN Charter, the founding document of the organization, came into force. The following year, the first meeting of the UN was held in London and was attended by representatives of 51 countries. Currently, the UN is made up of over 190 Member States. All of them work together to maintain international peace and security, protect human rights, deliver humanitarian aid, promote sustainable development and uphold international law. Over the years, the UN has been committed to fulfilling its ambition of being the one place where all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity. In the words of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, “When international cooperation works, the world wins.” The UN believes that international cooperation plays an essential role in addressing many issues, such as clean water, poverty and education. Can you believe that nearly one third of the population around the world did not have access to safe drinking water about a decade ago? The UN has recognized the critical importance of fresh water to life on our planet and recommended that every human being should have between 50 and 100 litres of water per day, for both personal and domestic uses. With this end in view, the UN has called for transboundary water cooperation through a legal framework for water resources management. Moreover, various water projects managed by the UN and its partners aim to provide clean water for needy communities. There has been remarkable progress over the past years. According to a 2021 UN report, the percentage of the global population with easy access to safely managed drinking water services increased to 74.3%. Increases have been seen in both rural and urban areas, motivating the UN to continue its tireless work of providing clean drinking water to those who need it. With regard to poverty, the UN estimates that around 10% of the world’s population, including one in six children, live in extreme poverty, unable to fulfil their most basic needs. These figures are both depressing and distressing. Not surprisingly, therefore, ending poverty is the UN’s number one Sustainable Development Goal. To effectively fight poverty, the UN focuses on understanding how people experience poverty in other ways besides income. Health, education and standard of living are three key dimensions that can reflect whether people are being left behind. These dimensions comprise ten indicators, such as nutrition, years of schooling and housing. With this data, the UN can identify the root causes of poverty and work with governments and communities to ensure that those causes are efficiently addressed. It is the belief of the UN that education is the most basic building block of every society and the single best investment countries can make to build prosperous, healthy and fair societies. However, due to various circumstances like inadequate learning materials or poor school facilities, learning is often difficult for many children. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which is a part of the UN system, has many ongoing education programmes. One of these, the Reimagine Education initiative, uses technology to create online learning opportunities, which are accessible to children anywhere and anytime. Additionally, UNICEF spares no effort to ensure more children have access to their education programmes. These programmes help remove long-standing barriers to learning, supporting every child’s right to learn. To conclude, I do hope you have found this brief insight into the work of the UN both inspiring and stimulating. While the UN is a huge global organization, every one of us can do something to make a positive difference. To quote the famous historian and philosopher Howard Zinn, “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” So I urge you all to find out more about how you can make a difference to one person, one society or the world, no matter how small. Extended reading The chain of kindness The rain was coming down so hard that each drop seemed to explode as it hit the roof of the car. Tom strained his eyes and looked out into the coal-black night, stru