在刚刚过去的周六（2024-03-23）是个特殊的日子，你知道是什么日子吗？
对，是地球一小时 活动日。
地球一小时”是让全球关心自然、热心环保的人可以共同发声的平台。
当地时间2024年3月23日晚8点30分，“地球一小时”呼吁世界各地的个人、社区、商圈和企业关闭不必要的照明，作为支持环保、参与行动的承诺。关上灯、点亮希望，为地球献出一小时，为我们赖以生存的家园做一些有益的事。
感兴趣的可以访问中国分会官网 https://www.earthhour.org.cn/。
今天刚好看到一个推送关于介绍 地球一小时 的英文小短文。
如果你最近刚好也在自我学习提升英语能力，那么不妨一起来读阅读下吧。
红色标记 的单词或者短语，是我自己觉得没有掌握的需要记住或者重点关注的地方，你可以作为参考呢~
What is Earth Hour / 什么是地球一小时?
Every year, in late March, people and institutions come together to switch off all non-essential lights for sixty minutes at 8.30 p.m. local time. They do this to show their support for the fight against the climate crisis and loss of biodiversity. Millions of people all around the world join in, as do governments, businesses and institutions. By switching off their lights and measuring the reduction in the amount of energy that is being used, people are showing that it is possible to make a difference.
But Earth Hour is more than one hour without lights, once a year. It's part of a movement of people who are working together all year round to protect the environment.
每年三月下旬，人们和机构都会齐聚一堂，在当地时间晚上 8:30 关闭所有非必要照明一小时。他们这样做是为了表明支持对抗气候危机和生物多样性丧失。世界各地有数百万人加入，政府、企业和机构也参与其中。通过关闭照明并测量所用能源量的减少，人们表明做出改变是可能的。
但地球一小时不仅仅是每年一次关闭照明一小时。这是人们全年共同努力保护环境的一部分。
How did it start / 它是如何开始的?
The World Wide Fund for Nature in Australia introduced the idea in 2007. They wanted to find a way to raise awareness about climate change. And they wanted to show that when millions of individuals work together, they can make a difference.
The first Earth Hour was held on 31 March 2007 at 7.30 p.m. in Sydney. More than two million residents and 2,000 businesses turned their lights out for one hour. The lights also went out on the famous Sydney Opera House. The people of the city of San Francisco were so inspired by the event in Sydney that they held their own 'Lights Out' event in October of the same year. This was the beginning of the Earth Hour movement.
澳大利亚世界自然基金会于 2007 年提出了这个想法。他们想找到一种提高人们对气候变化认识的意识。他们想表明，当数百万人共同努力时，他们可以有所作为。
第一次地球一小时于 2007 年 3 月 31 日晚上 7:30 在悉尼举行。超过两百万居民和 2000 家企业关闭了照明一小时。著名的悉尼歌剧院的灯光也熄灭了。旧金山的人民受到悉尼活动的启发，在同年的 10 月举行了自己的“熄灯”活动。这是地球一小时运动的开始。
How many cities take part / 有多少城市参与?
The event has grown over the years, with more and more people, businesses, organisations and governments taking part every year.
In 2008, a year after the first Earth Hour event, 35 countries and more than 400 cities joined in. Websites also took part, turning their homepages black in support of the initiative. By 2012, 152 countries and more than 7,000 cities and towns were taking part. In recent years, the numbers have kept increasing, with more than 188 countries and territories worldwide taking part each year. In 2019, more than two billion photos were shared on social media platforms.
多年来，该活动不断发展，每年都有越来越多的人、企业、组织和政府参与其中。
2008 年，也就是第一次地球一小时活动一年后，35 个国家和 400 多个城市加入了进来。网站也参与其中，将主页变为黑色以支持这项倡议。到 2012 年，152 个国家和 7000 多个城市和城镇参与其中。近年来，这一数字不断增加，全球每年有超过 188 个国家和地区参与。2019 年，社交媒体平台上分享了超过 20 亿张照片。
Famous people and famous places / 参与的名人和名地
A number of celebrities have put their names to the cause, including singer Ellie Goulding, tennis star Andy Murray, TV host Ellen de Generes, actor Leonardo di Caprio and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney. Politicians and world leaders have also given their support, and thousands of famous landmarks have turned off their lights, including theEiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York and the Pyramids in Egypt.
许多名人为这项事业献名，包括歌手艾莉·高登、网球明星安迪·穆雷、电视主持人艾伦·德杰尼勒斯、演员莱昂纳多·迪卡普里奥和前披头士乐队成员保罗·麦卡特尼。政界人士和世界领导人也表示支持，成千上万的地标性建筑关闭了照明，包括巴黎埃菲尔铁塔、纽约帝国大厦和埃及金字塔。
What has the movement achieved / 这项运动取得了那些成就 ?
The Earth Hour movement has achieved much more than getting people to turn off their lights. Since 2007, among other actions, they have planted trees in various countries around the world, including a 2,700 hectare forest in Uganda and 17 million trees in Kazakhstan. They worked together to ban the use of plastics on the islands of the Galapagos, one of the most important nature reserves on the planet. And they have sponsored solar power projects in India and the Philippines.
地球一小时运动取得的成就远不止让人们关闭照明。自 2007 年以来，他们除了其他行动外，还在世界各国的多个国家种植了树木，包括在乌干达种植了 2700 公顷的森林，在哈萨克斯坦种植了 1700 万棵树。他们共同努力禁止在加拉帕戈斯群岛使用塑料，加拉帕戈斯群岛是地球上最重要的自然保护区之一。他们还在印度和菲律宾赞助了太阳能项目。
What can I do / 我能做什么?
Join the movement. Find out the date and time for this year. Visit the Earth Hour website and find out what's going on. Then get ready to turn off your lights and join the millions of other people around the world who are fighting to save our planet!
加入这项运动。了解今年的日期和时间。访问地球一小时网站，了解正在发生的事情。然后准备关闭照明，加入世界各地数百万为拯救我们的星球而奋斗的人们！
知识总结
take part
- take part in 表示参与或参加一项活动或事件。
I took part in the marathon last year. 我去年参加了马拉松
- take part in ... with 表示与某人或团体一起参与或参加一项活动或事件，强调合作或共同行动。
I took part in the project with my colleagues. 我和同事一起参与这个项目
pay/draw attention to
- pay attention to 表示人们当下主动注意、关注某事或某人当下，而不是过去或未来
So we are consciously deciding what to pay attention to（因此，我们有意识地决定关注什么）
- draw attention to 表示引起某事后者某人的注意力或者关注度
Every year, millions of people around the world switch off their lights for one hour to draw attention to the environment 每年，全球数百万人都关闭一小时的灯，以引起人们对环境的关注
参考来源 / Sources:
OK， 今天的知识就分享到这里。
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